Driving to Richmond

Pretty cool. I might look into that, the quality seems really good. Was it expensive? I usually go for mid-range on both quality and price, I have some Jazz video cameras that I think we bought at Walgreens, that run on AAA, they are OK if you don't mind really crummy, video quality (not terribly grainy, just...off...) and dodgy reliability. They definately did not hold up to paranormal investigation in an extremely haunted 1800s hotel (even our top-quality equipment was getting drained and shut-off randomly, though)....I consider those "kids' cameras" at this point, they're cheap, but OK, so the kids can practice with them. I've been really satisfied so far with the GoPro, but I need to buy a plug-in charge cable for it. It was a "finders-keepers freebie" that I discovered laying in an abandoned yard of a decaying house that was vacated in the 60s, the camera had been laying there since about 2014, and was dropped by a skydiver. There is a municipal airport nearby, that gives skydiving classes/whatever, they jumped out with the camera mounted to a helmet, then when a schute was pulled, the strap broke the camera off the mount. It took about 3 minutes to hit the ground, then lay there in the grass recording for a couple hours before it ran out of battery. There wasn't any identification on the camera, waterproof case, or on the footage that I could have used to return it. I've marked it with my own identification now, and have built a sinkable mount, and use it for filming fish underwater, mostly. I've been looking into those windshield mount cameras for the car, I can get 2 of those for something like $50-80. It's hard being a photography enthusiast when you're broke, and equipment is expensive... My regular camera is a Samsung SL502, purchased for about $70, 10 years ago, and so far I haven't found anything to upgrade it with that has higher MP, the same features (instant push-button macro focus is a must for me), at a comparable price. I got a polaroid pocket digital for $60 recently for my oldest son, but it's so cheesy and toy-like, it's more suited for one of the younger kids. I had been working with a professional photographer friend in the Paranormal investigation group, he gave my son a Sony Cybershot camera that's a few years old, but the boy really likes it... the weight and professional feel. He's gradually learning to use the zoom lens and manage good shots. We have a trip planned for Thanksgiving and he'll have a lot of good opportunities then.

It's a Brinno TLC200pro, dedicated time-lapse camera that does only this. Runs on regular AA batteries and has a real glass lens that you can focus manually. There's a shutter release cable for doing stop motion animation, which is really why I wanted it, but I haven't even explored that feature yet.

Pretty cool... what camera setup are you using for this? I've been wanting to do something like this for my trips (I just went to Nebraska again), but I only have a GoPro, and I'm pretty sure the battery wouldn't last the entire trip. I haven't got a plug-in cable for it, just a battery charger. @Robin: Some of us can handle things that might seem boring to others. As a kid, I used to go on long drives with my dad to visit his mother, and to visit my maternal great-grandmother, each about 160 miles away from our house, just opposite directions. I learned to enjoy looking at what was going on outside... the change of scenery, and things like trees, cows, geographical points of interest (for me, could be as simple as colored dirt or weather-exposed rock formations or where the road has cut into rock through a hill). I drive through Kansas and Nebraska a couple times a year... Kansas has a whole lot of nothing, just stretched-out cropland as far as the eye can see... but I enjoy it due to the freshness of the air (I have breathing troubles, and live in a hot, dry, polluted area), and the destination. I'm in a long-distance relationship with my long-time best friend, who currently lives in Nebraska. I'm also a photographer who specializes in nature and urban decay, modern archaeology, and vintage architecture... so drives like that present a lot of opportunities that I like keeping an eye out for. On this last trip, I stopped at several abandoned farmhouses to take photos, and took note of other sights to investigate on the next trip I take with my teenage son. It just depends on how you look at things. If you get bored from not being directly entertained by media... then you'll probably get really bored. If you can entertain yourself, then you've got that. I won't take my two younger children (13 & 7) on trips over an hour, because they do get bored, and grouchy. but my 17-year old is like me, and finds excitement on the scenery, and can keep himself entertained otherwise. So far he's gone on a 7-hour trip with me to New Orleans, and loved it! We plan to take a west-coast road trip next year.

A good time-lapse video, but I noticed a distinct lack of high speed antics and multi-track drifting. Had I been the one driving for that long, I would have fallen asleep behind the wheel; I know this for a fact because I've already done this once on a shorter drive.

Terri Mouse

It is two hours, and the landscape does change! It gradually turns from hilly to flat! Sometimes there are trees and sometimes there are fields! Nine miles of the journey is on a two-lane road! The last 15 minutes is in a city! Loads of variety! I also have a radio to listen to in the car. And I am a very boring person, so the lack of stimulation doesn't really bother me.

Goodness gracious, how long was that drive? It felt like over an hour, and the landscape didn't change AT ALL. How do you not get bored to death while driving?

RB