GoPro Backpack Pole Mount

Whilst checking out Youtube for new and interesting stuff I came across this....

I've seen various short video's on the making of these backpack mounts, and think they are an excellent way of getting some really neat camera angles.

Rodger Dean has decided to take the idea one step further and try and manufacture and  sell his VuVantage Backpack mount as a complete unit. Rodger is using top end materials and like he says

 "You could buy parts of this product And still, no third person perspective"

I spoke to Rodger via email and he informed me his "Kickstarter project" wasn't going as quick as he planned but he does have a back up plan which is good to hear.

I for one would like to get my hands on one of his designs and go out and make a  movie you would hopefully find interesting, with some unusual camera angles.

Checkout the link below for more info

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vuvantage/backpack-pole-mount-for-action-cameras-gopro-or-co 

11"inch Variable Friction Magic Arm + Super Clamp

I've just ordered one of these off eBay.

It's an 11"inch Variable Friction Magic Arm + Super Clamp. I'm going to use it to attach my GoPro in various positions whilst I'm out taking video's, so hopefully get some nice unusual shots.

Adam the camera man from the BBC recommended it to me, so thanks for that Adam. It's a lot easier than fiddling with my current GoPro set up of attaching various mounts together to get an arm you can adjust. With the magic arm you can pop it where you want a with one turn of the screw it locks the whole arm in position.

Re -Magic Arm + Clamp

WoW that was pretty quick the Magic Arm arrived today. It's a very sturdy bit of kit and should make for some great angles, "watch this space" .My only concern is that the arm is so sturdy when it's clamped in place thatit could possibly dent or bend my frame in the event of a spill. This is something I'm going to have to keep an eye on.

Can't wait to see what angles and interesting shots I can get. I've got a covert movie making session planned  que evil laugh"Muhahahaha".

I will do a full review of the Magic Arm after I test it out, should be fun....

To ride or not to ride that is the question?

As the title says "To ride or not to ride, that is the question". Ok so whilst out for a walk with Ern (my dad) and Mr Hinks our slightly fruit cake of an English Bull terrier, we ventured out to an area which I won't disclose for a walk.

Though I had been to this place before I hadn't really explored it, however on having a look around yesterday I thought "wow this would make an awesome place to shoot a short Fat Bike movie". Now here's my dilemma, the actual place I'm talking about has signs up saying "No Horses or cycling". So on the one hand as a law abiding citizen the little angel on my shoulder is saying "No stick to the rules", yet on the other shoulder my little devil is saying " Be a rebel just go for it". I mean if I did go ride the trail I have seen it would be very early in the morning I'd like to catch a nice sunrise. Also I wouldn't be riding this area on a regular basis it would be a one off, just to get the shot I'm after.

So I don't know what to do, guess I'm looking for input from people, what do you think? Am I seriously impacting on the eco system by riding maybe an hour or two in this area. What will happen if I get caught will I be slapped with an Asbo or have to face criminal proceedings.

After a slightly elusive sunrise

I'm determined to catch a nice, or should I say beautiful sunrise. So far I've failed in my last couple of attempts. I used to be up at the crack of dawn when I worked as a postman, but that was years ago, before I became ill with my leg. Since then well I can find myself in bed till all hours of the morning and don't get to catch too many sunrises. Just lately however I've been getting up at silly o'clock like this morning for instance 4:00 AM and heading out on my bike.

 Last night I checked the weather on-line for our local area and from what I read I thought it was going to be a canny morning.......how wrong was I ? I had intended riding up to Consett to catch the sun coming up over the Hownsgill Viaduct and shoot a small movie with my GoPro.  Well to cut a long story short the weather was pants, very dull, lots of clouds, mostly of the miserable variety. I decided I wasn't going to let this ruin my day. So Kyle my son who had joined me on this early morning adventure thought about where we could go and capture a few photo's and a bit of movie footage. We decided to head towards Waskerley and the reservoir as we hadn't actually visited it before.

Once you start to get up into the moors and the area opens up, it's so beautiful over there. It's so peaceful down by the reservoir. I rode right down to the edge of the reservoir and got a little bit of footage and even had a bit plodge in the water at one point to capture some pics of my bike at the waters edge. I reckon we did around 35 miles or so today and had a really enjoyable time, even if the weather was caca doo doo.

