TRAVEL VIDEOGRAPHY - WHAT I'VE LEARNED

As I'd had this blog for a while when I took my trip to Iceland back in September, I thought that an investment into a GoPro Hero 5 would be a great idea. I'd also had the idea of buying this new piece of tech for a while after buying a cheaper version for my Indonesia trip with disastrous results (nightmare!).

I knew that buying my GoPro would be a big investment, but from the footage I managed to capture from my Iceland adventures, it was so worth it.

The GoPro was really easy to use for a high piece of tech equipment, the only thing I would say is that it does come with some small delicate parts that could get lost when travelling around. These parts (mostly screws which you can use to screw the camera to different camera mounts) were great and really diverse, but very fiddly, so I'd recommend taking a few spares with you. If you buy a GoPro, it is also useful to note that you don't get a handler with it (a handler is a handle that you can attach the GoPro camera to, to make it easier to carry around). Even though the handler can be quite expensive, I'd definitely recommend it if you are wanting to film on the go.

In terms of practicality of filming when travelling, the first barrier that I came across was airport security. Now, I am a keen photographer, so you can imagine my disarray when I was asked to take out my DSLR camera, Go Pro camera, mobile phone, camera accessories and chargers out of my bag for security checks. This did take a long time and making sure no accessories were not lost was a bit annoying so it's worth taking into consideration when taking a trip, that you will probably will be faced with this before you have even reached your destination...

In terms of filming when day tripping or going long periods without a mains charge available, it's definitely worth taking a power bank as I found that I was having to charge up my GoPro and mobile quite a few times in one day. It's worth investing in a good charger than can charge your devices up to full battery around 8 times.

One of the things that I found hardest about travel videography was remembering to film (lol!). It's surprising how much you forget to film when you're so excited to see or be in a certain place. One of the paid GoPro features that I like is GoPro Plus. You can download the GoPro app for apple and android devices which allows you to connect your GoPro to your phone to watch your video footage or view your photos instantly. This is great to upload also if you want while you're away (this can also free up disk space).

All in all, I found that it was a really good experience to start doing videography on my trips. The end result where I can view all my travel adventures for that holiday in one go is amazing - and I'd recommend it to everyone!