BRT Insights - WW Kayaking & Hiking

Capturing Landscape and Action in Movies and Photographs.

After years of ignoring the video capability in my digital camera I have started to appreciate how videos can add to the memories preserved from my hiking, kayaking, biking and other outdoor activities. Videos are especially great when the subject is in motion (kayakers, rivers, waterfalls, etc.). Still photos will always be great for still subjects like mountains, trees, lakes, etc. Panoramic photography can capture a wide view of a scene into a still photo, but panning a video camera across a wide scene can also do a nice job of documenting a wide scene. An additional benefit is that the video camera can adjust the exposure when panning across a wide scene that includes very bright areas and very shady areas. Some digital cameras have a microphone that will capture a soundtrack within the video to add even more to the information captured. The short, low quality video clips that our digital cameras can produce are not as good as a videocam could make. The light weight and convenience of getting both photos and videos from one small gadget are especially helpful when choosing how much weight you want to carry around with you on outdoor trips. The videos from the digital camera in your pocket are always better than the videos that cannot be taken using equipment that you left at home!

Tools for Editing and Posting Personal Movie Videos Online

Video Format Conversions. Video files may need to be converted into various formats to satisfy the requirements of the camera hardware, editing software and online hosting system that you decide to use.
• Zamzar - Free online file conversion (e.g. converts .mov or .mp4 to .avi format)

Video Editing. Software and online tools for video editing enable us to cut and splice our videos, and then add titles and soundtracks. Still pictures imported into a video editor can be assembled into slideshow videos.
• Windows Movie Maker (software for PC)
• iMovie (software for Mac)
• YouTube Video Editor - AudioSwap songs library - YouTube Help.
• Animoto - Video Slideshow Maker with Music (online tool)
• Picasa (software for PC/Mac) photos made into slideshow movie.

Video Hosting. To display your videos on the internet upload them to your account at a video hosting service. Video hosts typically provide the html code needed to embed your video in any blog or other website.
• YouTube - enables soundtracks to be added from their library of licensed music.
• vimeo
• Myspace Video
• videos can also be hosted at many of the photo sharing sites (Picasa, flickr, webshots, etc.)

Making DVD movie discs to play in TVs. DVD data discs and video file formats used in the computer are not suitable for playing in the DVD player that may be attached to your TV. Special software is used to convert the video file and create the DVD disc format needed for viewing on a TV.
• DVD Flick (software for PC)
• iDVD (software for Mac)

More video information:
• Reviews - Books, Videos, Websites & Software - BRT Insights.

IceRocket Tags: landscape photography, action photography.
Tags: travel, music, video, movie, outdoors, photography.

Labels: video

 
Steve Eulberg produced this fabulous music video slideshow with powerful quotes from the writings of John Muir. The elegant mountain dulcimer music soundtrack (Owl Mountain Music) sets the mood for a virtual walk through one of nature's greatest cathedrals.



"In wilderness lies the hope of the world." John Muir.

For more information:
• Muir Woods National Monument - hiking to see the redwood trees - BRT Insights 24dec2010.
• Trailheads and map for Muir Woods National Monument - BRT Insights 26april2011.
• Hiking trails in Marin County - Marin Wiki.
• Hiking, Camping and Biking Trip Reports - BRT Insights.
• California Hiking Trails - Statewide Information.
• California Maps - Atlas & Gazetteer by Delorme, 2008.

IceRocket Tags: Muir Woods National Monument, hiking, trails, Mill Valley CA, Marin County, San Francisco Bay Area, California.
Tags: redwood trees, travel, music, video, outdoors, photography, landscape photography, mountain dulcimer.

Labels: hiking, video

I haven't been a big fan of whitewater river boating carnage videos, but this one has a great combination of video, music, lyrics and humor.



Ode to the Club Boater video by tgerencer1 22oct2010. Please make good or bad comments about the humor at YouTube where the video was originally posted.

Once the survival of the victim is assured I'm most interested to use carnage videos or photos as a learning experience for whitewater river boating safety skills. Should the boater have scouted, or portaged or run a different line through the rapid? Did the boater do the right things for self-rescue? Did the boating group do the right things to ensure a safe and efficient assisted rescue if necessary?

Please add comments to let us know your favorite whitewater boating carnage videos and the lessons, if any, that you learned from them.

More about:
• Critical reviews of books and videos for whitewater river kayaking - BRT Insights.
• Skills & Techniques for Whitewater River Kayaking & Freestyle Playboating.

IceRocket Tags: carnage video, whitewater video, boating safety.
Tags: kayaking, whitewater, river, paddle boating, paddlesport.

