Grand Rapids Michigan USA-1961: Water Skier Glides Across Lake With Orange Life Vest

$149 · CommercialDirect license: commercial and editorial use. $149 flat from Stockfilm. Royalty-free worldwide license for commercial and editorial use, delivered as the restored 4K master.

Year1961
Decade1960s
LocationGrand Rapids, Michigan, United States
Duration5s
Price$149 USD
Collection1961 Michigan

$149 · CommercialDirect license: commercial and editorial use

$149 USD flat · royalty-free worldwide · 4K restored master (MP4)

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Stockfilm licenses the rights identified in the applicable agreement. Additional use-specific review may be required. See the Licensing Guide and Archive Integrity.

Water Skier Glides Across Lake With Orange Life Vest — Clip Details

Vintage 8mm home movie footage from 1961 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, showing a person water skiing on a lake. The skier, wearing a bright orange life vest and patterned swim trunks, glides across the water while holding a tow rope, leaving a white wake behind. The film exhibits classic Super 8 grain, slight color fading, and a soft focus typical of 1960s home movies. The camera follows the skier from a distance, capturing the motion and splashing water against a backdrop of distant shoreline. This authentic archival clip offers nostalgic Americana and vintage outdoor recreation footage.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Shot details: Exterior
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: commercial and editorial use
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 5s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 121076084

Rights & Clearance

$149 · Commercial Direct license: commercial and editorial use. $149 flat from Stockfilm. Royalty-free worldwide license for commercial and editorial use, delivered as the restored 4K master.

Editorial use is the safest path. For commercial use, a clearance review is recommended for the flags below.

People visible: Yes
Minors visible: No
Logos / trademarks: No
Audible music: No

Flags come from automated catalog metadata, not a legal opinion. The source is an original 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie reel. For high-stakes commercial use, request a full rights review.

Source & Documentation

Source reel: Reel 2015 · 8mm · 3″ reel
Original reel label: xmas,linda communion,,d danielar
Reel-level year note: 1961-1962
Reel-level location note: detroit michigan,
Date: 1961 Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Date evidence: Catalog estimate. A reel-level note shows the same year, but the clip-to-reel link is itself a catalog match, so this is not counted as independent confirmation.
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Location evidence: Catalog estimate. A reel-level location note is linked, but the clip-to-reel link is itself a catalog match, so this is not counted as independent confirmation.
Licensing route: Direct license available from Stockfilm

Confidence labels are defined on Archive Integrity. Fields without a recorded value are shown as not recorded rather than assumed.

View source reel context Open Clip Documentation Record Request source information

Topics & Keywords

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: 1960s 8mm home-movie lake recreation footage for documentary, museum, education, or commercial edits needing Midwestern summer water-skiing activity.
Period detail: The orange life vest, swim trunks, tow rope, and distant shoreline support a 1961 outdoor recreation setting, while the exact lake is not visually identifiable.
Home-movie behavior: The clip has unstaged home-movie value in the distant handheld tracking of a skier moving across open water during a casual outing.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include a lone water skier, orange life vest, tow rope, water spray, white wake, open lake surface, and tree-lined shoreline.
Film character: The 8mm scan shows soft focus, visible grain, slight fading, gate edges, and handheld framing that give the footage clear physical-film texture.
Edit role: Editors could use this as a short insert, recreation cutaway, summer transition, or memory beat within a sequence about leisure, lakes, or family travel.
Historical context: The scene reflects mid-century recreational boating culture as seen through a private home-movie camera, without visible landmarks or public event context.
Research note: A person is visible at distance, so likeness review may be needed, while no logos, private property, or audible music are apparent from the supplied metadata.
Research search match: Relevant searches include 1961 Michigan 8mm water skiing, Grand Rapids home movie lake recreation, vintage orange life vest skier, and 1960s summer lake footage.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with same-reel boating or lake footage, then other 1961 Grand Rapids material, then broader 1960s outdoor recreation and water-sport scenes.

Still Frames From This Clip

1961 Grand Rapids-area 8mm home-movie frame of a distant water skier in an orange life vest crossing open lake water. — A skier rides low across the lake, throwing spray behind the skis.

Distant 1961 Michigan water-skiing frame with the skier in an orange life vest moving away across a lake. — The skier glides farther from the camera as the tow line and wake stretch across the water.

8mm home-movie frame from 1961 showing a water skier on a Michigan lake with a tree-lined shore beyond. — A small figure on skis tracks across the lake as spray breaks at the edge of the wake.

Final 1961 8mm frame of the distant water skier continuing across open lake water near Grand Rapids, Michigan. — The skier recedes across the lake, leaving a curved wake and light spray in the soft-focus frame.

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