Big Wave Surfing Filmed From a Drone

Wedding Photographer and Videographer Aaron Eveland of Makai Creative recently took his drone out to Waimea Bay to film a local surf competition. The waves were huge that day, and Aaron was able to capture some incredible footage.

The drone's ability to follow the action from above simultaneously showcases the immensity, chaos, and beauty of the ocean and the bravery and skill of those that dare to harness it. Following a surfer as they ride a wave in is both breathtaking and awe-inspiring, as we truly see the entire environment a surfer lives in and how they move through and interact with the water, something that's difficult to ascertain from a beach-based or board-mounted camera. The films makes one appreciate both the skills of the surfers and the beauty of the water.
 
All of the footage was taken with the Phantom 3 Professional, which is currently on sale for less than $1000. It's so amazing that we live in a time in which footage like this can be captured by anyone. As you might already know, we were big fans of the Phantom 3 in our review of it. 
 
Head over to Aaron's site to see some amazing wedding videos.   
Lee Morris's picture

Lee Morris is a professional photographer based in Charleston SC, and is the co-owner of Fstoppers.com

Log in or register to post comments
5 Comments

Cool vid for sure, but two things.
1) That's a crap day at Waimea.
2) Although that was a cool drone video, it's nothing compared to this film - https://vimeo.com/136938394

Agreed 100% David. And a great choice in clip selection to back up your opinion. Eric Sterman and crew are still killing it.

Cheers. The video posted was really good. And especially when compared to the slew of dudes with drones near a cool break; are always wide, never close enough, and the comments on youtube praise them as if they re-invented the wheel??? Blows my mind. I'm no arial videographer, and when I flew a drone for the first time I crashed that thing hard. The skills involved with big waves, wind, distance is still very impressive.

Yup, exactly. I've been flying for fun in my spare time with an Inspire for about a year. It takes a ton of practice to get closer and frame the shots well. Most of the epic UAV footage you see that's worthy is done with two operators; i.e. Sterman's crew, Chris Newman, the guys from Brain Farm etc.. I'm no expert but that's just what I've learned from watching what the guys who know what they're doing can produce.

I just want to say : this is great. Thanks to the drones and they who are professionally manipulated them we can see and watch fine photography. My granddaughter is a great surfer and I will send her to Waimea Bay.