Europe 2014 : The Videos

When I came home from our trip to Europe, I had 36GB of video footage to sort through, which is why it took me three weeks to edit these videos! But here they all are, in case you haven't seen them already over on my YouTube channel. I think Switzerland is my favorite one :)

This is the first time I've documented an entire trip through video instead of photos only. I was initially disappointed in the quality of the clips because I didn't realize I'd changed the settings and reduced the video quality on my camera somehow. That did me no favors when it came to camera shake, and I was bummed over the number of blurry and jumpy clips. But I reminded myself that I am still a newbie to video, and that the main purpose of these videos was to capture my trip in a unique way and try something new. I still think I achieved that, even if I still recognize what I could have done better.

I'm not sure if I'd choose video again for documenting a vacation in the future. Steadiness was the main issue, as I mentioned above. Also, my specific DSLR camera model makes it difficult to switch between video and manual photography (which is the way I shoot photos), so I found myself fumbling and wasting time whenever I wanted to grab a photo in addition to a video clip. I think a point-and-shoot camera would be much better for shooting video while traveling—it's no surprise that so many YouTube vloggers use point-and-shoot cameras when they are on the go. But I'd have to forgo creative control with settings and focus with a point-and-shoot camera, so every method has its pros/cons.

The other issue I had with video is that people see a DSLR and assume you're taking photos. So, I'd sometimes point the camera to take a video and people would freeze or try to stay out of my way, when all I wanted to do was capture the real mood and action of a scene. So that was frustrating. I don't really know how to be an inconspicuous video recorder yet.

I am glad to have these videos though, and I hope to put them all onto a CD to my family that I traveled with. It's a fun keepsake, even with its imperfections :)