First Light Run: Coffee, a Brand-New DJI Air 3S, and a Sunrise That Paid Off
I dragged my butt out of the house before dawn, grabbed a coffee that was hotter than I am awake at that hour, tossed the DJI Air 3S in the car, and drove across town. The plan was simple: beat the wind, beat the crowds, and see what first light would hand us. It handed us glass water and clean color.
Why this spot, why this time
Cordova Bay, Saanich faces east across Haro Strait toward Washington, which means sunrise actually does something here. If the breeze hasn’t woken up yet, you get reflections and that natural teal/orange separation everyone tries to fake at noon. Fewer people, fewer boats, more keepers. That’s the whole play.
The kit (and the settings that mattered)
Drone: DJI Air 3S (brand-new, first real outing).
Reason it’s perfect for this: solid low-light, medium tele for stacking islands/cloud bands, rock-steady in coastal air.
Settings (plain English):
Exposure: protect the sky first, lift shadows later.
Shutter fast enough to tame ripples; ISO kept low; white balance fixed (no auto sneaks).
ND on if the sky ramps up; off if the light is still soft.
Nothing exotic. The trick is timing, not wizardry.
What we shot (three frames, three reasons)
Wide opener — horizon slightly off-center, long reflection path on flat water, shoreline doing the leading-line thing.
Medium stack — island silhouettes and banded cloud toward the San Juans; compressed, a little cinematic without getting silly.
After-glow — the color that hangs for a few minutes once the sun clears the low band and the beach is still quiet.
They live well as a three-image carousel or a single hero with two support frames. No gimmicks; just that 20–30 minute window when the coast cooperates.
Why we keep doing this
Sunrise shoots aren’t about suffering for art. They’re about cleaner frames with less work.
Lower wind → steadier aircraft, sharper edges.
Less human noise → no dodging dogs, joggers, or paddleboards.
Real color → less grading, more trust.
If you’re a builder, this reads as professional progress, not chaos. If you’re hospitality, this sells the place instead of shouting about it.
A quick word on how we fly
We stay within Transport Canada rules, launch away from people, and keep distance from wildlife. Cordova Bay is gorgeous at first light—no reason to annoy anyone to prove it.
The punchline
The coffee did its job, the Air 3S did its job, and sunrise did the rest. Three frames, in and out, and no wrestling with harsh midday shadows later. That’s the whole point.
Request availability: vancouverislanddrones.ca
(If you’re a gear person, the kit we rely on is listed at https://vancouverislanddrones.ca/drone-gear)
