I made a video teaser (preview) of the new clip, because of the novel way it was recorded. I’m not sure everyone will like the body-cam effect. I like it, but I also intend to work on improving it. This is the first real clip where it was used. Check the trailers page for all of my teaser/trailers. Here is the direct link to the 2014-02-14 clip.
Testing the New Camera
Or, more specifically, testing a new camera rig that mounts on my body, so the camera follows me, wherever I may roam.
In the first video image on the left, I am walking and the camera is hovering in front of me. The camera is very small and lightweight. It is also waterproof, and has a very wide field of view. It can be mounted almost anywhere.
It was about 50 degrees Fahrenheit, today. The low tide was just after noon, so I took advantage of the coincidence of decent weather and a midday low tide to test the camera support rig that I completed yesterday. The rig is designed so I can have the camera follow me, while I slog through the swamp. I can’t go much deeper than waist deep without dipping the camera into the mud, but once I’m in past my crotch, I’m not going to be moving much, so I don’t need a special rig to follow me.
The image on the right shows the view when the camera is behind me, and I’m leaning forward. As I lean forward, the camera moves higher and points more downward, because the rig is attached to my shoulder.
It works in reverse when the camera is in front. When I lean back, the camera moves higher and points more downward, as you can see in the video frame on the left. You may notice the shadow
of the camera and it’s support, on the left edge of this video frame. I can’t lean forward much with the camera in front, without pushing the camera into the mud. I anticipate that you’re going to get a rear view when I’m really struggling through deep mud.
Be sure to click on the thumbnail images to see the full video frame. The new camera takes some very nice video, for such a small device. I edited some video to share with everyone. I am waiting for it to transcode, as I type this. When I get the video on-line, you’ll hear the one major problem I have with this setup. The camera’s microphone picks up very little, other than the noises made by the rig as I move, and as the camera brushes against the grass. I will need to address the audio problems before I can use the camera for production, but I still have some time before mudding season officially begins. I expect to have the video on-line soon.
Categories: General mudding
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Cold snap!
The jet stream that brought extreme cold to the midwest and eastern U.S. is lifting, so relief is in sight. The forecast isn’t calling for mudding weather, but it does call for milder temperatures. I must say, I’m relieved, because 15 degrees Fahrenheit (-9.5C) is extremely cold for the area where I live. Lots of things that aren’t supposed to freeze, did. Also, I have a finite supply of firewood for the season, and I’ve been going through it like there is no tomorrow.
Thanks to all of you who have continued to purchase my old videos, while it’s just too cold to make new ones. I hope everyone who has been affected by this extreme weather has come through without too much damage. That goes for everyone in the world, who is suffering from extreme weather. I’m afraid we’re turning a new page in our climate history, and worse yet, the people most affected by it, are the ones least responsible for it.
I did the “Polar plunge” on January 1 in 53F (11.5C) water. If we get some mild weather on a day when the low tide is near midday, I’m hoping to do a polar mud plunge! 😉 What can I say? I’m just dying to get back out there.
Categories: General mudding
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November Mud
The weather has not been conducive to swamping, most of this week. Today, however, the low tide was about 90 minutes before sunset, and the weather was pleasant. Tonight is a full moon, so the tide was very low and lasted longer than I could stay out, thanks to impending darkness, and the associated temperature drop. I do wish I had stayed out longer, but it’s probably best that I got cleaned up and dressed before dark.
Anyway, I fell into some mud, several times. I had a bit of fun, and a bit of a struggle. I got completely covered in mud, and I sank up to my chest a couple of times.
I’m completely exhausted, right now. So, I’m going to keep this short and get ready for bed. I’ll add a few video frames for you to enjoy. I’ll release the video as soon as I can find time to get it ready.
Categories: Deep Mud Adventures
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Trout Season
I ran into 3 fishing boats on my way out, today. I asked one of the fishermen what they were trying to catch, and he responded, “trout”. Well, that explains it, doesn’t it? Everyone loves the speckled trout. But I digress.
So I picked a spot where I could clean up without first paddling out onto the main creek. I set up a scene where my kayak gets grounded and I have to step out onto the muddy flat to push it off. It turns out the mud is deeper and softer than I anticipated (it actually was, by the way). I lost my grip on the kayak, which drifted out of reach, and I was left in the middle of the treacherous mud, with nothing to grab onto. 
