This is a continuation of my previous post. The story actually began in my Saturday post, when I barely caught the Aurora Winter Train as it bypasses the briefly sidelined morning freight train near the Parks Highway and Pittman Road intersection. I described the image as a “skin of the teeth” picture, shot within two seconds of the moment I launched Sancho off the roof of my car. While I love Sancho - my DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone, his camera comes with bad shutter lag. A train can move a good distance between the moment I push the shutter button and the image takes. I do have a “review” feature, but the freight train was rolling and it can be pretty hard to catch, especially if I hit a bunch of red lights. I did not take the time to review. I just jumped into the car, started it and headed out. “SANCHO!” an inner voice screamed at me just before I reached the parking lot exit. In my haste, I had forgot to land Sancho! I had left him hovering right where he had snapped whatever had been in his frame when the shutter released. Horrified, I turned around, drove back to the same exact spot and parked my car berneath hovering Sancho. I gave him the go ahead to land. Sancho came down on my car roof on the very spot from which he had launched. Now the freight was even farther ahead. Soon, it came into sight. I thought I would easily catch it, but then I hit the first light: red. The second: red. The third: red... by the time I arrived downtown, the freight train had left Wasilla behind. I knew I still could catch it if I drove all the way to Knik River Access but that is flat terrain and if the channeled wind still howled there I could not fly Sancho - if I even had time to launch and place him. Instead, I chose an overpass near the hospital, one with a nice, wide walkway, but a chain link barrier to shoot my Canon through. I was not certain I had arrived in time, but as you can see, I had. The freight continued on to the Palmer Hay Flats and rolled out of sight.
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