September in Alaska #13 -- Go Pro Fun

Curious Bear

I recently got a Go Pro Hero 3, which I played with a little at home before the trip, including practicing using WiFi to activate it. Then, Scott gave me his Go pro Hero 4 (a better version) because he prefers to use his phone for video. 

So, I was all prepared to take some killer videos. The Bears at the Silver Salmon Creek Lodge gave me the opportunity. I did get some great stuff, but I learned a few hard lessons. 

One, and I learned this Whale-watching, Go Pro is VERY wide angle. It makes things look very far away. It is good for vistas ...

Distant Bear

But much better for close-up.

Second, I knew that WiFi eats battery, but I had no idea how quickly. So, I had to turn if off a lot. Occasionally, it lost the link and I hard to re-establish it. That's hard to do when you have a subject that's potentially deadly and may run away right in front of you.

What's this?

A good plan

Third, the WiFi reach is very limited. So, when we had everything working and we staked the Go Pro beside a dead salmon hoping to attract a Bear, I couldn't tell if the thing was on or not once I had backed a safe distance away

Once again, once a Bear shows up, you can't go check!

Fortunately it was on part of the time and I got three very cool videos. 

It is three separate videos instead of one because I kept turning it on and off without realizing it. 

The last was a gem (and yes, the end is edited; I don't think two minutes of sand before Dave retrieves it is very interesting).

Unfortunately, we couldn't get it to turn on when Crimpy Ear sniffed and licked the camera! 

The camera didn't turn on!!

Lesson learned, now I think I will just turn it on and not rely on WiFi for distant shots. 

Just walkin'

That's what we did for this cool walk-by shot.

And, I got another walk-by ...

Bear on the beach

... and some beach fun ...

Crimpy ear and her cubs

But, it doesn't compare to still photography.

I still like stills better

Trip date: September 10-21, 2015