The Traveling Widower

Tag: cameras

  • GoPro Mission 1 Pro – My Latest Toy

    Front view of a GoPro camera with a protective case and strap, resting on a dark wooden surface.

    I want it all,
    I want it all,
    I want it all,
    And I want it now
    Queen

    June 12th, 2026

    Warning – this is a bit geekish about cameras.

    I’ve been complaining for quite some time (more like whining) about lugging my heavy Sony mirrorless camera around in caves, or other awkward places, such as trying to photograph pretty much anything from a Zodiac (small, rigid, inflatable boat). I’m willing to twist myself into a pretzel with a 500mm lens when photographing whales, bears or sea lions from small boats, but what I really need in most of these situations, is a rugged, waterproof, point and shoot camera, something that would fit more or less in a pocket. I had something close to what I needed with the Sealife underwater camera, but I wound up selling that – the camera technology was dated, it had a small sensor, and you could not buy replacement batteries for it. I also own a GoPro Hero 13, which I have used quite a bit, mostly for snorkeling – definitely waterproof, and has a reasonably sized sensor, but was difficult to use (for me at least) – it was feature rich, but the user interface was difficult to use, mostly due to the small screen size and complex menu system.  

    I had been considering buying the OM System (formerly Olympus) TG-7 – a very rugged, waterproof point and shoot camera, but much like the Sealife camera (same size), it was dated technology with a sensor even smaller than the GoPro. There have been rumors of OM releasing a new, improved version, but not in the immediate future. Bummer. I really wanted something to use for the upcoming Iceland trip (many caves), Patagonia (a very wet waterfall adventure) and for snorkeling in the Sea of Cortez in December. 

    Waahhh. I want it now!

    An older man sitting on the floor in a camera store, expressing frustration with his hands raised, surrounded by onlookers. A sign reads 'Temporarily Out of Stock: GoPro Mission Pro' near various camera products displayed.

    My temper tantrum worked. GoPro came to the rescue a few weeks ago, when they announced availability of a new product – the Mission 1 series of action cameras. This is a slightly larger version of the Hero product line, with a much larger sensor (1”, 50mph), a larger display screen, and many new features. That sounded interesting but not enough to get me to buy one until I noticed that there were three options for the product, a Pro model with even more features, and which also included a “grip” model. This was a casing that the camera fit into, which basically created a point-and-shoot camera. Bingo! That pretty much covered everything I was looking for – a high-end, rugged, waterproof (up to 60’) action oriented point and shoot camera. So of course, I ordered one.

    As with most electronics, there were only limited instructions in the package. Basically, turn it on, and then follow the instructions on your phone or tablet. Better yet, I did a quick search on YouTube and found a few really comprehensive tutorials for this camera, which is amazing since it has only been out for a few weeks. It’s a very feature rich camera, with many configurations for each shooting mode (photo, video, slow-motion, low-light…). The menu is even more complex than the Hero 13, but the larger screen makes it easier to negotiate. The camera alone is a bit larger than the Hero, as you can see in the photo’s below:

    Two GoPro action cameras positioned side by side on a wooden surface.
    Two GoPro cameras side by side on a wooden surface, showing their sleek black designs and control buttons.

    The grip frame is interesting – the camera slides in easily, and has a nice firm feel to it. Just like a “real” camera. The grip also comes apart, making for easy packing…something important for me and all my strange travels. Exactly what I was looking for. There is no view finder – you just use the live screen image on back (or front for selfies) of the camera. A true point-and-shoot.

    A GoPro camera positioned on a marble surface, featuring a protective lens cover, a display screen, and an attached grip for stabilization.
    A GoPro camera displayed with an external battery, a protective case, and a strap, placed on a light marble surface.
    A GoPro camera with a protective case, laid on a marble surface. The camera features a front display and a strap attached for secure handling.

    I plan to have it configured and gain familiarity with it before I leave for Iceland. I am planning to use this in the many caves we will be touring, especially on my solo visit to the big magma chamber (Inside the Volcano) I’ve scheduled for my second day in Reykjavik. 

    A deep mine shaft illuminated by a beam of light, featuring a suspended platform surrounded by rocky walls.

