Dawn at Belle Vue park

 

I was up just before dawn on Saturday morning, walking through Belle Vue Park in Newport. I followed the meandering path in the semi-darkness, heading to the top of the park so I could get some height above the city so and fly the drone safely away from any major buildings like the Royal Gwent Hospital.

There was quite a lot of cloud, but looking eastwards, the sky had turned a lovely orange colour. My first flight was near a beautiful Magnolia tree that had glorious pink blossoms.

Up went the drone, and once it cleared the tree line, I had a great view of the City of Newport. 

The street lamps were on, and I had the opportunity to photograph an early morning nightscape. The sky kept getting better as the minutes ticked by. The sun would soon be arriving, and I hoped it would break through the clouds on the eastern horizon.

I was using the DJI Air 2S drone, and it's much better than the DJI Mini2 in low light. The above picture is a multi-photo panoramic. These kinds of pictures are really effective at creating a huge field of view and work well with cityscapes.    

 

I estimated that the sun would burn through the clouds in the eastern sky behind George Street Bridge.

The vibrant coloured sky, a mix of orange, yellow, pink and red, was reflecting in the waters of the River Usk.

I had to land the drone and swap out the battery with a new one. Then, about two minutes before sunrise, I got the drone airborne again and in a good position.

The day broke with the sun burning brightly through the clouds. The view was stunning. The City of Newport basked in the warm orange rays of the rising sun.

From where I was controlling the drone, I could see it flying high above me. My view from the ground was a lot different but special in its own way. I watched the sun rise through the trees of the park. It resembled a burning fireball as it rose in the heavens.

As the rising sun got higher in the sky, I took another panoramic photograph, and I think this picture would look amazing blown up in a big framed print.

I was really impressed with the park. It has some lovely trees and green open spaces. I expect it will get better and better throughout spring.