Tech Diary | At Home with Tech

July 27, 2025

How to Check the Ocean Temperature on your Phone Before You Hit the Beach

My wife and I decided to take a quick dip at our town beach last week after work. It’s not something we typically do, even though we live just a short drive from the Connecticut shore. We enjoyed our 90-minute vacation so much, we repeated this refreshing early-evening experience over the next two days (and hoped to do it more in the upcoming weeks).

As much as we enjoyed our pre-dinner excursion, we were surprised that the ocean temperature varied from day to day. The water felt warm on day one. The second afternoon’s ocean temperature was colder. And day three’s surf seemed downright icy.

I suspected the differing air temperature and humidity between the days affected our experience, but I didn’t think the ocean could get noticeably colder that quickly.

I decided to fact check my opinion and find a way to confirm the actual water temperature by my beach on those particular days.

NOAA Data Buoys
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration maintains numerous data buoys off the coastline. These NOAA buoys track the weather including ocean conditions.

So, I went to the NOAA’s National Data Buoy Center website and identified the closest ocean data buoy to our beach. I found a nearby buoy in Bridgeport, CT and took a look at its historical data.

And in fact, there was a variance of five degrees in the sea water temperature across those three days. (between 70-75.5° Fahrenheit).

Wind Direction Affects Ocean Temperature
This was a surprise, as I’ve always thought the water by our Connecticut beach remained a steady temperature that simply inched up over the summer. And as such, it was a non-factor on which days were the better beach days.

So, I did a little Googling on this topic and realized that the wind plays a huge role in determining how your beach’s water feels from day to day.

I discovered that wind blowing towards a beach will keep the ocean warmer. That’s because the surface water that’s been warmed by the sun gets pushed towards the beach. The opposite is true for offshore winds which will suck the top ocean layer away and make your beach’s waves colder.

Wow.

So, in fact, if you want to go for a swim at the beach and hope for warmer water, some days are actually better for that than others.

I immediately started to think about my iPhone and how nice it would be to easily check out the ocean temperature on my phone before I jump in next time.

Is there an app for that? Well, of course there is…

Mobile Apps that Display NOAA Data Buoy Info
There are a variety of mobile apps that collect and present the data from the NOAA’s data buoys. You just tap in your buoy’s number, and the water temperature pops up along with the weather conditions. (Some apps automatically use your location to find the nearest buoy.) Either way, it’s easy.

Here are the apps that I tested on my iPhone:

Buoycast: NOAA Marine Weather
Marine Weather Forecast Pro
NOAA Buoy Reports

I’m more partial to the design interface of Buoycast, but they all provide the same data.

All three apps are free, though they offer premium features (such as historical data) for a price. But if you just need to know the real-time water temperature, the free versions are all you need.

Don’t Forget to Check your Data Buoy Before Grabbing your Swimsuit and Towel
I used to think a warm, sunny day is all that determined a good beach day. But if you’re looking to swim, warmer water is always nice. And the right wind conditions can heat it up for you.

With an app on your phone that tracks the nearest NOAA data buoy, you can now quickly check the water temperature before deciding to head out to the beach.

Real-time data means no more chilly surprises!

July 20, 2025

How to Magically Turn your Photo into a Video Using Generative AI

The creative realm is no longer inhabited exclusively by human minds. Generative AI tools have revolutionized how you and I can develop our own creativity. Yes, AI may still require our inspiration, but then it magically does most of the work.

One way to quickly immerse yourself in this new creative workflow is through a simple shortcut. Just start with a real photograph/image that you’ve already created as a reference point. Then, it’s much easier for an AI app to develop it further as opposed to having to start the process from scratch through extensive prompts.

For me, that’s been the key to easily unlock AI’s visual powers.

AI Follows the Creative Direction from your Photography
After uploading your own photo, you can create an AI-generated clone in one click that looks remarkably similar. The AI takes certain creative liberties, but it nails the framing and essential visual elements.

And then, with just a few more prompts and a click, you can generate short video clips that bring your photos to life.

So yes, we can now create videos out of thin air based on our photography.

Here are a few examples I generated after feeding my photos through Google’s Whisk and Veo generative AI models. (Other companies offer similar fast-developing technologies.)

