Photographer and video maestro Tucker Wooding has carved out a place for himself in surfing history by using drones to get close to waves and capture images of riders deep inside them, yet somehow making it out. Now he offers footage of a UAV that didn’t.

Wooding has earned plaudits from professionals and fans of surfing for combining his incredible eye as a photographer with skills as a drone pilot. That mix has allowed him to stand apart as the best snapper of photos and videos of situations at incredibly close range. 

Previously, those kinds of shots were only caught from safe distances, or by people with hand-held devices having to scramble out of the way of approaching riders (and breaking tubes) after grabbing what they could.

A fine example of the enhanced perspectives he captures came with exceptional drone videos that Wooding published of surfers braving – and somehow surviving – the 50 foot-plus winter swells in Nazare, Portugal. 

Now, he has uploaded a short clip of a single wave, featuring a surfer making it out of a barrel collapsing on him – and a drone that was less fortunate. Blame the pilot, who was far, far, far less capable at the sticks than Wooding, and by all appearances really wanted to get rid of his UAV.

Thankfully, Wooding showed his sense of humor in delivering his version of a surfing elegy for the ill-fated drone. The other pilot probably wasn’t as amused. Keep an eye open for the black spot rushing toward the lip as the rider does his thing in the background.

Image: Thomas Ashlock/Unsplash