Create Epic Adventure Videos With These GoPro Tips
I have fallen in love with Photo Trekking, combining bike riding with landscape photography. I like to use an interchange lens camera for most of the still photography landscape images, but I also use many of the GoPro video tips I have learned for making some enjoyable videos to share.
I have also been enjoying the website of Trek’s #GoByBike campaign which showcases many still images and GoPro videos of other people who love photo trekking. Action cams and bike riding are a great match for anyone who enjoys these two activities, so GoPro tips and a GoPro tutorial will be beneficial for photo trekkers.
Choose the Right Action Cam
For epic photo trekking videos, you need to have a high quality action cam. For convenience sake, you also want some specific features which will enable you to make these videos easier.
For fulfilling those requirements, it’s hard to beat the GoPro line of action cams. While GoPro may not have invented the action can concept, they certainly have set the standard for capturing video footage and still images while engaged in some sort of activity.
One of their latest action cams exemplifies the ideas of providing useful features combined with extremely high quality, the GoPro HERO 9 Black. The quality is very high. It has high-quality optics with a sensor and built in processing engine that allows for 20MP still images, 5K video (that’s not a typo of 4K, we’re talking 5K!), and live streaming at 1080p.
Some of the other features that help make it easier to capture excellent video and stills from a bicycle ride are HyperSmooth stabilization, front display, rear touchscreen control, time lapse, super slo mo, and it’s waterproof to 33 ft straight out of the box. You can also access any GoPro video tutorial on the GoPro website.
Choose the Right Bike
Photo Trekking and the #GoByBike campaign are all about biking and getting you to the places to photograph. You should use the bike style that works for you, whether that’s mountain biking, road biking, or some mix of styles of riding.
For mountain biking and trail riding, you would be hard pressed to find a better bike than the Trek Remedy 9.9 trail bike. Some of the fantastic features of this bike are its durability, light weight with carbon fiber frame and wheels, dual suspension, and responsive controls.
Riding a top-of-the-line bicycle enables you to comfortably and safely find places to photograph or gather video footage. A smooth and secure ride also allows for action camera video footage that is enjoyable and watchable.
Trek Remedy 9.9 is an excellent bike for general purpose riding, too. When travelling by city street, country road, or mountain trail, the lightweight but strong frame and dual suspension provides responsiveness, comfort, and safety. You can read more about this fine bike in some of my earlier photo trekking articles.
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A Sturdy Mount
One of the foremost GoPro video tips for gathering superior video footage is to have your camera mounted properly. There are three basic methods I have used for filming GoPro videos: mounting to the bike frame, mounting to the bike handlebars, and mounting to my helmet. There are other mounts, but these three seem to work best for photo trekking.
Of the three, for filming GoPro video while riding, mounting to the handlebars seems to give the most realistic looking and easy to watch results. GoPro video tips on their website show several mounts that will work, I like the Pro Handlebar/Seatpost/Pole Mount. Unlike a clamp or magnet, this mount fits securely during hard riding and wet or cold conditions.
Stabilization
The GoPro HERO 9 Black has HyperSmooth stabilization to smooth out the vibrations and much of the jerkiness that happens when filming while actually riding. It’s also a good mode for filming while using the action cam on an extension arm or a hand grip.
You can also make a very interesting video while riding by incorporating stabilization with either time lapse or slo-mo modes. Check on the GoPro website for some great GoPro video tips on their tutorials.
Max Lens Mod
An ultrawide point of view is offered with this add on accessory for the GoPro Hero 9 Black. The GoPro Max Lens Mod gives you 155 degrees of viewing angle for an all encompassing view of the beautiful surroundings you encounter while riding to landscape photography locations.
As a landscape photographer, you know how important a good ultrawide lens is for capturing stunning views. The same holds true for video footage from an action cam like the GoPro cameras. Combined with HyperSmooth stabilization, your YouTube channel will fill up with subscribers wanting to see more from your photo trekking adventures.
Film In Bad Weather
photo by nullplus via iStock
Since the HERO 9 Black is already waterproof to 33 feet straight out of the box, you don’t have to worry about whether a rainstorm or snowfall will ruin your camera. Since we know how to protect our DSLR or mirrorless camera from the elements, we can also capture great footage while we’re travelling to the photo location we have in mind.
This is one of the simplest GoPro video tips I know of. Since the camera is definitely built for it, go ahead and use it for these difficult conditions. The images and video captured during bad weather are often some of the best captures of any photo trekking adventure.
Photo Trekking for Stills and Video
photo by ArtistGNDphotography via iStock
SInce we can capture stabilized, ultra high quality video without worry about weather or damage due to rough riding, we might as well take advantage of our freedom. Go By Bike and let us see your photos and videos of the fantastic sights you found.
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