Maine Sunrise
I snapped this sunrise photo during our Maine vacation:

Here’s the Google Whisk version:

And here’s the Google Veo video:

Alaska Sunrise
Here’s my sunrise shot from Homer, Alaska during our 2023 trip.

Whisk photo:

Veo video:

Baltimore Sunrise
Here’s my photo of people walking by the water in Baltimore, Maryland.

Whisk photo:

Veo video:

Two Paddleboarders on the Ocean
I photographed these two paddleboarders in Maine last year.

Whisk photo:

Veo video:

A Man and his Dog
During our vacation in Alaska, I took a photo of a man with his beautiful golden retriever. I processed it through Google Whisk and Veo and generated this:

Whisk photo:

Veo video:

Generative AI Provides the Paint and Canvas
I find these examples remarkable and clearly disruptive. I’m still adjusting to the massive implications to all this.

Generative AI tools have quickly become our new paint and canvas to bring our creative ideas to life. And the results will only get better.

So, it’s time for all of us to relearn how to paint, even as photographers.

July 13, 2025

How to Create Awesome Drone Footage with Amateur Flying Skills

I finally bought a camera drone to start this new hobby I’ve long wanted to try. Then, I got to work studying how to fly it. I trusted my DJI Flip’s intelligent flying modes to protect my investment against disaster, because I didn’t have enough faith in my novice piloting skills. I was worried about crashing my little drone.

And then I did.

But my Flip survived its impact with that tree. So, I wiped the egg off my face and was determined to learn how to properly fly my little drone.

I continued slowly, and my patience finally paid off when I discovered a key aerial storytelling trick.

Fly Slow and Smooth
Generating cinematic videos with a drone is all about flying it ‘slow’ and ‘smooth.’ All those establishing shots you can think of from movies… yes, slow and smooth.

And that translates to easier and safer flying.

And if you’re looking to create more motion in your drone footage, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to fly faster. Instead, just fly your drone lower. Moving over a landscape close to the ground produces more movement than from higher up.

Happily, these flying strategies are relatively easy to accomplish. And just as importantly, they don’t put your drone at significant risk.

So, as I explored flying my drone manually, I intentionally followed the slow/smooth rule and practiced simplistic flying routines.

Up. Down. Forward. Back. Sideways.

The most aggressive maneuver I attempted was elevating my drone as it simultaneously moved forward.

Embrace your Inner Rookie
How fast can my drone go? I have no idea. I haven’t tried to find out. Could I always see my drone as I flew it? 100%.

Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.

And as I flew in the dullest of ways, that’s when my adrenaline levels finally began to stabilize, and the tension melted away.

And guess what? I decided I’m just not going to fly my drone over water. I’m not going to fly it over a mountain ridge. I’m not going to fly between two objects and try to thread a needle. I’m never going to worry if my drone has enough battery power to make it back.

I’m just not going to push it. This isn’t a sport for me. It’s a new hobby with an expensive piece of gear I’d like to keep in one piece.

Barrett’s Drone Footage from the Mud Flats of Cape Porpoise, Maine
Even with my self-imposed training wheels in place, my conservative flying style still enabled my DJI Flip to capture the incredible beauty of our world with motion. Often, just getting your drone in the air to is enough to recording stunning clips.

And that’s exactly what I did… I think I captured some nifty footage during my training flights on the mud flats of Cape Porpoise, Maine.

Here’s a video compilation of my manual maneuvering along with a few auto QuickShots (courtesy of the drone’s built-in code).

(Yes, my flying style was boring, but my shots were not.)

How to Quickly Edit your Drone Clips
I put this edit together using a couple tools:

The DJI Fly mobile app for basic video editing and music
Final Cut Pro for precision edits and speed ramping

I should mention that you can quickly perform a punchy edit just using the DJI Fly app on your phone. There’s even a 1-click editing solution. It’s not perfect, but you can generate and share a dynamic video with your phone in just a couple minutes. Impressive. Most impressive.

When Less is More
A little drone can go a long way. I mean that both literally and figuratively.

You don’t have to fly your camera drone like it’s capturing a stunt shot for “Mission Impossible.” I say… keep it all entirely ‘possible.’

And while many pros out there may yawn at my stubbornness to avoid all risk, I’m entirely pleased with my creative results to date.

Others may like showing off their camera drone crashes to the world, I hope to never do that again.

Start slow. Keep it slow. Make it smooth.

Less is more.

Category: Tech Diary

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