Living the GoPro Life
September 15, 2014 10:18 AM Subscribe
This is why I gave up my photography hobby. I was so busy going cool places to get the shot, that I wasn't just enjoying being there. The hobby had become editorial, rather than experiential.
posted by notsnot at 10:30 AM on September 15, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by notsnot at 10:30 AM on September 15, 2014 [4 favorites]
The title is a reference to this, which in turn is a reference to the first line of The Berlin Stories. So . . . well played, actually.
posted by The Bellman at 10:46 AM on September 15, 2014
posted by The Bellman at 10:46 AM on September 15, 2014
I hoped the article would go into a little bit more detail of how wearing GoPros could change other experiences beyond sports other than the police.
I've started wearing a GoPro while out doing field geology, especially when I'm drawing stratigraphic columns of rock outcrops. At this point I possess hundreds of hours of the most boring footage possible, but it's been invaluable to me when I've had to work fast and later had to go back to check a detail or think there's something wrong with the data I thought I observed. There's a 3D element to it that photographs can't capture very well. Since interpretations can be wrong, there's invaluable data to be had there. (But there's a point when there could be too much data, definitely.)
I like to envision some kind of powerful internet storehouse where one day professionals and students could go see thousands of videos and images of important rock outcrops in places they might never see. It doesn't replace going there, but seeing a video of an entire rock outcrop that has a place in a groundbreaking paper or ongoing project would be really cool.
It would have been neat if the article had gone more into similar experiences in other professions or hobbies other than the standard approach of how constant image capturing affects our memories and experiences. Especially when people have long been trying to capture as much of their experiences as possible, whether it was keeping and publishing their journals, or hiring painters and photographers to accompany them - GoPros are only the latest technology.
posted by barchan at 10:54 AM on September 15, 2014 [3 favorites]
I've started wearing a GoPro while out doing field geology, especially when I'm drawing stratigraphic columns of rock outcrops. At this point I possess hundreds of hours of the most boring footage possible, but it's been invaluable to me when I've had to work fast and later had to go back to check a detail or think there's something wrong with the data I thought I observed. There's a 3D element to it that photographs can't capture very well. Since interpretations can be wrong, there's invaluable data to be had there. (But there's a point when there could be too much data, definitely.)
I like to envision some kind of powerful internet storehouse where one day professionals and students could go see thousands of videos and images of important rock outcrops in places they might never see. It doesn't replace going there, but seeing a video of an entire rock outcrop that has a place in a groundbreaking paper or ongoing project would be really cool.
It would have been neat if the article had gone more into similar experiences in other professions or hobbies other than the standard approach of how constant image capturing affects our memories and experiences. Especially when people have long been trying to capture as much of their experiences as possible, whether it was keeping and publishing their journals, or hiring painters and photographers to accompany them - GoPros are only the latest technology.
posted by barchan at 10:54 AM on September 15, 2014 [3 favorites]
"This is why I gave up my photography hobby. I was so busy going cool places to get the shot, that I wasn't just enjoying being there. The hobby had become editorial, rather than experiential."
I understand that completely and have felt the same way many times. Frequently I will rush to some location to get a shot and after I'm sure I have it I make myself stand there, camera back in the bag, and try to appreciate what called me to shoot in the first place. A moment of silence in recognition of the photograph you've just taken and the world that provided it for you is a minuscule price to pay, and yet I have a hard enough time doing that when I'm on foot and able to stand still. It's almost impossible to imagine what a sparking hissing buzzing hive my brain would be if I were constantly concerned about capturing the moment while in motion, never able to silence it for a moment and contemplate where I am, since the where is always shifting. My brain is not wired for that; I feel like I would quickly blow the fuse that prevents obsessive behavior.
posted by komara at 11:21 AM on September 15, 2014
I understand that completely and have felt the same way many times. Frequently I will rush to some location to get a shot and after I'm sure I have it I make myself stand there, camera back in the bag, and try to appreciate what called me to shoot in the first place. A moment of silence in recognition of the photograph you've just taken and the world that provided it for you is a minuscule price to pay, and yet I have a hard enough time doing that when I'm on foot and able to stand still. It's almost impossible to imagine what a sparking hissing buzzing hive my brain would be if I were constantly concerned about capturing the moment while in motion, never able to silence it for a moment and contemplate where I am, since the where is always shifting. My brain is not wired for that; I feel like I would quickly blow the fuse that prevents obsessive behavior.
posted by komara at 11:21 AM on September 15, 2014
I own a GoPro, and I'm squarely in their target market -- my seasons are generally divided into kayaking, mountain biking, and snowboarding. References here and here and here. I thought the article was a pretty good one, though some things bear pointing out.
