When 34 year old photographer, Ryan Chatfield, took his drone out for a spin over Floreat Beach in Australia, his experience running the New York Marathon came in use. As the drone passed over the shoreline in a rocky area, it began falling from the sky. Chatfield, who was 100m away from the drone when it began it’s untimely decent, began a mad dash to the water in a last ditch attempt to save his precious camera equipment.
“If I hadn’t caught it, it would have sunk to the bottom of the ocean and I would have lost everything,” Chatfield told the West Australian.
After the 100m sprint through soft sand scaling a rock wall, sprinting down a short jetty, then scaling down some more rocks into the ocean, Chatfield grabbed his failing drone when it was about 30cm from the ocean surface. Of course, just as he has the drone in hand a wave comes in pushes Chatfield into the rocks. Luckily, he was able to hold the rig up above the water as he nimbly climbed out.
The entire pursuit was captured by the drone and makes for pretty fun television. My favorite part, however, was near the very end once Chatfield realized he and his drone were out of trouble. A big, smug smile spreads across the photographers face as he declares, “Nice Catch!” Gotta love this guys quick thinking!
[ via Mashable ]
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