 Oh one thing I'm not happy with is my new cycling shorts, the lycra padded variety. I bought a pair of Funkier 8 panel gel filled shorts thinking they would help me out in those long rides in the saddle. Boy how wrong was I, these particular brand or design of shorts are so uncomfortable for me and have actually chaffed me pretty bad on both my good side and socket side, so I think I'm going to have to invest in another pair from a different manufacturer. I've been sore in the saddle before but not like this Ouch lol !!!!

Here's a few photo's from today

I saw that some kind of work was being carried out on the Hownsgill Viaduct as there was a few barriers up. I then spotted this notice when heading over towards Waskerley Way near the farm.

Apparently some sort of fencing is being put in place in the hope it will stop people committing suicide off the viaduct, as it is a pretty well known area for people to actually jump off.

A Notice of work being carried out on the Hownsgill Viaduct

Me playing on my Sandman coming down a trail near the Viaduct

Kyle and me on our way up to Waskerley. Rowley Station was actually dismantled brick by brick and is now at Beamish Open Air Museum

Yeah I know it's just a gate, but the sky and trail leading off into the distance caught my imagination so I thought why not take a snap

Here are a few shots which I experimented with using different camera settings and a filter I got of my good friend Adrian. I took quite a flot of shots,  didn't want to bore you so only put up a few....

Sandman Hoggar Ti at the shore line of Waskerley Reservoir

In at the deep end lol

The sky was quite heavy with clouds, added to the shot though

Spent a morning with some fantastic guys from the BBC

Had a really enjoyable morning today. Three really nice guys from the BBC arrived where I live to do a short report on my use of the Bartlett  Tendon which I am sponsored on and to find out where things started in my mountain biking adventures.  Damian who is a Broadcaster and Journalist,was there to do the interview with me, Adam who is a video/camera man to take some footage and shots and David who is also a Broadcaster and Journalist tagged along for the experience.

Upon meeting the guys they were all very warm and friendly and we went over just what was going to happen during the course of the morning. They were fantastic guiding me through what needed to be done and offering lots of encouragement and reassuring me, making the tasks at hand easy to get on with.

I was very proud that I got great positive feedback on stuff I had shot, both photo and image wise. In fact Damian and Adam actually asked if they could copy some of my work over on to Adam's laptop as they may use it in doing the final news report.

Though very nervous about doing the interview (I'm not good in front of the camera) I felt it went well and was very pleased when Damian said it was spot on. I'm so thrilled to be actually able to get to thank those people and companies who have actually helped and supported me along the way and hope this kind of media stuff gives them a bit more recognition for the amazing work they do for others.

So in ending I would just like to say a huge thank you to Damian, Adam and David of the BBC. I really enjoyed meeting you all, your an excellent team and good to share a bit of banter with you.

And to those people and companies who have helped me so much over the past 5 years.

Pace Rehabilitation for your commitment and support when ever I have needed it.
  www.pacerehab.com

Brian Bartlett @ Leftsideinc for sponsoring me on your knee unit and taking care of me.
 www.leftsideinc.com

And to

Sandman Bikes for your excellent customer service, your always there to answer a query and your bike design is just awesome. I'm proud to be an ambassador for your company.
 www.sandmanbikes.com

A Sunset at Waskerley

Decided to head straight off up towards Waskerley on our return from Middlesbrough yesterday. I really wanted to try and catch a nice sunset on the reservoir up there but unfortunately we were a little late.

Never mind I did get  some shots, mind you I had to wade through the heather and almost fell a few times to get in position. It's real difficult walking at the best of time with this stoopid leg, but add confounded weeds,undergrowth and heather and well it's just not funny at all.....well maybe to others when I'm either goose stepping to get through the stuff or falling over as I've snagged my foot and my leg gives way unexpectedly lol.

Anyhoo hope you think the shots were worth it, all of the shots have the same basic composition I was messing around with different light settings,apertures etc.  I'm a total noob to this lol.

Near Waskerley on the moors

Whilst I was in Middlesbrough

I was invited along to BBC Radio Tees today to do an interview regarding my limb loss and to chat about my mountain biking and the unique sports knee, the Bartlett Tendon I am using.
After I had finished up at the Radio station I decided to go checkout the Tees Transporter Bridge and also have a look at the Newport Bridge which we had seen on the journey in.

Tees Transporter Bridge