Cold Night in NoDa

I took this photograph a couple of weeks ago. It was so cold that my drone warned me it was too cold to fly. It was such a beautiful sunset that I took the risk and picked an empty lot where it wouldn't hurt anybody if it plummeted to the ground and went straight up and back down for a couple of shots. I was watching the battery voltage like a hawk and taking it very easy on the throttle and collective to keep the battery from spiking and shutting everything down mid-flight. I think the flight lasted about three minutes but it was worth it! 

On the horizon, you can see Crowder's Mountain on the right and the two plumes of steam on the left and right of the city (the right one is just next to the sun) are the two Duke Energy nuclear plants that serve the area. This shot also gives you a good view of the new light rail line that is going to connect NoDa to Uptown and south all the way to Pineville. It's going to be great for commercial development but I hope it doesn't destroy the spirit of NoDa... although it inevitably will :-(

This photograph was captured with a DJI Phantom 3 Professional drone that just happens to be on sale $260 off at the moment!