Needless to say, this saga didn’t end well. I had planned on making it a “stuck” video, with me sinking up to my armpits in the thick mud and hoping someone would rescue me before the tide came in and drowned me. As it turned out, the tide took a little longer than I expected, so I sank a bit deeper than I had planned.
My biggest challenge with this video will be deciding how to edit it. The video will be over 30 minutes long, if I let the entire saga unfold in real time. That makes a rather expensive video. I may look for creative ways to trim it down some.
Categories: Deep Mud Adventures
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A Brief Return to the Swamp
It got pretty warm today. The low tide was around midday. The sky was mostly overcast, but there was only a light breeze, so I had to make a dash for it and hope for the best. The image on the left illustrates the wardrobe I chose for the occasion.
When I arrived at the creek, the tide level was pretty low, so I was emboldened by the possibility of playing in some of my favorite mud. I hustled to my really deep mud spot, but I wasn’t sure the tide would be low enough for that spot. Paddling to the mud hole, I gauged that the tide was not still going out, which gave me a clue that the tide would soon be coming back in. I wonder if my tide table is running a bit late this time of year. I really should put together a spreadsheet of actual tide observations vs. the tide chart, over the course of a year or two, so I can learn from my experience. The tide chart I use is just a rough approximation, because my play spots are 4 to 6 miles from the ocean, if you follow the creek. That creates a time delay, so I use a chart for a different location that seems to match pretty closely to what I observe … most of the time.
Okay, enough about the damn tide. It took me a while to decide what to do, but I knew I wouldn’t have much time, so I decided to make due with the first location I visited and shoot an “explorer” video. Of course, my explorers seem to gravitate towards deep quicksand (or quickmud, if you will), but that’s just an occupational hazard for a mud enthusiast.
I shot a few minutes of exploration scenes before I got trapped in quickmud and drowned. The saga will be mercifully short; partly because the tide was coming in by the time I got to the final scene, and partly because the mud I drowned in was the thinner stuff, which makes for a pretty quick sink.
By the time I was climbing out of the mud, I heard a voice from the creek. It was coming from a spot with a clear view of where I had to emerge, still muddy and wearing really short shorts with no underwear. Once I got my gear loaded, I paddled as quietly as I could down the narrow canal leading to the creek, listening to the voice and hoping I’d get a break. As it turned out, they moved up the creek to the spot where I would have cleaned up. I decided to clean up just around the corner from them, as much as I could, and paddle back up the shallow canal to get dressed. I was standing, up to my waist in water, and up to my knees in mud, when the fishing boat came around the corner, and I was face to face with two curious fisherman. They were friendly, and we exchanged a few words. I told them I was muddy from having been up the channel, shooting video, and I was washing off. All of that was true, although I left out some details. I got washed up well enough to get back in my boat and paddle up the creek to a more private spot. The first two fisherman didn’t really get to see what I was wearing from the waist down. As luck would have it, I paddled right into another fisherman, still dripping wet and clearly wearing very short cut-offs. I’m pretty sure my junk wasn’t hanging out anywhere, but I couldn’t be too sure. I exchanged greetings with the third fisherman and paddled past him. A few minutes later I arrived at a private place with a sandy bottom where I could strip, get clean, and get dressed in dry clothes. There was probably a deer hunter in a nearby tree, watching me.
The image on the right is how I looked when I was done shooting.
Categories: Deep Mud Adventures, Total immersion
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Thick Mud in Speedos
The tide wasn’t as low as I would have hoped, today, but it was low enough to expose some really thick mud for about an hour. I exploited that window of opportunity and got very muddy!
The first image (top left) is the setup for the movie I shot. Here you see an exhausted swimmer(?) approaching high ground to take a break. Little does he know, he is heading for quicksand.
After shooting the movie, I had a few minutes left to play in the mud. The image on the right shows me, doing a headstand in the mud. I could have used a wider camera angle, but this happens sometimes when there is no camera operator.
The last image I’m including in this blog entry is the final shot, where I tried to capture some cleanup action. Once again, I didn’t zoom out enough with the camera (I was almost blind when I set up this shot), so all I got worth showing is the 15 seconds where I’m sliding across the mud to get to the water.
The spot I visited today is about a 4 mile, round trip, paddle. So, I got a pretty decent paddle and a vigorous workout in the thick mud. I’d say it was a good trip, albeit a little short. You know what they say, a bad day in the swamp beats a good day in the office!
By the way, the weather has been warm and sunny this week. You couldn’t ask for better weather for getting muddy.
Categories: Deep Mud Adventures, Inversion, Total immersion
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