The Writings of John Ryan Sullivan

Hello there, it’s been a little while. I wanted to share some of the videos I’ve made. Most of these are short, often silly (or just a drone flying about) and are probably forgettable. I know that’s not much of a sales pitch but it is the point of this post – I’m going to start sharing the things I make regardless of whether I think they are life-changing.

So to start here is a video I made about going to Amazon Fresh to get orange juice (I don’t make the rules, Whole Foods orange juice is incredible and this is closer to my home). I hope you enjoy this video and those that follow.

In a moment of genius (?) I have decided to put the other videos I am sharing into this same post so that I don’t have to keep posting to get my YouTube videos out into the world. I’m not sure what the end point of this will be but considering I’ve put more on YouTube this week than I have in 15 years this strikes me as a good thing to do. Hopefully you agree.

This is another video that I made in a day. I like the unfussy nature of doing this. Yes, the results are not perfect but the concept is hardly profound, I think creating in this manner is better for me as well. So, here is a video I made about going to the beach:

I’ve been posting videos I put together over the past few years as well. Why? Well because they just sit on my hard drive doing nothing otherwise. At some point in the past I thought someday I’d have a use for this footage, combining it all into some grand project that would wow others and vindicate me. Now I can see that was folly. Instead I have a number of short videos that capture a moment or a place and perhaps other people will watch them. I hope you do.

Here is a short drone video I made around the Bay Park area of East Rockaway. Please excuse the titles which are decidedly not perfect as I learned doing this I do not have the patience for that nonsense (truly a great example of where something like AI shines).

Of the many things I have discovered since getting a drone is that I really like flying in snow storms. This is not necessarily the best thing to do, so I have typically done it in my backyard or over the water so that if the weather causes the drone to crash I’m the only person troubled by the matter. So far so good!

This is a brief moment from a huge storm in Massachusetts after the storm. I’m putting together the footage I shot during the storm and hopefully with have that to share soon.

Living in Central Massachusetts I quickly found myself at The Old Stone church in West Boylston (I lived in Boylston, so I found it when driving aimlessly about). It’s not terribly exciting, as it’s small and there is nothing inside but it sure is pretty. I wish I had gone when there was snow but you get what you get. This was November and by the end of the flight I was properly frozen so I think that counts for something.

The next video is a little weird. The DJI Air 2 has an active track mode that lets you follow subjects. People online seem torn as to whether it is any good which led me to do a number of tests. The following video is one of them.

The reason why I am sharing this video are 1) I think it came out well. The drone handled my tree-filled uneven terrain yard quite well. 2) That despite it having my children in the video (whose faces I have blurred for the public version) the images paired with the music turned what should have been boring footage (I think) into something quite lovely. At the very least it showcases how this older drone performs which is something.

Another drone video – yes there is a theme here. I have shot so much footage since getting my drone and immediately found myself without an outlet for any of it. I don’t want to shoot real estate videos, I bought it because I want to make films, but I keep not getting my license (and I have no films to make) so what to do? Well for now I am posting them on YouTube since I make no money from the channel.

This video I shot in 2022 when we had two days of thick fog in East Rockaway and Lynbrook. I did my best to behave and follow the rules of the sky while still capturing, I think, some nice footage. Shooting in fog is weird as I really don’t know what the tips and tricks are for getting great footage. I went fully automatic in the settings which I think was the way to go. This video is fun because I found a boat as I flew close to the shore and followed it about. I like to think that we became friends but it has been two years and I’ve heard not a word.

The next video finds us back in the snow. I’ve flown in a number of snowy conditions but those, mostly were in Massachusetts and around my home. I was still pretty new to Long Island when I shot this and being able to shoot over the water by Hewlett Point Park was fun.

The houses around the area are large and most have docks and the birds were about this morning as well. All in all I like how this came out despite the weird color issues in the first thirty seconds. I’m not sure if that’s considered chromatic aberrations or something else. Either way, I hope you enjoy the video.