Went kayaking with mama bear and the cubs yesterday.
Almost perfect glassy conditions. Clear skies with a mild breeze.
What a gorgeous day on the Snake River!
'Z Bear' copiloted with me in the tandem boat, while the wifey and our youngest son did their own exploring in solo boats.
We launched from Centennial Park in the Snake River Canyon.
Our destination was Pillar Falls, heading east about 2 miles up river.
We've been kayaking all summer and somehow I forgot we had a Garmin action cam. So we dug it out of the box and took it for a spin.
We made it to the falls, but unfortunately I wound up on the river with about half a battery charge. So we only captured the first checkpoint at Perrine Bridge. I ordered a few Wasabi batteries from Amazon to make sure we won't miss anything on our next adventure.
The cool thing is we caught a few base jumpers just as we arrived at the bridge.
One guy did a late chute deploy, splashing down just a few feet from us in the river.
My heart was racing watching him fall. I thought something went wrong.
There was a boat standing by to pick him up, so we realized it was intentional.
But damn I wish I had captured that footage!
As for the camera, the Garmin Virb Ultra 30 is an awesome little rig. Literally, this thing is tiny.
It has a lot of cool features, is compact, light, and shoots in full 4k, although I shot this trip in 1080p after realizing the battery wasn't fully charged. 4k eats that battery life pretty quick and I wanted to make sure I at least caught some footage.
These are some pix from other days on the river...
*Shot with my iPhone
We're digging the G-Metrix overlays in the Virb Edit software. This is a suite of data sensors that log various elements of your route, such as relative elevation, speed, coordinates, etc. The data was captured using the Virb app and GPS on my iPhone, then rendered as a graphic overlay while editing in Garmin's software. The app/phone combo also acts as a remote for the camera via wi-fi network connection between the two devices. Very cool.
I used a GoPro attachment on the waterproof case, that clips to the bill of my hat. The case does add some weight, but it's negligible. Some of the footage is a bit jerky, which will get better the more I get used to using the camera. Overall I'm pretty pleased with the footage considering it's my first time shooting with this rig.
With the G-Metrix overlays, awesome clarity of the footage, digital stabilization, head tracking, and a splash of music compliments of Jeremy Blake, it feels like we're watching some sort of first person VR game scene. Pretty slick way to capture a family memory.
Anyways, I hope you dig the movie and a glimpse into our little family's adventures.
Until next time...
Cheers!
~~~*~
CREDITS
Music provided by Jeremy Blake
http://jjbbllkk.com
Here's my Amazon link if you'd like to check out the Garmin Virb Ultra 30
https://amzn.to/2OpSSL2
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