Friday, October 13, 2017

My GoPro Adventures

(video grab) Having a moment of hesitation as I climbed over this rock along the long summit ridge of Carstensz Pyramid, Papua 2011

If there's one great innovation in the past decade, as part of the arsenal of video and picture documentation - it has to be the compact (pocket-able), high-density/ high-quality, all-weather, mountable, shock-proof, light-weight and easy to operate video-camera device! And GoPro easily comes to mind.
I've started using this way back 2011, and the difficulty of mountaineering docu-work suddenly became highly manageable, if not at times - easy!

In my past climbs - I used to operate a bigger handy-cam (which in those times were already compact) which I actually find user-friendly and manageable.  But with various reasons such as old technology of using tapes, use of tripod to shoot oneself for an unsupported (no crew) trips, bringing spare batteries (for long trips) which are bigger and heavier, and inability to bring a spare video-cam unit given weight and bulk, or even ease of copying digital files  -- one will re-look at better options available in the market.  And GoPro happens to perfectly address the requirement of "easy and light".

Over the years, it has become a regular and reliable companion in my outdoor trips and activities.  And just to reminisce, here are some snapshots of my so-called "GoPro adventures"!




GMA7 TV documentary of my climb of Vinzon Massif , Antarctica Jan2012 (entirely from GoPro).

Vinson Massif documentary link here.


Arches National Park, Utah, USA (2015) - GoPro is best for such landscape shot.

Self-reflecting, at Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA (2015)

Having fun in Boracay.  Made a small hole, set GoPro in multi-shot mode and jumped several times -
this was the bad shot :)



See short video of Padyak Palawan Bike Tour Nov 2016

(Video grab) Padyak Palawan - most of the time, I simply mounted the unit in my bike's handlebar and got video/shots like this. 

(video grab) - Recent trips in Mt Apo for the 25,000 Tree Reforestation program
required an easy way to document the effort.  
Under the sea -  Bauan, Batangas.  You'll catch the action, but not the beauty of the coral reef
(you'll need lots of bright light and very good water clarity).
Joined an off-road duathlon and my GoPro perfectly captured... my suffering :)
Kids' survival camp - documenting the chaos and fun actions!
GoPro is also perfect for family affairs - and anyone can operate it easily.
Hawaii 2017.  Big structure, like this USS Missouri - requires super wide shot to fit in the frame.



See my 7 Summits video documentary - this part (picture above) was shot in Carstensz Pyramid.

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