Labels: video

Play Daze [VHS video] "Recognizing that instructional techniques should evolve with boat designs, Play Daze introduces the skills needed to take full advantage of today's playboats. You'll learn how to front and back surf more effectively, spin on smaller waves, link endless cartwheels, and stun your friends with wave wheels or kick flips."

"Play Daze, by Ken Whiting and Chris Emerick. Playboating is all the rage these days, but despite how easy the pros make it look learning the moves takes time, dedication, proper technique and a flood of freestyle trial and error. Former World Rodeo Champion Ken Whiting’s instructional video, Play Daze, provides all that and more, taking paddlers from front surfing to kickflips and all points in between. Play Daze won the prestigious “Professional Instruction/Safety” class award at this year’s National Paddling Film Festival in Kentucky. It provides rodeo instruction for all levels of playboaters, starting with the basics of front surfing and balance, before moving on to advanced techniques. Play Daze offers the chance to learn from some of the best playboating instructors in the world. - Nate Johnson" (Paddler Magazine, june2000)

Three Golden Rules of Whitewater Kayak Playboating Technique.

The video explains three golden rules for kayaking: power the paddle via torso rotation, upper body and lower body work independently to control paddle and kayak, and control the kayak with an active paddle blade in the water. Then these important basic rules are applied to all of the kayak surfing and playboating skills.

Basic Moves for Kayak Freestyle Playboating.

The video describes front surfing, back surfing, stern squirts, side surfing, 360's, flat spins, and back desk roll.

Advanced Moves for Freestyle Kayaking in a Playboat.

The video describes cartwheels, splitwheels, flatwater cartwheels, wathunck, wavewheels, blunts, back stab, and kick flips.

The video does a good job of introducing many different playboating moves for whitewater river kayaking. A little more explanation of the progression of moves needed to complete some of these maneuvers would be helpful. The maneuvers zip by too fast when viewed at normal speed in the video. It would have been nice if the video replayed the maneuvers in slow motion with more narration. To get the most out of this video you need a video player that can run the video in slow motion so you can do your own detailed analysis of these maneuvers. I rate this video as good (*** 3 stars out of 5).

More about:
• Critical reviews of books and videos for whitewater river kayaking - BRT Insights.
• Skills & Techniques for Whitewater River Kayaking - Freestyle Playboating.

IceRocket Tags: kayaking.
Tags: kayaking, whitewater, river, paddle boating, paddlesports, playboating.

Labels: technique, video

SOAR - Skills On All Rivers: Intermediate and Advanced Kayaking Technique [VHS video] describes techniques for whitewater river kayaking with the modern short boat style of kayaks. "Just as kayak designs have evolved, so have the paddling techniques needed to take advantage of them. 'SOAR' follows some of the best paddlers in the world on a breathtaking journey to the Zambezi River in Africa and to the magical creeks of New Zealand while introducing the skills needed for intermediate and advanced kayakers to excel. Learn 'The Golden Rules of Kayaking', optimize your strokes, improve your creek boating, and polish your big water paddling."

Three golden rules for whitewater river kayaking paddling technique.

1. Separate the movements of upper and lower body. It is critical to be able to paddle with the upper body while independently using the lower body to steer and edge the boat with knee and hip action.

2. Torso rotation.
a.) Power paddle strokes with torso rotation. Torso rotation muscles provide your best power and endurance to power your paddle.
b.) Turn your kayak with torso rotation. With the new short kayak designs first look where you want to go as you wind up your torso. Second plant your paddle blade on the inside of the desired turn as a pivot. Third unwind your torso back to a neutral position while using torso muscles to pull the kayak into the desired direction. This is opposite of the old methods for long kayaks where we used the paddle on the outside of the turn to push the kayak into the desired direction!!

3. Keep an active paddle blade in the water at all times to maintain control of your kayak. Whenever there is no paddle in the water a modern short kayak can be knocked off course easily and quickly even by tiny waves or currents.

Optimizing your kayaking paddle strokes.

The video demonstrates how to apply the golden rules of kayak paddling to your sweep stroke, draw stroke and back stroke.

Advanced techniques for whitewater river running.

The video demontrates and discusses techniques for eddy turns, river running safety, creek boating, and big water boating.

I rate this video as outstanding (***** 5 stars out of 5).

More about:
• Critical reviews of books and videos for whitewater river kayaking - BRT Insights.
• Skills & Techniques for Kayaking on Whitewater Rivers.

IceRocket Tags: kayaking.
Tags: kayaking, whitewater, river, paddle boating, paddlesports.

Labels: technique, video

Essential Boat Control is "a music filled instructional video pushing the foundations of good kayaking. Created for the intermediate to expert paddler, this video is not a topical smattering of tricks to impress your friends. This is the REAL THING." Essential Boat Control - 1998 Winner - National Paddling Film Festival Commercial & Professional Winner: Instructional video category.

