Note from Wendy:
My husband Tim is a photojournalist so we’re always thinking about how to best document our travels. He’s a big fan of GoPro cameras and filmed this great underwater video when we went snorkeling in Mexico last summer (on a cool trip arranged by my Trusted Travel Expert for diving, Meg Austin). This story by Yahoo! Travel’s Brittany Jones Cooper is a good introduction to using the GoPro equipment, which is sure to help you capture some extraordinary memories.
My husband Tim is a photojournalist so we’re always thinking about how to best document our travels. He’s a big fan of GoPro cameras and filmed this great underwater video when we went snorkeling in Mexico last summer (on a cool trip arranged by my Trusted Travel Expert for diving, Meg Austin). This story by Yahoo! Travel’s Brittany Jones Cooper is a good introduction to using the GoPro equipment, which is sure to help you capture some extraordinary memories.
For me, capturing memories on vacation is essential.
And while your smartphones can capture a lot, you need a camera that can really travel with you…and for that reason, I am officially a GoPro addict.
The GoPro Hero 4
These little cameras are waterproof, damage-proof, and can be mounted to pretty much anything. An added bonus is that the camera shoots in fisheye (very wide-angle) mode, so you can capture everything.
And while it only has three buttons, I encounter a lot of people who get a little intimidated when it comes to using their GoPros. So,in today’s Travel Hacks, I’m going to share three easy ways to step up your travel game using a GoPro camera.
But first, let’s review the buttons. On the front, you have your power button, which you hold down to turn the GoPro on and off. You also use this button to toggle between modes, such as video and photo.
On the side is the settings button. You can use this to adjust the settings within the different shooting modes. Also, if you hold it down for three seconds, it turns on your GoPro’s Wi-Fi.
And finally, we have the button on top, which is the shutter. You use it to take photos or start and stop video recording.
1. Select the right mode
The video and photo settings are very easy to use. You simply press the shutter button on the top to start and stop recording or to snap a photo.
There is also a Multishot mode that allows you to effortlessly capture a ton of photos at one time. I’m a big fan of the Time Lapse Mode, which automatically takes a photo at an interval chosen by you.
To find the Time Lapse Mode
1. Click the mode button until you see Multishot.
2. Use the top shutter button to scroll through until you see Time Lapse.
3. Push the mode button again, which will take you to the second line, where you’ll select your timing.
4. Use the shutter button to select how often you want to take a photo…every .5 seconds, every second, up to every 60 seconds.
5. Press mode/power button to scroll down to the exit screen and press shutter button to select “exit.”
6. Press the shutter button to start recording photos.
1. Click the mode button until you see Multishot.
2. Use the top shutter button to scroll through until you see Time Lapse.
3. Push the mode button again, which will take you to the second line, where you’ll select your timing.
4. Use the shutter button to select how often you want to take a photo…every .5 seconds, every second, up to every 60 seconds.
5. Press mode/power button to scroll down to the exit screen and press shutter button to select “exit.”
6. Press the shutter button to start recording photos.
As you go about your action, your GoPro is taking a photo every second. This is the mode many athletes use when they capture those awesome once-in-a-lifetime shots.
2. Select the right accessory
There are dozens of great mounts, and if you ski, surf, or bike, you should definitely look into purchasing mounts for those specific activities. But if you’re just starting out, there are three mounts I really recommend.
The first is the Handler. I love this one because it’s perfect if you’re shooting in or out of the water. It’s light and easy to pack and it floats…so you don’t have to worry about losing your GoPro in the water.
How To Make A Family Vacation Video
The second must-have accessory is the 3-Way. Like the Handler, you can use this to take a selfie or capture a great photo. It also extends if you need to capture more of a scene or get a sense of distance in your photos. And it has this cool tripod that you can use to take stationary shots. I took this awesome photo from the top of Table Mountain in South Africa using my GoPro on the Time Lapse Mode while using the 3-Way tripod.
3. Use the App
How To Make A Vaction Video Ideas
The GoPro app is literally a game changer. Setup takes a few minutes, and the instructions are easy to follow.
1. Open the GoPro App and select “Connect to Camera.”
2. Press the “Add a New Camera” button.
3. Select “Add Your HERO4.”
4. Press and hold the Settings button on the left-hand side of the camera until Wi-Fi Mode appears on the screen.
5. Press the mode button to scroll down to “GoPro App” and press the Select button.
6. Press the “Continue” button in the app.
7. Select your camera from the list (e.g., GP245###…).
8. Enter the pin number and select “Pair My Camera.”
9. Create a new camera name and password.
10. You should now see and be able to control the camera to which your phone or tablet is connected.
2. Press the “Add a New Camera” button.
3. Select “Add Your HERO4.”
4. Press and hold the Settings button on the left-hand side of the camera until Wi-Fi Mode appears on the screen.
5. Press the mode button to scroll down to “GoPro App” and press the Select button.
6. Press the “Continue” button in the app.
7. Select your camera from the list (e.g., GP245###…).
8. Enter the pin number and select “Pair My Camera.”
9. Create a new camera name and password.
10. You should now see and be able to control the camera to which your phone or tablet is connected.
For more instructions, visit GoPro.
After your camera is set up, simply hold down the Settings button on the side for three seconds until a blue light starts flashing … that’s your Wi-Fi and allows your phone and GoPro to connect.
The coolest part is that you can view and play back photos and videos that you captured on your GoPro. This means that after you take a great photo, you can look at it, save it to your phone, and upload it to Instagram or Facebook within seconds.
And just when you didn’t think it could get any cooler, you can use the app to see a live feed of what you’re viewing. So, if you mount your camera somewhere out of reach, you can use the app to make sure that the image you want in your photo or video is in the frame. How cool is that?!
