Monday 6 September 2021

An Aerial Tour of Gran Canaria - The "Mini Continent" Island of Contrasts at Every Visual Angle


Gran Canaria is the capital island of the archipelago of islands known as The Canaries. While not the largest island, nor the most visited by tourists, in many respects it hosts the most in terms of diversity and this is perhaps the result of, or the reason for, the relatively large influence this one island has among its neighbors. 

Having spent almost a year working there and exploring the island extensively on hiking trails and climbing sites I was given ample opportunity to deploy my drone to do environmental and geological investigation from the air, using true colour and near-infrared imaging to gain an extra appreciation for the diverse landscapes of the island. 

As I found out, and you may see, it is an island of many different parts; containing jungles, forests, canyons, volcanic craters, deserts along with beaches, rocky and sandy, and urban environments not to mention marine and freshwater habitats. All operating in tandem to support multiple distinct microbiomes. 

I have compiled the highlights of these trips into a single video and have also created a series of individual videos, in many cases comparing how the natural features look in the visible, near-infrared and in some cases near-ultraviolet spectrum.

This collection of footage helped me to create several short films showcasing topics in science and technology, the 4K and RAW format images taken during these trips into the wild areas of Gran Canaria are also valuable in the development of new remote sensing techniques using drone imaging. 

Drone Footage Compiled into a Single Video:






Region-specific drone flight footage (for more detail):

Las Palmas during the Day:




Las Palmas at Night:




El Confittal:



Barranco Los Tilos de Moya:



Roque Nublo:



Puerto Rico - Barranco de Lechugal:




Bandama Caldera:



Dunas Maspalomas: 



Barranco Del Toro - Featured In a Short Nature Film I made on the Convergent Evolution of the Native Euphorbia Canariensis in comparison to the Artificially Introduced "True Cacti" (Cactaceae) and how they endure in the desert habitat of the Canary Islands.