The video prologue warns that whitewater river kayaking is a risk sport and that no amount of training, skills and good teamwork can reduce the risk to zero. On the other hand, there is also unavoidable risk driving our cars to the river. Many people have concluded that the great rewards of whitewater kayaking outweigh the risks involved. The prologue also warns that just watching a video, even one as good as this, cannot make you an expert kayaker. Only practice time on the river in your kayak with the advice and help of expert kayakers will eventually enable you to learn the paddling techniques necessary to become an expert kayaker.

Essential Boat Control describes 3 important principles for whitewater kayaking: balance, speed control and direction control. These principles are applied to the paddling techniques for entering eddies and exiting eddies. Essential strategies for kayaking in and out of eddies: posture, controlling turns, controlling speed, vision, navigation timing, eddy turn variables, edging, front & back leaning, maintenance strokes, enhancement strokes, linking maneuvers, and boofing.

This video was produced in 1996 at the end of the long boat period, but the skills & techniques described are still relevant to the shorter kayaks that are currently popular for river kayaking. Some additional information from other sources is needed to take full advantage of the modern short kayaks. Nevertheless, I still rate this video as great (**** 4 stars out of 5).

More about:
• Critical reviews of videos and books for whitewater river kayaking - BRT Insights.
• Techniques & Skills for Whitewater River Kayaking - BRT Insights.

Tags: kayaking, paddle boating, paddlesports, whitewater, river.

Labels: technique, video

Full Circle [VHS video] chronicles a group of kayakers traveling around the world to kayak on some amazing creeks and rivers.

They visited the Zambezi River in Africa. They competed in a freestyle rodeo and used helicopter shuttles for some creek boating in New Zealand. They also ran steep creeks in Oregon, Tennessee, Ottawa Canada and Norway. The video also included some epic scenery on and off the river together with a great soundtrack.

I rate this video as great, a nice travelogue about kayaking on a number of remarkable rivers (**** 4 stars out of 5).

More about:
• In his own words Chris Emerick - paddlermagazine.com 01sept2006.
• Book & video reviews for whitewater river rafting, canoeing & kayaking - BRT Insights.

Tags: kayaking, paddle boating, paddlesports, whitewater, river.

Labels: video

WOW, river-lovers will LOVE it !!!

Whitewater Adventure on the Nile River. The Mystery of the Nile movie tells the story of the first descent via raft & kayak from the origin of the Blue Nile River at Lake Tana in Ethiopia all the way to the Mediterranean Sea near Alexandria, Egypt. Low level aerial photography provided spectacular views of the Nile River. I instinctively read the water for boating routes, obstacles, whitewater excitement, and places where portages would be needed. The movie describes the people in the boating team and some of the local people they met along the way. They also visited some interesting historical and archaeological sites. Whitewater kayakers, rafters & canoeists should see this movie !! Hopefully you can find this movie playing at an IMAX theatre. The giant IMAX movie screen and the throbbing, pounding sound system gets you as close to the whitewater river action as a movie possibly can. The movie tells a great story and provides great action and great scenery. (***** - my rating 5 stars out of 5 - outstanding!) There is also a Mystery of the Nile DVD version of the movie that you can watch at home and a Mystery of the Nile book that provides more pictures and descriptions of the journey.

DVD purchase. BOOK. DVD Rental. Mystery of the Nile - Netflix.

Geographic landmarks along the Nile River.

• Lake Tana, Ethiopia (N 12.04201 E 37.31918) origin of the Blue Nile River (A).
• Khartoum Sudan (N 15.59990 E 32.53326) confluence with the White Nile River (B).
• Aswan Dam, Egypt (N 23.96978 E 32.87727) (C).
• Nile R enters Mediterranean Sea (N 31.46147 E 30.37033) (D).

Map of the Nile River journey from the headwaters to the sea.

(To get a full-screen map - RightClick on the Google logo - Open link in new tab.)

More about: Videos, Books, & Websites for Whitewater River Kayakers, Rafters & Canoeists.

Tags: river, kayaking, whitewater, paddle boating, rafting.

Labels: book, video

Whitewater river excitement & water conservation issues displayed vividly in a big-screen format.

"Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk combines exhilarating river-rafting action on America's most iconic river, family fun and the grandeur of the Grand Canyon to tell an engaging story of how ordinary people can make a difference for our parched planet - one that is running out of clean, fresh water so fast that the U.N. estimates that 40% of the world could face life-threatening shortages by the year 2050." (MacGillivray Freeman's Grand Canyon Adventure : River at Risk.)

"Set against the immense backdrop of the majestic Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon Adventure will take IMAX Theatre audiences on an exhilarating river-rafting adventure down the Colorado River in the company of a team of explorers who are committed to bringing awareness to global water issues." (Grand Canyon Adventure - Esquire IMAX Theatre, Sacramento, CA.)

