Our Day Together:
8 hours of small group instruction, including a 2.5 to 3 hour whale-watching excursion on a private yacht and a 1.5 to 2 hour beach sunset flying session.
Breakfast snacks and a full lunch is included in the cost.
6 FREE Lightroom photo editing presets ($45 value).
Live Lightroom editing demonstration during lunch using the photos captured of the day’s whale watching excursion.
Drones available upon request if you don’t own one.
Personalized instruction time with me since there are a max of 5 students per workshop.
A day of networking with fellow drone pilots and the opportunity to join a Slack community of drone enthusiasts.
The unique opportunity to potentially learn how to identify and fly over whales, dolphins and other wild animals.
Drone skills covered in the workshop: pre-flight checks, set-up and updates; flying in different weather conditions; communicating with the crew and other pilots; choosing proper camera settings for video/photo; selecting the best photo angles; proper use of drone lens filters; basic and advanced take-off/landing practice; operating a drone from a moving vehicle; keeping up with moving objects; resetting the home point; safety measures, drone laws, trouble shooting and using intelligent flight modes.
Next Available Sessions:
April 29, 2023 at 9:00 am PST
LOCATION: DANA POINT, CALIFORNIA
Fill out the form to book or inquire about more dates.
Cost: $927/person*
*Available payment methods accepted are credit card, Venmo, Zelle, and PayPal. Transaction fees may apply. Payment will be due in full upon reservation confirmation.
Optional Add-On: 2 Hour Editing Class
Starting at 4pm (or time TBD) on the afternoon of the whale workshop, we will reconvene at a local coffee shop to edit the images you captured during the day. So bring your laptops! It is highly suggested that you have Lightroom installed since I will be mostly teaching using Lightroom. But I will be helping everyone individually on their edits as well.
Here’s a list of skills that I will be covering during this session:
Improving your editing workflow; optimizing how you back up on hard drives; Lightroom basics; how to use the Lightroom develop module; using the Lightroom adjustment brush; identifying proper exposure; applying composition rules; using the Lightroom graduated tool; using the mask tool; utilizing presets accurately; colorizing beach aerials with light and color; exporting tips for web, social and print use; and social media growth tips.
Cost:$197/person*
*Available payment methods accepted are credit card, Venmo, and PayPal. Transaction fees may apply. Payment will be due in full upon reservation confirmation.
Testimonials
The droning with whales and dolphins workshop with Emily Frangie is unlike any drone workshop I’ve ever attended. Starting out it’s basically an adventure with a world class drone pilot as Emily takes a small group (5-6 people) out to sea, in the quest of finding these majestic creatures. Emily is absolutely amazing at creating a learning environment where amateur & professional drone pilots can advance their skills. Trust me if you take this class it will be one of those experiences you tell your grandkids about. -Matt G.
Droning with whales class was something I'll remember for the rest of my life. Having the chance to not only see these amazing animals, but to be able to capture it and cherish forever is awesome. Emily did a great job of showing us how to fly and take beautiful photos. This trip was awesome and I am so thankful I was able to do it. - Ariel L.
She is very friendly, professional, and well versed in all things Drone. This workshop was so much fun! We actually got to aid in saving a whale that was caught in a net. It was a memory I will never forget! I loved chatting, networking, and eating yummy food with like minded professionals. I would definitely do this workshop again! I hope she does drone meet ups one day! -Kristi B.
What an epic workshop to participate in. The whole experience is just amazing. Being that close to such amazing mammals. The boat trip was awesome, launching and landing by hand is always epic and flying over dolphins was just life-changing. The post lunch, edit and beaching flying was equally as fun. -Zeke S.
I have met few people in my life that are as professional as Emily. She emailed me two nights before to give me instructions on how to arrive and what to expect. In her email she stated lunch would be provided and she surprised us with breakfast as well. Emily is so thoughtful and inclusive of everyone and thinks of every little detail. One of the attendees was on a strict plant based diet. She accommodated everyone's diet. She made sure she was prepared by asking these types of questions in her email. Parking was easily found in the lot. While we didn't get to see but one whale on our trip, this was not her fault and she made sure everyone to got fly at least for a little bit over these awesome creatures. The whole time Emily showed a deep understanding of drones and how they work. She was open to any questions that any of the attendees had and answered them. After docking back on land Emily got a consensus of where everyone wanted to eat. During lunch she lets you get whatever you want off the menu and any drink. During lunch she teaches you how to edit. I learned so much during this session. Editing water is a little tricky but Emily made it clear and easy to do. After the lunch session we went to fly our drones on the pier and she taught us more on land techniques. She was always there if we needed anything or had any questions. Emily is definitely a professional that take pride in her events. I highly recommend her and her workshop. I will definitely come back again!!! -Kenneth P.
From the moment Emily greeted us with her friendly and attentive manner at the Whale Boat Headquarters in Dana Point one knew we were in good hands. We went over our pre boarding briefing and then the crew loaded us and our gear onto this beautifully equipped Charter Boat with just the 6 Drone Pilots in the class. I got my drone ready about at the point we left the harbor and minutes later Emily told me, Hey Mark you’re going up! She expertly explained all the aspects of drone launching and landing from a boat, altitude restrictions and the use of our Buddy Visual Observers, exposure tips and so much more. With Emily helping you your drone is going to stay dry! In my very first flight we did not see any whales which was fine as this served as a “FAM” Flight (Familiarity Flight) and gave me more confidence to fly in this new environment. This was really smart on Emily’s part. I am sure the other pilots felt the same way. On my second flight, BINGO! I got Three Breathing Breeches when the whales came up for air, complete with a RAINBOW in their Blow Spray! They are amazing creatures to watch as they effortlessly motor in front of that amazing tail. Then it happened, not once- but twice. The whales decided to descend so this meant- tails up and I got the entire beautifully graceful decent process with even delicately dripping seawater coming off the flukes! It was also great to be able to ID the animals by the complex and individual fluke marks, which researchers use as fingerprints for whales. We returned that afternoon with everyone’s video cards heavy with great footage and images, but we were not done yet! Emily then took us to an amazing lunch while she went over post processing and editing of image files RIGHT THERE AT THE TABLE! It was great! But wait we were still not done! Then we caravanned to one of Emily’s favorite Beach Take Off points for an amazing Southern California Ocean Sunset Drone Footage as well. WOW WHAT A DAY of fun and learning. I highly recommend Emily’s classes as she is not only knowledgeable but also a skillful and intuitive teacher. It is so much fun you won’t realize how much incredible technique you are learning. -Mark B.