Touring Chicago
Chicago was our first big trip with our 10 month old daughter Kairi. We learned that it’s not easy to travel with a kid, especially when you’re trying to capture enough footage for our Chicago Video Diary. It’s possible, but the lack of down time during the day turned us into walking zombies in the evenings.
Gone are the times when we could just walk into a restaurant and recharge. Thankfully we were still able to capture most moments and we’re happy with how the video came out. A huge thanks goes out to our long time friend and travel partner Geoff for helping us with Kairi. We couldn’t have captured anything without him.
Filmed with:
DJI Mavic Pro
Nikon D810 24mm, 50mm f/1.4
Where we went
Over our 4 Day Chicago Itinerary we were mostly adventured in and around the loop. Heading west to eat nicer meals in the Fulton area for lunch and dinner.
The big attractions include the Cloud Gate known as the Bean, Navy Pier, Grant Park, Lincoln Park Zoo, the Willis Tower, and the Windella’s River Tour.
Visiting the landmarks was more than enough for us to do with Kairi. We even had multiple restaurant reservations scheduled for every day of our stay.
Evolving gear
The biggest difference in this video to our previous ones is the almost exclusive use of DJI products. I had only used my Nikon for low light situations and to timelapse. I knew I needed to capture most of my shots on my DJI OSMO so I could help take care of Kairi.
This trip was the first time we flew our newly acquired DJI Mavic Pro. We got some great shots with the Mavic and the new perspective really broadened the scope of our video. The aerial shots made the video feel much bigger than just our family It helped showcase the city we came to explore.
With the new gear, I felt like Chicago was the first time we had a shooting solution for everything. I could make a timelapse, shoot hyperlapses, move freely, record audio, and capture shots in the sky. It’s amazing to have all this in one backpack.
Making the Chicago Video Diary work with our footage
We try to have a plan when it comes to the footage we want to capture. But having our little girl with us changed all this. Our new approach was to film what we could and make something out of the resulting footage.In the end, I cut the run time of the song by more than half. I did this for a couple reasons.
- We didn’t have enough footage to make a full length video with the song.
- Almost all of our footage were wide shots.
So I opted to cut the verses out of the song to keep the awe inspiring feel of the chorus. Letting me switch between unrelated shots easier without the need for transitional videos.
We had a great time in Chicago
The week-long trip to Illinois and Wisconsin was a good learning experience as we prepare to travel to Copenhagen later in the year. We do have some kinks to work out when it comes to traveling with a baby. I think our camera gear is all set for our first international trip as a family
Additionally, I’ve created a detailed itinerary four-day our day trip. It includes all the restaurants and attractions we went to. As well as some additional tips on how we get around the city. If you’re interested, please click on the link below.
Want to see more of our Travel related stuff?
If you liked the video check out our personal YouTube channel KrisandTrang. We post all our travel videos and family life randomness on there. Furthermore, if you want to read more about our travels, visit our Travel page. Thanks for visiting.
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