"The Grand Canyon, especially as seen from a boat, maximizes the potential of 3D film. From the splashy, water-droplets-in-your-face opening sequence to the sweeping red rock vistas, viewers can get a feel for the up and down motion of riding in the bow of a dory or what it's like to stare down the wave train at Lava Falls from behind the oars." (Grand Canyon Adventure - 3D Imax Film March 14, 2008 - Canoe & Kayak Paddling News.)

I haven't seen this one yet, but the trailer and the review in Canoe & Kayak sound great. IMAX 3D movie technology is incredible and I've totally enjoyed every other movie I've seen in this format.

Tags: water, water supply, water policy, river, whitewater, kayaking, paddle boating, rafting.

Labels: conservation, video

Reviews - Books, Videos, Websites & Software (subtopic)

Whitewater river kayaking is a paddlesport that we must learn by getting out on the river and doing it! Fun, safety and performance on the river can be improved by learning many kayak paddleboating skills, styles and strategies in advance.

Jump down to: Books, Videos, Websites & Software.

Book Reviews

• Hooked on Hiking: Northern California: 50 Hiking Adventures.
• American River Canyon Hikes - trail guides for Auburn State Recreation Area.
• Wildflowers of Table Mountain, Butte County, California.
• Hiking to Waterfalls in California - Books.
• Whitewater Rescue Manual - New Techniques for Canoeists, Kayakers and Rafters - 1995.
• Ultimate Guide to Whitewater Kayaking, 2004.
• California River Maps - Atlas & Gazetteer by Delorme, 2008.
• Essentials of River Kayaking, 2004.
• California Surfing Guidebooks & Travel Guides for the California Coast.
• Ocean Surf Kayaking Skills - paddlesports books & videos.
• The American River: North, Middle & South Forks, 1989.
• Sierra Whitewater - A Paddler's Guide to the Rivers of California's Sierra Nevada, 1974.
• Down the Wild Rivers- A Guide to the Streams of California, 1972.
• Paddler's Atlas of U.S. Rivers West, 1993.
• Klamath River Access Guide - From Road to River's Edge, 2004.
• West Coast River Touring - Rogue River Canyon and South, 1974.
• Canoer's Guide to the Wild and Scenic Middle Klamath River 4th edition, 2006.
• Ann Dwyer's Easy Waters of California North, 2000.
• Kayak: The New Frontier, second edition 2007.
• Canoeing and Kayaking Instruction Manual, 1987.
• California Rivers and Streams: The Conflict Between Fluvial Process and Land Use, 1995.
• America's Wild and Scenic Rivers - National Geographic Society, 1983.
• Performance Kayaking, 1990.
• Western Whitewater From the Rockies to the Pacific, 1994.
• The Bombproof Roll and Beyond, 1993.
• The Best Whitewater in California, Third Edition 1998.
• Paddling Northern California by Charlie Pike, 2001.
• DeLorme Northern California Atlas & Gazetteer 6th edition, 2003.
• DeLorme Northern California Atlas - Road Maps for Kayakers.
• Stretching for Paddling Boat Trips.
• California Whitewater - A Guide to the Rivers, 1995.
• Kayak - Animated Manual of ... Whitewater Technique, 1986.

Video Reviews

• Videos vs. Photos for Documenting Outdoor Adventure Trips.
• Muir Woods National Monument - Walk in the Redwood Forest Cathedral 29may2011.
• Ode to the Club Boater - whitewater river kayaking carnage video by tgerencer1.
• Play Daze, kayak playboating instructional video, VHS 1999 - review.
• SOAR - Skills On All Rivers: Intermediate and Advanced Kayaking Technique, VHS 2000.
• Essential Boat Control, whitewater kayaking instructional video, VHS 1996.
• Full Circle, kayaking action video, 2001 - review.
• Grand Canyon Adventure - 3D movie playing at IMAX theatre in Sacramento California.
• Mystery of the Nile River - IMAX movie review.

Website Reviews

• Use Google Street View to help plan your road trips and outdoor activities. • Webcams for Parks and Hiking Trails in California. • Waterfall Trails in Northern California USA.
• Waterfall Hiking in California - websites.
• Wiki Websites for Kayakers, Canoers & Rafters.
• Road Maps Online.
• Topographic Maps Online.

Software Reviews

• GIMP is a Powerful, Free Software for Digital Photo Editing. • Pixtra PanoStitcher software for panoramic photography of river canyon landscapes.
• IrfanView software for enhancement of digital photographs.
• Topo! mapping software for exploration of whitewater rivers and creeks.

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Labels: book, software, subtopic, video, website