Watch: This Amazing Drone Video Of Whales Swimming Next To A Paddleboarder Will Make Your Day
This beautifully timed drone video that shows a tiny human paddleboarding next to two whales will certainly liven you up for the day ahead.
The video, which was uploaded on YouTube recently and has since gone viral, sees an amateur drone pilot, Jaimen Hudson, film the moment when two whales swam right up to a paddleboarder off the coast in Esperance, a town in Western Australia, according to Time.
Jaimen Hudson is known locally for capturing whales in their natural habitat along the Southern ocean coastline. However, even by his own admission, this might be the best video Jaimen has ever captured. Speaking to ABC Australia, Hudson conceded that the footage was not premeditated, and once he heard from his friends that whales were frolicking off Fourth Beach in Esperance, he raced down the car park with his drone.
“I set up my equipment on the footpath and flew the drone out. Dave Price who lives close by, was just making his way over to the whales on his stand-up paddle board and they were really inquisitive and came over to meet him.”
The paddleboarder, Dave Price, is a long time friend of Jaimen, and also his neighbor, and has previously featured in some of the drone videos his friend has captured over the years.
Some viewers have wondered if Dave was scared to be so close to the whales, and although Jaimen admitted that there was an uncomfortable moment while recording the footage, the duo never feared anything could go wrong.
“There was one time when the whales lifted their heads up looked up over Pricey’s board, they wanted to know what he was.. I don’t think it was dangerous, the whales moved to where he was and the whole time they were very slow moving and peaceful.”
In the video, the ocean appears like glass, with Dave appearing to float above it, while two whales seem to glide towards him from down below. The serene visuals have been set against “Imagine”, John Lennon’s classic peace song, quietly bringing to our attention Jaimen’s evolved cinematic sense. It is no surprise, then, that Hudson wants to be a filmmaker in the future, and he considers his whale videos as the stepping stones to a career in filmmaking.
“The reaction to this clip has been huge and I really enjoy doing it, so hopefully I can take it further one day.”
You can check out his other videos on his Instagram page, which he constantly updates with awe-inspiring videos showing whales swimming off the western and southern coasts of Australia.
Mashable reports that a DJI Phantom 3 drone was used to to capture the footage, a drone that can fly up to 0.7 miles away from its controller.
Incredibly, Jaimen is a quadriplegic, having lost functionality of some of his limbs after a ghastly motorbike accident a few years ago. Though he cannot use his fingers to operate the drone, repeated use has made him comfortable, and he can now steer the drone using his thumbs and the partial use of his shoulders.
The response his whale video has garnered since he posted it on YouTube has made Jaimen confident that his love for films and whales will amount to something even more substantial in the future, and if this is anything to go by, he might not even have to wait very long.
[Photo via YouTube]
