Go Pro Shots

[Pat Magee]

I have recently joined the GoPro crowd with my Hero 4 Silver.  I have wanted one forever but finally decided to pull the trigger.  Despite the video capabilities of the GoPro, I mainly bought it to take stills and time lapse photos.  Who knows, maybe that will change down the road.....

I have my first kayak/camping/fishing trip planned with it in a couple weeks but I have been forcing myself to take it with me just about everywhere I go to get used to operating it and figuring out the best settings. For these things being so small, they have a ton of settings to cycle through!   I am going to try and add to this thread as I go and hopefully I can learn some things along the way regarding lighting/angles/settings/etc.   

 

Here was a shot that I took at Ruth Park Golf Course on Hole #6 shortly after a small storm cloud blew in.  This picture was taken around 5:30 pm on 9/25/16

I edited this photo using Snapseed but the original was just as amazing.  Just felt a few adjustments really made this picture look pretty darn rad. I messed around with the Gopro settings quite a bit on this shot so I can't remember my final settings were but I will try and add the setting details on future pictures.

I wouldn't ever claim to be a photographer but I do enjoy goofing around from time to time.  Feel free to critique or offer any advice, I have a lot to learn! 

 

[Flysmallie]

Nice shot. The GoPros take some nice photos. I was surprised by mine. The only reason I bailed on GoPro is because I wanted zoom and more control. I also lost interest in video if I ever really had it. 

And good for you in taking time to carry it and learn it before you really need it. If more people would do that they would be a lot less frustrated when it really matters. 

[Pat Magee]

Thanks Flysmallie!  I had an entry level Nikon DSLR for 5 years now and I am still learning something new everyday with that.  I was hoping to accelerate that process with the GoPro by just taking it with me since it is so small.  The one thing that I have definitely noticed so far is that you really need sunlight to make these pictures really look good. It isn't the best in low light or cloudy days.

The lack of zoom doesn't really bother me that much but I know what you mean.  It isn't the most versatile camera in the world but it is darn near perfect for what I am looking to do. If you don't mind me asking, what do you shoot with now?

[ollie]

I still like mine, but there has been sometimes I really wanted that zoom function and had to give up on the shot.  Other than that I like mine.  Cool pic BTW.

[Pat Magee]

Thanks Ollie! I look at it this way, the GoPro captures pretty much exactly what my eyes are looking at so if I think something looks picture worthy from where i am standing, it usually come across that way with my GoPro.  I have been flattening my pictures to get rid of the fish eye which also stretches the picture out slightly but it is still a pretty realistic field of view IMO. 

[Flysmallie]

1 hour ago, Pat Magee said:

If you don't mind me asking, what do you shoot with now?

For fishing and just a general pocket camera I switched to an Olympus TG-870. For everything else I also have a Nikon DSLR.

I don't want anyone to think I was knocking GoPros. They are great cameras that are very hard to beat for what they are designed for. I just wanted to explore something a little different. 

[Pat Magee]

I have tried to get my wife to let me bring the DSLR on my camping trips but she isn't down with it.  I have a D3200 which isn't anything special but I have accumulated a bunch of different lenses that compliment it really well. With DSLR it seems you either pay a lot for the camera body and the lenses are a little cheaper or vice versa.

I do like those Olympus cameras, my little pocket camera I used to take on fishing trips has been an Olympus FE-230 forever!

[Flysmallie]

I have an older Nikon D90 that has spent many days riding down the river with me in a canoe just sitting on top of my cooler. It's hard to take pictures when you have to take the time to pull it out of a dry bag. I used to carry it in a Pelican case but the only time I ever got it wet was when it was in that case. 

[Plastic_worm]

I love mine also.  I take it everywhere and film everything.  Then pull a screen shot later.  I like that better for action shots b/c you can move from frame to frame(if set for 30 fps...you get a bunch of angles and not whatever the time lapse setting is.  Here are some screen grabs with no filters.  Just moving frame to frame.

 

[Pat Magee]

Plastic...I have followed you blog and follow you on FB as well.  I have always admired the shots you capture and the angles you capture them from.  I have been goofing around in the backyard with the best angles for camera mounts and to try and find some unique angles.  I have a 24 foot golf ball retriever that I have been toying around with to get some neat overhead shots with but at full extension the pole bounces like crazy! Think I might take your idea and just use a telescoping painter's pole instead.

I do that a lot as well.  A 15 second  video gives you roughly 450 pictures to choose from  so you can really pick which shots you like the most. When I said I don't intend on taking a lot of videos I just meant that I don't think I will ever get around to editing trips for full videos but would rather just take the "HERO" shots out of them.

Love the shots you post, they definitely do the habitat you fish justice! You have been on a good tear this summer.