An awesome and powerful part of the trail, where the water picks up speed. The power of erosion is evident everywhere! I found it somewhat challenging to get a good "looking down" angle with the camera on the bottom of the "Poor Man's Steadicam"; of course I could have taken the camera off the device, but in real time filming, we just keep walking!
Katharine's slideshow of still photos
Kathy's slideshow of still photos
02:44
Taughannock State Park video without the "Poor Man's Steadicam"
Some beautiful forest, and a view of the falls from the overlook. Video of the signs explaining the geologic history of the area. You can hit "pause" if you want to read the signs.
The camera shy family, and probably the worst footage of the highest waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains (55` higher than Niagara Falls). I should have taken the camera off the "Poor Man's Steadicam" for this segment, and I need to get some protective yet translucent cover for the camera for heavy mist and light rain circumstances.
Different video environments for "Poor Man's Steadicam". A former abutment for something, now just sitting massively in the river. More "conventional" foot trail. Footprints in the water. The underside of a tree: what roots look like without dirt. Steep, glacier-carved cliffs. More "adventure" trail along the side of the river.
03:45
Taughannock State Park video: out of the river bed, back onto the trail, and back into the stream
You can't get the sheer steep cliff effect on video. The massive tree roots growing horizontally are just not awe-inspiring no matter how HDTV you set is. The camera continues to fly over the gentle steps of water, until I can go no further.
03:13
Taughannock State Park Falls video: lower falls and initial walk up stream
Literally walking up the stream, I didn't care for the water splashing up at the camera in it's low position on the "Poor Man's Steadicam". As I walked up the shallow river, I could imagine creative audio editing laying a helicopter soundtrack over this footage; except for the other park visitors walking in the stream bed, this illusion might work.
This segment contains one really long tracking shot, from puppy's eye level, running backward. Video camera still at the bottom of the "Poor Man's Steadicam". As noted in another segment, it was advantageous to have the camera's microphone away from my voice to prevent audio spikes on playback. The flip side to this issue is that the camera's microphone is close to my boots as I walk on the rocks, for a prominent "crunch, crunch, crunch" on playback. Lesson to be learned when camera is in the bottom position of the "Poor Man's Steadicam": walk on the grass! At the end of this segment, I had much better results in reaching down to smoothly zoom in.
01:52
Daisy the bulldog chasing the ducks, Taughannock State Park video
A long, smooth tracking shot, from the puppy's eye level. Watching the kids skip rocks, from the water's point of view! Really unique and visually interesting angles allowed with the "Poor Man's Steadicam". This is one of my favorite segments.
Daisy the English Bulldog sliding down the slide by herself! Silly puppy. Having the camera at the bottom position of the "Poor Man's Steadicam" allowed a lot of unique and smooth camera angles. As an added benefit, my voice was not so close to the camera's microphone, so there were not the usual spikes in audio during playback.
Camera still at the bottom of the "Poor Man's Steadicam". It took me a while to get into the "swing" of things, co-ordinating the camera movement with the kid's swinging. I wanted to catch their faces from below as they tried to fly like Superman. I got better towards the end.
Smooth tracking shots with camera still on the bottom of the "Poor Man's Steadicam", from the puppy's eye level. But, during the last segment of this clip, I tried to zoom out with the camera still connected. The video result, like the lake itself, is a bit choppy.
Katharine's slideshow of still photos
John's slideshow of still photos
It's much better in person. We're all a bit pooped from the climb, and there's more walking ahead.
Lots of stairs, this time going up! Camera still at the bottom of the "Poor Man's Steadicam". Another learning curve experience for me to walk up stairs, backwards, and keep the camera at the proper angle to see the subjects. This is why practice is necessary!
02:30
The steepest part of Upper Treman Falls The steepest part of Upper Treman Falls
Another descent down stairs, thru a variety of beautiful geology and forestry. Then begins our ascent up the other side of the gorge.
A long tracking shot down the stairs, actually running to catch up with my family. Fairly smooth results for such a harsh camera angle! I'm afraid it's better video of our puppy than of the beautiful Ithaca gorge.
An awesome and powerful part of the trail, where the water picks up speed. The power of erosion is evident everywhere! I found it somewhat challenging to get a good "looking down" angle with the camera on the bottom of the "Poor Man's Steadicam"; of course I could have taken the camera off the device, but in real time filming, we just keep walking!
The sign says "Built in 1853 and dedicated to Elijah Moore, son of an early settler, this bridge is the oldest covered bridge in daily use in New York State. Constructed at a cost of $800, the distinctive diamond pattern of the "Town Lattice Truss" is pinned together with trunnels, or "tree nails". The roof and siding serve to protect the structure from the ravages of nature. Popular in the 1800's because of plentiful and inexpensive timber, covered bridges or "timber tunnels" became places for social gatherings. This is the only remaining covered bridge in Tompkins County." As far as the "Poor Man's Steadicam", this was my first use, and is presented unedited. Pretty smooth up the stairs, although I think through years of practice, I walk on flat ground more steady without the "Poor Man's Steadicam". This footage is with the camera in the top position of the "Poor Man's Steadicam".
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