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

$149 · Editorial onlyDirect license: editorial use only. $149 flat from Stockfilm for documentary, news and educational use, plus internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement.

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

$149 · Editorial onlyDirect license: editorial use only

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

Before you add to cart: Editorial use only: documentary, news, educational, internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement. Checkout will only offer editorial, educational, internal and social/web scopes.

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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

A vintage 8mm home movie clip from 1961 showing a man water skiing on a lake in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The shirtless man, wearing light-colored swim trunks, grips a yellow handle as he glides across the water, creating a spray of white waves. The footage has a classic Super 8 film look with noticeable grain, color fading, and a dark border framing the scene. A boat is visible in the background in one frame, pulling the skier. The overall mood is nostalgic and summery, capturing a classic recreational activity from the early 1960s.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: editorial use only Editorial use only: documentary, news, educational, internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement.
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 5s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 121076717

Rights & Clearance

$149 · Editorial only Direct license: editorial use only. Editorial use only: documentary, news, educational, internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement.

Editorial use only; commercial use is not offered for this clip. Review the flags below for your editorial context.

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: Useful for 1960s U.S. recreational-life requests needing authentic home-movie footage of lake water skiing in Michigan.
Period detail: The 8mm color stock, swim trunks, tow handle, and soft faded palette support an early-1960s home-movie recreational scene.
Home-movie behavior: The clip captures an unstaged skier being filmed from shore or another boat as he rides toward camera and kicks up spray.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include a shirtless adult water skier, yellow tow handle, lake surface, white spray, dark film borders, and a distant tow boat in one frame.
Film character: The footage has soft focus, visible grain, faded color, gate edges, and exposure shifts that read as original small-gauge home-movie texture.
Edit role: An editor could use it as a short summer recreation insert, family-memory beat, or transition into midcentury leisure and lake activity.
Historical context: The scene documents ordinary lake recreation and amateur filming practices in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area in 1961, based on supplied metadata.
Research note: An adult face is visible but not clearly identifiable; copyright, likeness, and any location permissions should be reviewed separately.
Research search match: Likely matches searches for 1961 Michigan home movie water skiing, vintage 8mm lake recreation, and early 1960s summer sports footage.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent reel material, then other 1961 Grand Rapids or Michigan footage, then broader vintage lake recreation and boating scenes.

Still Frames From This Clip

In 1961 Michigan home-movie footage, a shirtless adult man water skis toward the camera while spray rises around him. — A water skier rides forward through choppy lake spray.

The adult skier grips a yellow tow handle as he moves across the lake in faded 8mm color footage from the Grand Rapids area. — The skier remains upright with the tow line leading out of frame.

A shirtless adult water skier in light trunks rides toward camera, with soft focus and lake spray emphasizing the home-movie texture. — The skier glides forward, partly obscured by water spray.

The skier is farther from camera as a boat appears in the background, suggesting the tow source on the lake. — A distant boat and the skier share the lake frame near the end of the clip.

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