Getting to grips with a new video camera

Tomorrow is a camera filming day. Off to the Kingsbridge estuary to visit Kingsbridge itself and then Frogmore Creek and South Pool Creek. I'm hoping to get some aerial footage using the DJI spark drone since winds are supposedly light and from the north. It will form B roll footage in forthcoming videos about sailing the estuary - part of my ongoing 'sailing in Salcombe' series.

I will also be trying out the video mode on my new DSLR Canon EOS 800D. The learning curve today has been vertical regarding camera settings for video etc. I have yet to get a shotgun mic so will be collecting ambient sound from the landscape using my H1 Zoom microphone with wind muff. So it means I need to keep accurate records in my little notebook of which film clip matches which sound clip!!

I past a milestone on Christmas day. My YouTube channel passed the 1000 subscriber marker. Although the channel has been running since 2009 I never really fully focused on it until this year. Within the space of a year I gained over 750 or so new subscribers. I have always maintained that I video as an online diary for my future 80 year old self - a visual diary that shows my adventures in my little boat, my learning journey as a dinghy cruiser and also some of the travels that me and the Missus undertook across our lifetime. I never really thought that others might be interested in my dinghy cruising adventures and I completely underestimated the power of YouTube to educate and inform. I have learned so much from viewers and subscribers, all of it slowly improving my dinghy sailing skills and videography. I am very grateful to you all for your informed advice and encouragement.

Over the next few weeks I will be adding a series of short video clips focusing on

• our recent China expedition along with some short travel blogs here on Arwen's Meanderings. I try to keep the travel logs to a minimum as this is primarily a dinghy cruising blog but I have always made it clear that occasionally travel blogs will appear alongside. I made the decision last year not to switch over for another year to a Wordpress platform, although this decision will be reviewed every six months or so.
• some blogs about cruising up the Tamar to Calstock; 
• some videos about sailing up to Kingsbridge and also 
• a video, part 2, about the new sail arrangement on Arwen and what impact it has on getting rid of the dreaded throat to clew crease. 

In the meantime, I hope all of you had a lovely Christmas Day and I wish you a happy New Year and great sailing for 2019. Please stay in touch, drop me a comment occasionally and as always, I welcome all advice, thoughts and tips regarding sailing a small open boat like Arwen.

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you all and to your families, wherever you all may be

Steve