Film — The Emerald Outback of Oz

I have entered this film in the 2017 Triple Aught Design Film Festival. I get nearly all of my outdoor gear from Triple Aught Design so I'm honored that they have accepted my entry. 

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Want the backstory on the film? Here you go!

At 5,506 feet, Beech Mountain is the highest town east of the Rockies. The group of hiking trails near the peak of the mountain are named the "Emerald Outback." They are named in honor of the former Land of Oz theme park that flourished nearby before a series of disasters forced the park to shut down in 1980. The Emerald Outback is known for large stands of beech trees and wildlife around every corner. Within five minutes on the trails, you'll see evidence of deer, bear and coyote and you're likely to run into at least one of them if you spend a few hours on the mountain. Join me on an adventure to the top!

This film was created a DJI Mavic Pro drone, a DJI Phantom 3 Professional drone, a Sony a6300 and a GoPro Hero 4+ Black.

Fishing Pier

The massive fishing piers next to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge that connects St. Petersburg to Bradenton have an interesting genesis. Once upon a time, they WERE the bridge. At least until a boat with a beam higher than the bridge tried to pass below, taking the middle of the bridge out with it. Rather than repair the aging bridge, they build a new, taller bridge that would allow larger cargo and cruise ships into the Port of Tampa. They dismantled the middle section of the old bridge but left hundreds of yards on each side intact and converted them to giant fishing piers. What we have now is a very expensive take on turning lemons into lemonade.

This photograph was captured with a DJI Mavic Pro drone.

Bridge to Bradenton

This photograph was captured with a DJI Mavic Pro drone.

The Road to St. Pete Beach

This photograph was captured with a DJI Mavic Pro drone.

Saturday Drive

This photograph was captured with a DJI Mavic Pro Drone. 

Sunshine Skyway Bridge

St. Petersburg's Sunshine Skyway Bridge soars 180 feet over the water and reaches over four miles, connecting St. Petersburg with mainland Florida, near Bradenton. A drive across it gives the Florida Key's Seven Mile Bridge a run for its money. 

The span portion of the bridge is just over a mile long but with three miles of connector on each side, it's a drive that should be on everyone's road trip bucket list. The connectors seem to float just above the green and blue water of Tampa Bay on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other. The close proximity to the water and wide-open views on each side make it a popular stretch of road for car commercials. 

Another striking feature of the span bridge are the bright yellow cables that soar 250 feet into the sky. 

Despite being an architectural icon that measures 430 feet tall, the 180-foot height limit is already preventing some of the world's greatest ships from reaching Port Tampa Bay. In fact, nearly every new cruise ship built today has an air draft exceeding 180 feet. That leads to the question, should they replace the 30 year-old bridge with a taller one or is it more cost-effective to build an additional, more modern port a few miles north or south of the current historic Port Tampa Bay? As the largest port in Florida — supporting over 80,000 jobs — its days may be numbered if it is no longer reachable by the state-of-the-art container and cruise ships that are being assembled today.

This photograph was captured with a DJI Mavic Pro drone. 

Ahead of the Storm

This is the Linn Cove Viaduct on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. It's truly a structural engineering masterpiece. It's completion in the 1980s marked the official completion of the Blue Ridge Parkway, joining the north portion and the south portion of the Parkway. 

This photograph was captured with a DJI Phantom 3 Professional drone. 

Figure Eight Island Bridge

Figure Eight Island, off the coast of Wilmington, is only accessible by boat or this private swingbridge. This limited public access makes Figure Eight Island a private, secure retreat for those who choose to live or vacation there.

This photograph was captured with a DJI Phantom 3 Professional drone.

Water Under the Bridge

You know you've arrived at the waterfall when you see this hand-hewn log bridge while hiking Falls Creek Loop. At just around one mile, It's a great hike for the entire family. 

This photograph was captured with a Sony a6300.

Beneath Linn Cove Viaduct

I've posted several photographs from above the Linn Cove Viaduct in the past but this is the first from below it.

If you park in the visitor's lot just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, you can take a short hike through the woods and see the viaduct from an entirely different perspective.

There's a real beauty to the massive structure as the shiny concrete reflects the forest all around it. Once you've taken in the viaduct, you can continue along several other trails that pick their way through the mountains.

This photograph was captured with a Sony NEX-7.