Man in the Hat Dog Hiking

Snow Day!

A dog shaking off water is a little mesmerizing to watch in slow motion.

Snow Zoomies

Anyone ever wonder what it would be like to go for a ride on a dogs' back while they are sprinting? I think this vomit inducing video answers that question pretty well. I have tried to shoot this type of footage multiple times to get a steadier take but this is probably the best I am going to get without cropping the video so heavily that all you see is the back of her head. Turns out 'Crazy Legs' Freya is not a very stable platform to mount a camera to. No surprise there. My favourite part of this video is definitely her wildly flapping ears. It may be hard to look at in parts but I think this video captures the pure joy of a retriever during a chuck-it session quite well. I apologize for making you dizzy.

I was trying to encourage the dogs to parade past the camera by throwing a stick without much success. Turns out that chasing me is much better motivation.

The Nelly Cam. Turns out Nelly is not a very steady base to attach a camera to. I was 100% positive this would be the case given she always seems to be moving 10X faster than everyone else. I think slowing down the footage is entirely necessary for this kind of video to make it even slightly watchable and altogether less vomit inducing. I am probably more likely to take pictures from this perspective but I was curious what splashing through the water would look like from onboard an energetic dog's back.

Zane in all his glory

I was having a little fun with slow motion video today. I always wanted to capture Zane in the middle of a good shake-off and I finally caught one on video. I cut out the end part where he jumped up on me and put a paw print on my hat. Boy can jump! Such footage demands an epic soundtrack like the theme to 2001 A Space Odyssey. Since I would rather not pay royalties, I substituted a 30 second ditty I wrote on the keyboard. In my head I am hearing "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" though.

Gimbal Crash Test

Freya and possibly Hilde ran me over like I was a bowling pin in this sequence. The Gimbal made my falling on my backside look a little smoother than it actually was. The funniest part of this video for me is the supportive Cackling you can hear across the field from my wife who witnessed the collision.

Freya stares directly into your soul and winks

I actually found Freya's piercing stare made directly at the camera to be slightly unsettling to watch in slow motion.

Stamps Long River Trail Abbreviated Version

Maybe it was a little dizzying to speed up the hiking footage but I found it funny to watch the dogs running their little dog errands at 2x speed. They sometimes look like they have urgent business to attend to and other times seem to be running around completely at random. The music is me playing an old tune on multiple tracks with my keyboard. None of the instruments were live.

Jogging with the pack. Gimbal test.

I recently splurged on a gimbal because I was tired of unwatchable shaky footage. A gimbal is a means to mechanically stabilize camera shake for those who do not know. So far I would say it is a game changer, though there is a little bit of a learning curve. This was the first time I tried to use it with the dogs while running with them. There was a lot of my own breathing(panting) that got captured by the mic so I substituted some music I recently recorded on the classical guitar to add a nicer ambience.

Dog Charge!

Our favourite beach had no actually beach today but that did not stop the dogs from having a good time since the water is what makes it fun for them anyway. The novelty of shooting slow motion action videos of the pack may fade one day, but that day is not today.

Slow Motion Borks!

When I discovered my new phone is pretty good at slow motion I immediately thought of Zane. These two were very playful with each other today.

Slice of Life video from snowy hike

It was great fun having a larger crew along to play in the snow. This was definitely one of my top 10 favorite outings so far.

Sleepy puppy guitar serenade interrupted by big sister

Do any other musicians with dogs find the need to give their dog a go-away-bone when they are practicing to keep from being interrupted? Freya was being cute and cuddled up while I was practicing which naturally brought the camera out. Then Hilde came upstairs and proceeded to nerf my hand and attempt to clear the coffee table of music and camera. Maybe she is a music critic...