How It Works
Scootercam automatically tracks the day along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, capturing everything from aurora to sunsets to distant power plants across 40 miles of water.
The Camera
We use a Reolink TrackMix – a dual-lens camera that combines:
- Wide-angle lens for sweeping panoramic views
- Telephoto lens for detailed zoom shots
- Motorized rotation through 5 preset positions
- Smart infrared control for day and night operation
The camera doesn’t just sit in one spot. Throughout the day, it scoots around and switches between lenses to capture the most interesting views.
A Day in the Life of Scootercam
Midnight – 5:00 AM: Northern Lights Watch
- Position: Northwest (looking toward the northern horizon)
- Lens: Wide-angle (to capture the full aurora spread)
- Special: Infrared lights disabled (they would wash out faint aurora)
- Why: At our latitude (42.56°N), Northern Lights are rare but spectacular when they appear
5:00 – 10:00 AM: Sunrise & Morning
- Position: South (home view)
- Lens: Wide-angle
- Captures: Dawn colors, morning lake conditions, sunrise
10:00 AM – Noon: Morning Weather Detail
- Position: Southwest
- Lens: Telephoto (zoomed in)
- Why: Close-up views of approaching weather systems and wave conditions
Noon – 2:00 PM: The Campbell Power Plant
- Position: North (across Lake Michigan)
- Lens: Wide-angle
- Distance: 40 miles across the lake
- Why: On exceptionally clear days, we can see the Campbell Generating Station on the opposite shore.
2:00 – 3:00 PM: Power Plant Detail
- Position: North (same as above)
- Lens: Telephoto (zoomed in)
- Why: When conditions are right, we zoom in and look closer
3:00 PM – Sunset: Pre-Sunset Monitoring
- Position: South (home view)
- Lens: Wide-angle
- Captures: Afternoon conditions, cloud development, pre-sunset atmosphere
Sunset Window: Seasonal Tracking
The camera automatically adjusts to follow the sun’s position throughout the year:
- Winter (Dec-Feb): Southwest preset – sun sets furthest south
- Spring/Fall (Mar-May, Sep-Nov): West preset – equinox position
- Summer (Jun-Aug): Northwest preset – sun sets furthest north
During the 40 minutes surrounding sunset, the camera captures frames every 3 seconds (instead of the usual 10 seconds) to create smooth, detailed sunset timelapses. The system knows that sunsets are worth the extra attention!
Evening – Midnight: Night Sky
- Position: South (home view)
- Lens: Wide-angle
- Captures: Evening lake conditions, night sky, city lights across the water
What Gets Captured
Every 10 Seconds
A high-resolution frame is captured and saved. That’s 1,440 images per day!
Every 10 Minutes
A “snapshot” is taken from the home position (always South, always wide-angle) and uploaded to the website. This gives you the current view.
Every 20 Minutes
A 4-hour rolling timelapse is compiled showing the most recent 4 hours of activity. These videos show the camera moving between positions and switching lenses – you’ll see the view change as the camera rotates and zooms throughout its daily routine.
Every 8 Hours
Three 8-hour block timelapses are created:
- 00:00 – 08:00 (Midnight through morning)
- 08:00 – 16:00 (Morning through afternoon)
- 16:00 – 00:00 (Afternoon through night)
These longer videos give you the full sweep of an 8-hour period.
Every Sunset
A dedicated sunset timelapse is created from the high-frequency captures (one frame every 3 seconds). These showcase the most dramatic lighting of the day in smooth detail.
The Seasonal Dance
The sun’s position on the horizon changes by about 60 degrees over the course of a year at our latitude. That’s why we have three different sunset presets:
December sunset (Southwest): The sun sets far to the south, over the dunes and beach to our southwest.
March/September sunset (West): Equinox sunsets happen due west, straight out over the lake.
June sunset (Northwest): Summer sunsets occur far to the north, the sun setting over the water with long twilight.
The camera knows the date and automatically selects the correct preset. It’s always pointing at the right spot on the horizon.
Why All This Automation?
Lake Michigan is constantly changing. Weather moves in from the west. Sunsets vary by season. Northern Lights are unpredictable. Atmospheric conditions that allow 40-mile visibility are rare.
By having the camera intelligently move throughout the day, switch between wide and zoomed views, and adjust its settings, we capture far more interesting content than a static camera ever could.
The result: You get to see everything from vast panoramas to detailed zooms, from aurora to sunsets, from morning fog to distant power plants – all automatically documented and compiled into watchable timelapses that tell the story of each day on Lake Michigan’s eastern shore.
Technical Notes
- Location: South Haven / Saugatuck area, Michigan (42.56°N, 86.24°W)
- Capture Rate: One frame every 10 seconds (every 3 seconds during sunset)
- Storage: All frames retained for 24 hours, then automatically cleaned up
- Video Format: Safari-compatible MP4 with responsive poster images
- Frame Resolution: 3840×2160 (4K from each lens)
- Upload: Videos and current snapshots uploaded via FTP to Scootercam.net
- Genius: Your hosts at Scootercam
The Result
Every day creates approximately:
- 1,440 individual frames documenting every 10 seconds
- 144 snapshots for the website (every 10 minutes)
- 72 rolling timelapses (4-hour windows updated every 20 minutes)
- 3 block timelapses (8-hour summaries)
- 1 sunset timelapse (high-frequency capture of the day’s main event)
All of this happens automatically, 24/7/365, giving you a constantly updated window into life on Lake Michigan’s shore. The camera never sleeps, never misses a sunset, and is always watching for those rare, special moments when the atmosphere cooperates to show us something extraordinary.
ScooterCam: Automated. Intelligent. Always watching the lake.
