If you type ‘Pink Lake’ into Google and hit search, you’ll get dozens of photos of pink lakes, mainly located in Western Australia and South Australia.

One of the most famous pink lakes is Hutt Lagoon, at Port Gregory, which is about 4-5 hours north of Perth.

The first time I visited this iconic lake, staying at nearby Linga Long Farmstead Accomodation, I had my Phantom 4 Pro drone, Agent X.

I hadn’t had him all that long, and , was chasing images to put forward for publication in a book showcasing Australian Drone Photography from right across the country, being compiled and published through a drone photographers group on Facebook of which I’m a member.

We found a good spot to park, out of the way of traffic and people, and up into the sky flew Agent X, off on a mission to capture some (hopefully) amazing photos. Having only experienced the Pink Lake from the ground perspective before, I was keen to see what I would find.

Wow!!! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing through the display screen. Incredible varying shades of pinks and purples, reds, creams and whites. It wasn't long before I was mesmerised by what I was seeing, transfixed, and engrossed in composing dozens of shots (ok maybe hundreds).

Suddenly the incredible vista below my mechanically eyed airborne little buddy went black. There was nothing on the screen, yet the power button was still green. An error message informed me the connection was disconnected.

Seriously???

My heart stopped as I realised my drone was probably further from me than he should have been. Scanning the sky above looking for that little speck of white on a dazzling blue backdrop with white-ish clouds scattered across it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Trying desperately not to panic, I imagined my drone was still able to respond to my manual manoeuvring of the controls, but not knowing exactly where he was, I was a little unsure which direction I should send him. I kind of knew but wasn’t 100% sure.

Miraculously the screen came to life again as the connection re-established itself and I was able to quickly see where he was, and make sure he was pointing directly towards me. I managed to get one single shot before the screen blacked out again as the connection was lost for a second time.

No worries, I thought to myself. I can fly him back now. With my fingers crossed I manually flew him back, imagining him responding and following the controller’s commands.

Man, I’ve never been so relieved to hear that buzzing sound as he responded, flying back to me, and landing safely again.

Once he was safely tucked away in his bag I sat down before my legs gave out and breathed a massive sigh of relief. I dodged a bullet for sure on that one, and learned the hard way about keeping him in sight, one of the key basic rules of flying a drone.

I got some stunning images and footage, and spent the drive home editing the ones I felt were the best. I was really excited when six of my images were selected for publication in the book.