Having grown up in Calgary, I’d done a LOT of hiking in the Canadian Rockies in the SUMMER.
But for the past 3 years I’ve stayed in Banff for Spring skiing and Spring hiking.
Hiking in March / April was NEW to me.
Each time I stayed in the Samesun Hostel, the best overall of 3 good hostels in Banff.
I learned the hard way trying Sundance Canyon that micro spikes are essential for hiking ice. I backtracked to town and bought Yaktrax. An excellent product.
This over-the-top video by Bashir Abu Shakra won the 2022 Skypixel Drone Grand Prize. It features some stunning footage from the Alps, Brazil, and Mongolia.
We ate most of our meals at the house. One restaurant blowout was hosted at Zac’s.
The infamous mountain bike circuit is called Slickrock Trail. I survived it in 2007 and did NOT want to risk a second time. BUT some of our group cycled it safely. Jeni and I hiked Slickrock.
A secondary goal, to improve photos and start sharing them more. I started an Instagram account for my hiking pics – BestHikeVisuals.
Mostly I’ve been disappointed with the many limitations of Instagram. I’m not at all a fan of that platform. I store my best photos on a paid site ➙ Flickr by Smugmug.
I shoot iPhone photos and video in HDR (High Dynamic Range). The BIG advantage of phone cameras is the black magic used in the automatic setting.
After posting myFrench Creek tribute, I declared I was GOOD ENOUGH at video editing for my purposes. Approaching “Concious Competent“. I could sit down at a table with a professional video editor and understand 75% of what they were talking about. 😀
The remaining 25% has mostly to do with colour. Skin tone. Complicated stuff. Creators who can afford it often send their own work out to a specialist for colour correction.
NEXT STAGE = STORY
Story. Story. Story.
Every edit should contribute to the STORY.
I threw this one together quickly as a teaser for upcoming West Coast Trail videos. But in some weird way, it’s evocative of that wild and challenging hike.
For camera video I’ve switched from 24fps to 30fps as it’s a little clearer, though less cinematic.
ZV-1 is primary A roll footage. It has by far the best audio.
Ignoring advice of most experts, I mostly shoot Intelligent Auto Mode. In fact, I shoot Intelligent Auto Photo Mode almost all the time — as it’s QUICK on the Sony to take a 5472 × 3080 [16:9] photo and QUICK to switch to Intelligent Auto video 4K 30fps. With 4K I have plenty of room to crop or zoom to my final product in 1080p.
Shooting auto I tend to get video more saturated than reality. To that, I add even more saturation and contrast. I like that exaggerated look though it’s considered uncool in 2023.
ZV-1 Memory Recall #3 = 1080p / 60fps for slow motion (60 is better math when slowing for 30fps output)
ZV-1 Memory Recall #2 = 4K / 30fps
ZV-1 Memory Recall #1 = is for Time Lapse photos 5472 × 3080 [16:9]. This setting I use mainly for photos, choosing the best from the collection. 16:9 ratio makes for a time lapse that matches the dimensions of my export video.
PHOTOS
I often shoot photos in RAW and JPG both — but usually edit in RAW.
Apple’s free Photos app on the Mac is not perfect, but I’m still using it for organization. And quick edits. It’s a much better photo editor in 2023 than just a couple of years ago.
I’ve switched to Pixelmator Pro for editing the best of the best photos for Instagram.
I quit trying Sony video S-Log2, S-Log3, and other HLG profiles used by the cool kids as it was way too much hassle for dubious gains in quality.
iPhone 13 Mini on the OM 6 gimbal apps: Camera, Moment, DJI Mimo, SkyFlow
the 13 Mini probably just as good as the ZV-1 in bright daylight. But I’ll use it mostly for B roll: slow-mo, time lapse, special effects, etc. (always 4K and 60fps for slow mo or speed ramping. 30 fps normal. 24 fps low light). I shoot HDR High Dynamic Range 10-bit. The better quality ProRES is not available on my 13 Mini.
I’ll probably switch to the dedicated SkyFlow app timelapse app as it’s so quick and simple.
The 13 has less stabilization than 13 Pro or Max, so I’ll use it on the gimbal as much as possible.
One great gimbal feature that finally works consistently on the DJI OM 6 is GESTURE CONTROL for tracking myself. It seems like I have a cameraman, though I’m solo. That’s only available on the DJI Mimo app.
Space on the phone is not a worry as I’ll transfer photos and videos on the fly via a tiny SanDisk 256GB memory stick.
The 13 Mini will be a dedicated camera and audio player. I’m currently carrying a second iPhone, the S.E. mini as my phone phone.
GoPro 7 is for B roll: action, water, fake drone, etc. (mostly 2.7K 60fps as 2.7 is the highest it can go with Superview (16:9 aspect ratio) enabled. I’d only switch to 4K if on a tripod.)
low light set on auto
ISO min 100, max 400 (400 might be low)
Protune off
Head mount, chest mount, handlebar mount, selfie stick, or tripod, depending on the situation.
Editing video with Final Cut Pro X on a MacBook Pro 14″ 2021 with 16 GB internal memory. That said, the cheapest MacBook Air is sufficient for almost everything I do.
Export in 1080p
master file using ProRes 422
export ‘Computer’
export H.264 Faster Encode
Shoot 120 fps only for smoke, fire, fast moving sports, etc.
As little hand held video as possible. Use tripods. Handheld would only be used to show ACTION. Close-up motion. I don’t shoot much of that.
Shorter the better for my videos.
No ads
Keeping electronics powered while on the road is one of my bigger problems.
For the GoPro, I’ll carry at least two 3.85 Volt batteries and a tiny charging case. I find these batteries die too quickly.
I’ll sometimes carry a solar panel in addition to a charging battery (or two).
The Sony is by far my favourite camera. But when it breaks I’m planning to continue using only an Action camera on tripod and iPhone & gimbal. Both are small, light and durable.
The top hiking blogger, Kraig Adams, recently sold his big camera and is using only iPhone and drone.
I’m typically the guy who says: “Why carry a nail? It’s too heavy! … We probably won’t need it on this trip.” 😀
#FamousLastWords
The proverb is found in a number of forms, beginning as early as the 13th century.
For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the message was lost. For want of a message the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
Related sayings are “A stitch, in time, saves nine” and “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.
Once I bought a cheap flight to Lisbon, I found the fuel canister I needed in a hostel FREE BOX. So I know they exist on the Canary Islands.
They MIGHT be for sale from either Leroy Merlin or Decathlon in Santa Cruz, Tenerife. Some have found them at petrol stations and ferreterias, hardware stores.
My goal in hiking is to ENJOY the experience as much as possible.
High altitude mountaineers suffer — the opposite.
I finally got around to watching Meru, the 2015 documentary film about climbing the Shark’s Fin route in the Indian Himalayas.
Mainly because I really admire Jimmy Chin, the best climber of all-time who can ALSO film his adventures.
In 2008 Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and new guy Renan Ozturk almost made the first ascent of the infamous Shark’s Fin. It was harsh. They suffered physically and psychologically.
Before their next attempt in 2011, both Chin and Ozturk (separately) suffered horrific climbing falls. Somehow Jimmy popped out of a monster avalanche suffering barely a scratch.
Watching the movie, everyone agrees Renan should not be going back to Meru. He suffers a minor stroke during the second climb.
Jimmy’s master work was the Academy Award winning Free Solo. (2018)
This one is no Free Solo. But it did keep me gripped from start to finish.
“Meru is the anti-Everest,” says mountaineer and author Jon Krakauer. “This climb has seen more attempts and more failures than any peak in the Himalaya.”
Krakauer commentary throughout was a highlight for me.