Grand Rapids Michigan USA-1961: A Man Water Skiing on a Lake

$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.

A Man Water Skiing on a Lake — Clip Details

Vintage 8mm home movie footage from 1961 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, showing a man water skiing on a calm lake. The skier, wearing a bright orange cap and light-colored shirt, glides across the water, leaving a white wake behind. The scene is framed by dark borders, characteristic of old film, with visible grain and slight blurriness. Lush green trees line the distant shore under natural daylight. The clip captures a nostalgic moment of mid-century leisure and water sports, preserved in authentic archival quality.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: commercial and editorial use
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 5s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 121076343

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

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Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: Useful for 1960s U.S. leisure, water-sports, and family-memory sequences needing authentic 8mm home-movie footage of a water skier on a lake.
Period detail: The bright swim cap, simple tow-sport scene, 8mm color stock, and metadata-supported 1961 Grand Rapids setting place the footage in early-1960s recreational home movies.
Home-movie behavior: The camera observes from a distant shore or boat-side vantage as the skier passes across the lake, preserving an unstaged family or vacation-view perspective.
What appears in frame: A lone water skier, orange cap, pale shirt, white spray wake, calm lake surface, distant tree-lined shore, and dark film-frame edges are visible.
Film character: Soft focus, visible grain, mild exposure variation, and dark frame borders give the clip the texture of scanned 8mm home-movie film.
Edit role: Editors could use this as a short insert, transition, or memory beat for mid-century summer recreation, lakeside vacations, or water-skiing culture.
Historical context: The scene documents ordinary outdoor leisure on an inland Michigan lake, with a single skier and wooded shoreline rather than identifiable public landmarks.
Research note: A person is visible at distance, so likeness review may be needed; no logos or private property are apparent, and copyright clearance is separate from depicted-person rights.
Research search match: Relevant searches include 1961 Michigan water skiing, Grand Rapids lake home movie, 8mm water sports footage, and 1960s summer recreation.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent footage from the same reel, then other 1961 Grand Rapids material, then broader 1960s lake, boating, and family leisure clips.

Still Frames From This Clip

In 1961 Grand Rapids home-movie footage, a distant water skier in an orange cap moves across a calm lake before a wooded shore. — A water skier passes across the lake, leaving a low white trail of spray.

A distant skier in light clothing and an orange cap glides across the Grand Rapids lake scene, framed by dark 8mm borders. — The skier moves toward frame right with a bright wake trailing across the water.

The 1961 home-movie frame shows a distant water skier continuing across the lake, with dark frame edges and soft 8mm grain. — A small skier figure continues across the water as the wake spreads behind.

A distant water skier in the Grand Rapids lake footage rides across the frame, with a wooded shore and visible 8mm film texture. — The skier crosses the open water while spray forms a bright horizontal streak.

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