DJI has shared a new video, Polar Obsession, revealing the experiences of Arctic photographer Florian Ledoux as he captures stills and video of wildlife with his DJI Mavic 3 Pro Cine.
You can watch the video below and, to be honest, I found it amazing. Not just because of the gorgeous footage – which you might have seen on the BBC's Frozen Planet II or Disney Nature's Polar Bear – but to see just what Florian (and his aircraft) were able to endure to capture the material.
The video, and the supporting post on the DJI Viewpoints blog by Olivier Mondon, makes very clear that the conditions faced by Florian and his team were harsh. Living in a box on skis and keeping it warm in Arctic temperatures would be challenging for anyone, but famously drone batteries do not traditionally enjoy extreme temperatures, making Florian's achievements all the more remarkable.
The Mavic 3 Pro is able to withstand temperatures of 14˚ - 104˚F (-10˚ - 40˚C), a wider range than many consumer drones, and enough to see you safe for more than half the year in the Arctic (though it can plunge to -4°F / -20˚C in the depths of winter in Greenland).
The mere presence of drones also opens up new possibilities for wildlife photographers while keeping a 'respectful distance', which in turn has enabled the team to capture habits and behaviors that went previously unseen.
Florian is emotional about polar bears and what they tell us as a symbol of climate change. "It's so beautiful, it's so intimate, it's so profound," he says. His experiences are well worth a few minutes of your time – not just for the images and video, but the technical fascination of seeing how creators survive such bleak conditions and come home with memory cards full of gorgeous material.
The DJI Mavic 3 Pro is one of my favourites in the best camera drones and best DJI drones guides, but there are alternatives for other budgets!