I think the key bit that the article mentions a bit in passing is that the experience is very different for a pro athlete, whose income depends in large part on media exposure, and someone like me who just likes shooting video for fun. The Jacksons (of Jackson Kayak) depend on a nearly continuious stream of new media to promote their brand, and I expect Aaron Chase does as well. If they miss a once-in-a-lifetime shot it likely impacts their income levels. If I miss a shot, not so much. I've had a number of times where I've done something I thought was cool and realized I hadn't turned on my camera, and I never gave it more thought than "aw, wish I would have grabbed that. oh well."
The lightness and durability of these cameras is also touched on, but it bears repeating. GoPros not only brought high quality video down to an everyman price point, but the size and durability are both what really make them shine. I actually was hiking Copper Mountain over the weekend to try and find my buddy's GoPro that broke off while he was skiing a big stand of trees over the winter. Miraculously, we found it still intact and in good working order after six months of weather and freeze and thaw cycles in the Colorado Rockies.
posted by craven_morhead at 11:39 AM on September 15, 2014 [3 favorites]
I think the key bit that the article mentions a bit in passing is that the experience is very different for a pro athlete, whose income depends in large part on media exposure, and someone like me who just likes shooting video for fun. The Jacksons (of Jackson Kayak) depend on a nearly continuious stream of new media to promote their brand, and I expect Aaron Chase does as well. If they miss a once-in-a-lifetime shot it likely impacts their income levels. If I miss a shot, not so much. I've had a number of times where I've done something I thought was cool and realized I hadn't turned on my camera, and I never gave it more thought than "aw, wish I would have grabbed that. oh well."
The lightness and durability of these cameras is also touched on, but it bears repeating. GoPros not only brought high quality video down to an everyman price point, but the size and durability are both what really make them shine. I actually was hiking Copper Mountain over the weekend to try and find my buddy's GoPro that broke off while he was skiing a big stand of trees over the winter. Miraculously, we found it still intact and in good working order after six months of weather and freeze and thaw cycles in the Colorado Rockies.
posted by craven_morhead at 11:39 AM on September 15, 2014 [3 favorites]
From the article linked by the man of twists and turns:
posted by Fizz at 12:18 PM on September 15, 2014
She is a cyborg anthropologist, exploring how humans and technology interact.Greatest business card ever.
posted by Fizz at 12:18 PM on September 15, 2014
. . .the size and durability are both what really make them shine.
You've hit on what makes them so amazing. The size is important, and their mountability, but the number of videos out there standing as testament to their ability to withstand an incredible amount of abuse is what helps the cameras sell themselves. At this point it's hard to be incredulous at what they've gone through and survived. To outdoors people, the ability to withstand abuse makes a reputation really quickly.
posted by barchan at 12:32 PM on September 15, 2014
You've hit on what makes them so amazing. The size is important, and their mountability, but the number of videos out there standing as testament to their ability to withstand an incredible amount of abuse is what helps the cameras sell themselves. At this point it's hard to be incredulous at what they've gone through and survived. To outdoors people, the ability to withstand abuse makes a reputation really quickly.
posted by barchan at 12:32 PM on September 15, 2014
I'm in their target market too with the mountain biking and sailing and snowboarding and whatnot and they're pretty neat. I have a knockoff version, its much cheaper and does pretty much the same thing. Its a way to share with people, like my parents what I do for fun. Pro videos can be misleading because of the giant risks they take. I'm not taking massive drops or jumps or anything like that so showing my videos puts them at ease. Its also a good way to share your love of a sport without boring somebody to death with jargon or explanation. Here's a 5 second clip of this thing I learned the other day and 20 seconds of me failing at it.
