Sometimes it seems like the world is moving too fast. So the “Oregon Field Guide” team tried something new: We wanted to see what happens when we take it slow. Really slow.
Inspired by the Norwegian genre of Slow TV — where viewers spend hours watching the camera feed from a ferry or a train — we decided to launch a new experiment called “OPB’s Slow TV.”
Our team travels all over the region, filming in some of the most beautiful — and often hard to reach —locations, but the stories we get to share only include a couple of shots per location. So the idea is: what if, instead, we set up a camera and bring everyone along with us as we explore. The resulting video is in 4K resolution, so you can watch it on a big screen.
Our first video will take you on a barge up the scenic Columbia River Gorge, from Vancouver, Washington, through the Hood River Bridge, passing iconic landmarks including Multnomah Falls, Beacon Rock and Bridge of the Gods.
In the coming weeks, we’ll also take you on a hike to the top of Silver Star Mountain, to Astoria for a crimson sunset, to a lazy salmon pond on the Umpqua River, on a train through an orchard up the side of Mount Hood and in a canoe around Upper Klamath Lake, with Mount McLoughlin on the horizon.
Cinematographer Brandon Swanson rigs a camera onto a canoe to film a canoe trail around Upper Klamath Lake.
Cassandra Profita / OPB
You can relax into the journey and really linger and take in the world. Or you can put them on in the background while you do something else, like prepare a holiday feast for your friends and family.
We’ll be rolling out new videos once a week through the end of the year. You can find them on OPB’s YouTube channel in the playlist “OPB’s Slow TV.”
And if you like them, we’ll do more.
Tune in. Take it slow.
Cinematographer Brandon Swanson rigged a camera to the front of a rail speeder car to take in an epic view of Mount Hood as it traveled through an orchard.
Brandon Swanson, Brandon Swanson / OPB