There are a lot of great things you can do, but that was just a quick beginner’s guide to how to use your GoPro.
If you have any questions, contact me on Twitter or leave them in the comments section below. And if you take any awesome GoPro pictures that you want to share, just tag @yahootravel! I’d love to see them.
More from Yahoo! Travel
This article originally ran on Yahoo! Travel
- [Voiceover] Hi, I'm Abba Shapiro,and welcome to Creating a Vacation Video with iMovie.In this course we'll look at some advanced techniquesin iMovie that you can use to makean exciting vacation highlights reelof your travels with friends and family.We'll start by examining some of the best practicesfor shooting video while on vacation.We'll look at how to organize your storyand cut it tightly to keep your audience interested.You'll learn how to record a voice over to pictureand then mix that voiceover with music and sound effects.
We'll look at incorporating your vacation photosinto your video as well as using iMovie's specialized themesand titles to give your video that professional look.Finally, we'll show you how to createa few special effects, such as picture in picture,instant replays, and slow motion.In this course, I'm assumingyou've already used iMovie or have gone throughthe iMovie essential training course on Lynda.com.Now let's get startedwith Creating a Vacation Video with iMovie.
Vacation Request or PTO (Paid Time Off) is a common type of request in every organization. Hey, we all need vacations from time to time. ? While some firms have special software in place to request vacations, for the most part, many rely on the back and forth email. With this post, I would like to explain how you can build a simple Vacation Request Approval workflow in SharePoint. And the best part – it can be done using an out of the box functionality, without a single line of code! To better illustrate the example, I will rely on a recent request from one of my clients, for whom I built the exact functionality I outline below. These were their requirements:
- Ability for submitter to view own requests only
- Ability for manager field to be dynamic (different approving managers for different employees)
- Email notification for both the approving manager and submitter of the requests
- Ability to view all vacation requests in a calendar mode
- Ability for the manager to type in rejection comments
Let me now explain how I arrived at the proposed solution and how I achieved and satisfied (almost) all of their requirements. The solution is based on SharePoint out of the box features and does not rely on any other tools, like SharePoint Designer or Microsoft Flow. If you have SharePoint Online/Office 365, I strongly suggest that you consider and use Flow for building the above process. As a matter of fact, it would be quite an easy undertaking using such a tool. I will document this in one of the later posts. But for now, let’s build it using SharePoint out of the box.
Step 1: Choosing the correct web part
Theoretically, we could use any SharePoint list to start off with the request form. We could start from Custom List, Issues Web part, Calendar or Task List. However, the requirement to be able to view vacation requests in a Calendar mode leaves us with just two possible choices: Calendar web part itself and Tasks (Tasks web part has many built-in views, including the Calendar view). Moreover, since we need an ability for an approving manager field to be dynamic, we are left with just the Tasks web part (since it has the Assigned To column and automatic email notification for “Assigned To” column). So the chosen web part is Tasks!
Step 2: Configure list settings
Let’s go ahead and configure some back-end settings. Here is what we need to do:
- In Versioning settings – enable versioning (this will help review request history if needed)
- In Versioning settings – enable Content Approval on a list. This will add the necessary “approval” mechanism along with the approval/rejection columns + comments field. I documented Content Approval feature in great detail in this post – please check it out.
- In Advanced settings – enable Content types – this will be necessary in next step so we can hide unnecessary columns and/or change order of the columns
- In Advanced settings – enable Item Level Permissions. This will allow for vacation requests to only be seen by submitters and approvers and no one else. I explain how Item Level Permissions works in this post
- In Advanced settings – enable Email notification. This will send an email notification to the users whose name appears in the Assigned To column
- In Advanced settings – disable attachments. There is no reason for users to submit any files as attachments when they request vacations
- In Advanced settings – disable the Quick Edit view – we don’t want users to mess with any requests in bulk – so this will help avoid this
Step 3: Configure Columns
Tasks web part has lots of columns that are meant for project scheduling, etc. We don’t need most of them. So go ahead and hide them (via Content Type). The only ones we need are Title, Start and End Dates, Description. Also, change the default column name as necessary, so they are a bit more descriptive. For example, change Due Date to End Date and Assigned To to Manager Name. Also, change format of dates for Start and End Dates to standard from friendly (so it shows actual calendar dates, instead of “due in 3 days”)
Step 4: Clean up Views
Just like with columns above, we need to cleanup the views. We don’t need most of them. For example, Gantt Chart or Completed views can be removed (deleted). Go ahead and delete them. On the remaining ones, hide/show columns as required. Hide the Timeline from the view as well – we don’t need it here (it is handy for project management only). Change names of views as necessary (i.e. change All Tasks to All Requests and My Submissions to My Requests).
Step 5: Set up alerts
Since the manager will be notified about the submission when their name appears in the Assigned To column, there is nothing else we need to do on that front. So the only alert that needs to be set up is for the submitter. However, here is a problem – when we enable Item Level Permissions – alert feature won’t work. So alert for submitter is not a requirement we will be able to satisfy here with the existing setup.
If, however, Item Level Permissions is not required (requests can be viewed by anyone) – then I recommend below settings for the alert – this way, the user will only be notified about their requests only (approvals/rejections).
That’s all – you see, it did not take long at all – and we now ended up with the fully-functional Vacation Request Approval workflow in SharePoint! And we satisfied almost all of our original requirements too! The only inconvenience here – you have to specify manager name, and there is no automatic manager field lookup. In my opinion – this is a very small price to pay, especially if you want to go on vacation! ? Enjoy your vacation!