Photo… Bombed

I made the long journey to England. I drove 1500 miles around the UK. I ended up in the Highlands of Scotland. I took a tour bus to the top of Glenfinnan. I set up all my stuff. I patiently waited to capture the Harry Potter Train on the bridge in all its glory.

I’m no professional photographer. However, I felt prepared with the 16mm lens and 55-300mm zoom lens that I brought for my Sony A6500. I somehow made a ridiculous choice to not use the zoom lens because I was too busy setting up my drone which takes a little while (Mavic Air 2 and no smart controller). I figured that the 16mm would capture it all and not appear too zoomed in, being that I was very near the left side of the bridge.

I also intended to follow the train with my drone. I had the drone up exactly 3 minutes before the estimated arrival. I was positioning it to look left. Everyone assumed the train would come from the right (if you don’t walk past the bridge but stay in front of it). The train will come from the left. I was all prepared. I was happy. I then grabbed my Osmo Pocket 2 and was trying to put it on a tripod. I was also trying to set it to avoid all the people in the shot.

As I was doing this, the sun ran to hide and it began to rain, as it does when I go outside from anywhere. I was just a minute from the supposed train passing time. I debated, I debated hard, but I took my drone down because I’m not wealthy enough to throw away drones like that 🤣. As I landed the drone, I left my phone connected to the controller and the drone expanded/unfolded. I covered it with my jacket. Keep in mind, I was in mud and high grass and had no helipad. Then, as I picked up my umbrella to cover the camera, I heard the train horn. You’ll hear this just seconds before you see the train. I fumbled a bit and rushed. I held my umbrella and Osmo together in one hand, trying my best to aim it at the bridge in some sort of straight fashion.

I then grabbed the Sony camera and snapped some photos with my other hand. The train passes in maybe 20 seconds or so. I realized halfway that I was getting lots of people in my shot 🙄. I moved forward a bit, luckily. I had the wide angle lens on and was just too far away. As the train hit the end point, I dropped everything and tried to launch the drone. The blade must’ve cut a high grass piece upon launch. We’re talking seconds here. It went up fast and I immediately had a gimble failure error as I tried to chase the train. I could see the drone tilting harshly every other second. I had to stop the pursuit and bring it down quickly. It did have a piece of grass on one blade, but it wasn’t wrapped around. The drone was fine, but I’m still unsure what exactly happened. Maybe wind and rain hit it too hard, or some sort of weather pocket, who knows…

Oh yes, and the rain stopped about 60 seconds after the train passed. It never returned again that day.

Truthfully; this was the only time on the trip I was a bit sad 😂. In the moment, I just felt that I failed so hard. I’m sitting here setting up all this equipment and my buddies are snapping photos effortlessly with a tap on their mobile phones. It’s pretty funny when you think about it.

I should’ve, with 100% certainty, used the zoom lens because there’s no need to take the shot when it’s right next to you (you’re on the left of the bridge). You can take it when it’s across (on the right) before it disappears into trees. My shots appear to be far away when they could’ve been right up next to it. I don’t know what I was initially thinking. However, I was trying to prepare 4 things and oblige photos from the group at the same time. Additionally, I wish I had bought the waterproof jacket for the drone because I constantly fought rain all over the UK. Although, I didn’t even know this item existed before this trip.

Lastly, I would’ve stood directly next to the closest person in my shots in order to have no humans in them. I did this halfway through. On the interior of the train, I got one decent phone shot, but the Z Fold 2 cameras (my phone) are not nearly as good as the S21/S22 Ultra cameras. It could’ve been worse, but it could’ve been so much better. At least now I have an excuse to travel back there and try again 😁. The Highlands are breathtaking and worth an entire trip in themselves anyhow.

After all is said and done, I’m still happy with the photos I did manage to take. Next time I’ll zoom in far enough to see Ron and Harry in their seats! The real tragedy would be losing your phone out of the train window. Don’t be that guy 🤣.

Definitely take a lesson from me and use a zoom lens (if you have one). Try not to balance too many things at once. Most importantly, relax and enjoy yourself. Don’t feel too bad, it’s just a picture. At least I have some video to relive the experience. I’ll share it on Instagram soon. Now get up there and do the tour!