Michigan USA-1961: Man Water Skiing on 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
LocationMichigan, 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.

Need 10+ clips? Send your brief and get a curated shortlist →

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

Man Water Skiing on Lake — Clip Details

A man water skis across a calm lake in this vintage 1961 home movie footage from Michigan. Shot on 8mm film, the clip shows a shirtless man in patterned swim trunks gripping a tow rope, gliding over the water with a single ski. The grainy, slightly faded color palette and soft focus evoke classic mid-century nostalgia. The camera remains steady, capturing the skier from a distance as he maintains balance, creating a white wake behind him. The scene is framed by dark borders, typical of old home movie projections, enhancing its authentic archival feel.

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: 121079360

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: 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

water
skiing
lake
boat
recreation
single
man
sports
michigan USA
1961
1961 water skiing footage
vintage 8mm film
Michigan lake recreation
retro water sports
classic home movie
1960s leisure activity
old film footage
archival water skiing
8mm home movie
nostalgic summer fun
vintage 1960s lifestyle
man water skiing
old film grain
classic American pastime
vintage 8mm footage
1960s family vacation
archival lake activity
retro sports clip
vintage home movie
1961 archival footage

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: Useful for 1960s recreation requests needing Michigan lake leisure, water-skiing activity, or mid-century home-movie sports footage.
Period detail: The patterned swim trunks, single-ski tow setup, and faded 8mm color may show early 1960s recreational boating culture.
Home-movie behavior: The clip preserves an unstaged home-movie view of a shirtless man balancing behind an unseen tow boat as he crosses calm lake water.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include the water skier, tow rope, single ski, lake surface, spray wake, distant shoreline, dark frame edges, and soft film grain.
Film character: The 8mm scan has soft focus, visible grain, mild color fading, gate edges, and exposure shifts that read as physical home-movie texture.
Edit role: An editor could use it as a short insert, leisure cutaway, summer-memory beat, or transition into a sequence on boating or lake recreation.
Historical context: The footage reflects mid-century personal filming of outdoor recreation, with the camera favoring action over identification or location detail.
Research note: A person is visible and may require likeness review; no logos or private property are evident, and copyright clearance is separate from appearance rights.
Research search match: Likely matches searches for 1961 Michigan 8mm water skiing, vintage lake recreation, home movie boating, and mid-century summer sports footage.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with nearby shots from the same reel, then Michigan 1961 lake footage, then broader 1960s boating and summer recreation material.

Still Frames From This Clip

In 1961 Michigan home-movie footage, a shirtless man water skis across calm lake water behind an unseen tow boat. — Distant view of a man water skiing across a lake with a small spray wake behind him.

The man continues water skiing on a calm Michigan lake, holding a tow rope as the single ski cuts through the water. — Water skier maintaining balance as he travels across the lake surface.

A closer 8mm frame shows the water skier in patterned trunks, knees bent and tow rope in hand, moving across the lake. — Closer view of the skier holding the tow handle while riding a single ski.

Side view of the 1961 Michigan water skier leaning into the tow rope while spray rises around the single ski. — Side angle of the skier leaning back as the tow rope pulls him over the water.

Visually Similar Clips