    Speaking of Iceland, I received an updated itinerary and have spent some time going through it. For once, I thought it might be a good idea to be a little prepared for what lies ahead. This should be a crazy trip. My first two days are on my own, and I’m doing a whale/puffin tour from the Reykjavik harbor the morning I arrive in Iceland. The second day will be the “Inside the Volcano” tour. The day after is the start of the National Geographic tour – the other 14 people show up that day, and we head off to the Blue Lagoon for a soak in the thermal pool. There will be two more thermal pool soak opportunities on the trip. The rest of the trip wanders about Iceland by bus, visiting a bunch of well known tourist locations, and some lesser known spots as well. Many waterfalls, volcanic features, lava tubes, two small islands, geysers, many birds, and a whale watching trip. Unfortunately, they dropped my absolute favorite stop – a herring processing plant. I do like pickled herring – I was really looking forward to that. I’ll be consoled if I get to see (and photograph) some puffins. Almost as cute as Screech Owls.

    A puffin standing on a rocky surface, showcasing its black and white plumage and distinctive orange beak.
    Not my photo, I can only hope

    All the hotels have WiFi, so I may do a post or two while I’m there. Unlike the expedition cruises I’ve been on, this trip is not as adventurous – more time to relax I hope. 

    Peace

  • Sleepless in Moab

    A man resting his head on a laptop at a desk in a hotel room, with a bed in the background and a water bottle on the table.

    April 19th, 2026

    I’m beginning to feel like I’m back working in one of the IT jobs early in my career where I was on-call for software issues 24X7, and something went wrong every night. I remember one time where my wife found me at 2AM, sleeping on the floor with the phone in my hand and someone calling out “Rich, are you still there?” This was the fifth straight night of star photography in the park. On Saturday I was in a daze most of the day, until I had a nice 2 hour nap before we headed out at 11:30PM. That turned into something of a wash – cloud cover, and competition for a prime location, but I did get some nice milky way and start shots. We did not get back to the hotel until 5AM though. I managed to sleep until 10:30 on Sunday, and lazed around a bit. I missed the hotel breakfast, and the one or two restaurants that have all day breakfast were packed. I wound up with a cup of coffee at the hotel, and went out later for a real power lunch – some pretty good gelato with a good cup of coffee. 

    I spent most of Sunday just working through photos, and then had another Lightroom and software presentation from our trip lead. I had a hard time keeping my eyes open (not due to boredom….it was a great session). Since everyone else is checking out and heading home on Monday, our plans for Sunday evening were to have a relatively short Milky Way session at midnight and be back by 3AM. That would be an almost normal evening. But not much. 

    Once again, the clouds did us in. We set up our gear in a parking lot, hoping to get the full Milky Way arch on the horizon. Unfortunately, there were low clouds that just did not want to move, so our smaller group just hung around, talking and trying different techniques until about 2AM. I played with different combinations of shutter speed and ISO – in order to print larger formats, you need to try and keep the star shapes closer to round, and in order to do that, you need a faster shutter speed. But you then have to compensate for the reduction in light with a higher ISO which increases noise. So, I tried various combinations which I can work with later on using Lightroom. I’m just getting up to speed with this application – it’s complicated and powerful, and a lot of editing needs to be done on the low-light photos. Here’s an example of one – the base RAW image just shows a starry sky, with the outline of the rock feature. There are a lot of steps involved to make the foreground visible. The workshop instructor gave us a few demonstrations, and also sent us a “cheat sheet” of the workflow he follows. Absolutely invaluable.

    A starry night sky illuminates a rugged rock formation in the foreground, creating a dramatic contrast against the countless stars above.

    I takes a while for me to create just one of these. so I’ll wait until I get home and can use my big screen iMac for the processing, One funny thing about this image – camping is only allowed in one area in the park. But some guy decided to park his van along the road, right in front of this feature. it showed up perfectly clear when I finished process and immediately cropped it out. We probably kept him up until we finally left.

    Like I said in a previous post, this was a technical workshop – I really did learn a lot about my camera, and how to use it in low-light scenarios. Time well spent.

    It’s always hard when one of these trips comes to a close. You spend a lot of time with new acquaintances, and then everyone goes their separate ways and in most cases, you never hear from them again. I think from the seven trips I’ve been on in the past 2 years, I’ve heard back from maybe one person via comments on my blog. I have picked up a few new subscribers though. I don’t really like to advertise the blog – I only give out the URL if someone asks, so for this trip, I may have one or two new viewers. 

    This trip is not over yet for me – I’ve got two more full days here before I drive back to Salt Lake City, and do not fly back home until Thursday. It will be weird being on my own, especially since I plan to go out one more time in search of the Milky Way tonight. So, more posts and hopefully more photos as well.

    Peace