Its pretty easy to set up and get a decent photo or video out of it which is nice if you just want a record of yourself and your friends doing something cool once in a while.
posted by captaincrouton at 1:03 PM on September 15, 2014
Its pretty easy to set up and get a decent photo or video out of it which is nice if you just want a record of yourself and your friends doing something cool once in a while.
posted by captaincrouton at 1:03 PM on September 15, 2014
barchan: I've started wearing a GoPro while out doing field geology, especially when I'm drawing stratigraphic columns of rock outcrops. At this point I possess hundreds of hours of the most boring footage possible...
Oh, ho! I think I can top that: at Disney World last month I saw a tourist with a GoPro on the end of a "selfie stick" (ugh) who was carefully keeping the camera just a few inches above the ground.
The result would of course be hours of magnified pavement racing by, with SO MANY INTERESTING THINGS happening at the very top edge of the screen, all foreshortened and distorted. Watching it would be maddening. We guessed that he was making a "dog's POV tour or the Magic Kingdom" to be sold online, which would be kind of sad but I guess OK albeit kind of a waste of money.
But then my cynical side kicked in and I realized he might be grabbing up-skirt shots whenever he thought no one was looking. *sigh* I sure hope it's a video for dogs.
posted by wenestvedt at 1:35 PM on September 15, 2014
Oh, ho! I think I can top that: at Disney World last month I saw a tourist with a GoPro on the end of a "selfie stick" (ugh) who was carefully keeping the camera just a few inches above the ground.
The result would of course be hours of magnified pavement racing by, with SO MANY INTERESTING THINGS happening at the very top edge of the screen, all foreshortened and distorted. Watching it would be maddening. We guessed that he was making a "dog's POV tour or the Magic Kingdom" to be sold online, which would be kind of sad but I guess OK albeit kind of a waste of money.
But then my cynical side kicked in and I realized he might be grabbing up-skirt shots whenever he thought no one was looking. *sigh* I sure hope it's a video for dogs.
posted by wenestvedt at 1:35 PM on September 15, 2014
To be completely honest, I now wish I'd bought a GoPro before the trip so I could have made movies of all the rides we were on, even though watching them would be nauseating. (The raw footage of pushing through crowds and standing in line, however, I can live without.)
posted by wenestvedt at 1:37 PM on September 15, 2014
posted by wenestvedt at 1:37 PM on September 15, 2014
She is a cyborg anthropologist, exploring how humans and technology interact.
Greatest business card ever.
You can find out more about Amber Case from the links here. I could have sworn there was a MeFi post about her some time ago, but if there was I can't seem to find it now.
posted by homunculus at 3:47 PM on September 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
Greatest business card ever.
You can find out more about Amber Case from the links here. I could have sworn there was a MeFi post about her some time ago, but if there was I can't seem to find it now.
posted by homunculus at 3:47 PM on September 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
In 1999, during the dot-com boom, Woodman, a recent graduate of the University of California at San Diego and the son of a prominent Bay Area banker, started an online video-game company called Funbug. It failed two years later, amid the dot-com crash, and Woodman, embarrassed over having lost other people’s money, decided to take six months off to surf and travel with his girlfriend. While in Indonesia, in 2002, he struck up a friendship with another surfer, named Brad Schmidt. They were both intrigued by the problem of how to get pictures of themselves riding waves. At this point, Woodman’s innovation was a wrist wrap fashioned from the ankle end of his surfboard leash, to which, using rubber bands, he affixed a disposable Kodak camera in a waterproof case. He had a sense that the wristband could be marketable, but soon realized, after trying various cameras, that it would get complicated, with regard to licensing and legal permission. So he went to China to have a camera made to his specs.
Object lessons of the rich rend a chagrin of a breadth I can scarcely convey...
posted by lazycomputerkids at 5:42 PM on September 15, 2014 [4 favorites]
Object lessons of the rich rend a chagrin of a breadth I can scarcely convey...
posted by lazycomputerkids at 5:42 PM on September 15, 2014 [4 favorites]
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