Nancy & I have been engaged in a rather large distraction from our usual mad running about shooting images behavior - sea kayaking. My initial attraction to sea kayaking was as a new avenue for wildlife photography. Little did I know that it would prove to be so much more than that! Sea kayaking dare I say - ROX!! Think of it as hiking on water with access to areas previously inaccessible.
But unlike hiking the learning curve is considerably steeper along with the gear investment required! So we've taken a bunch of classes, bought boats along with all the other gear and are now looking into the steps and gear to be able to safely shoot from our kayaks. An easy access dry bag on the foredeck will be a big piece in making this work along with tons of common sense to know when to NOT shoot and focus simply on paddling.
The blue kayak that Nancy was paddling was a loaner until hers arrived from the manufacturer, mine arrived before hers. The images on-water were taken by Sean Watson using his Nikon D200 with a LowePro DryPack I believe. The images of us in front of our humble abode with our kayaks on the Jeep were taken by Nancy & I using my Canon 1D Mk II.
And last but certainly not least the image gallery was produced in Adobe Lightroom's Web Module. So please let me know what you think of the Flash Gallery if yall don't mind. I'm working on changing my website galleries to this same format so any feedback is greatly appreciated!!
NIce. Yours looks just like one my brother has. I'll have to tell you about the time I thought I was Nanook of the North and was stealthily paddling up to a flock of ducks one of these days.
Richard, I have been longing to go sea kayaking ever since I moved to the PNW over 10 years ago. I finally made reservations to go on a weekend trip out of Friday Harbor at the end of June. I am so looking forward to it. Bought a dry-bag and have been trying to figure out what all to take along.
Enjoyed your shots. Looks like you are all set. Love the web module. That is a great way to post an additional series of images.
Good to see you guys having some fun and it not be all work! I am going to miss you two. I will be in Seattle next weekend for the EPI opening. Probably my last trip to Seattle before our move to Arizona. Let me know if you have time to meet up on Sat 19th for coffee or lunch. Be safe with you adventures! Hugs, Beth
Rick,
Looks like you have everything you need for your new hobby. My wife and I used to be into white water canoeing. That all came to a halt during the ski to sea relay near Bellingham on the Nooksack River which is held every Memorial day. We did the 18 mile canoe race twice and placed in the top 10%. The next year, we did it again and disaster struck. Our canoe over turned (we had a very tippy kevlar racing canoe). I was swept into some rapids and then into some logs. I Jumped up just as I approached one of the logs and heard a crack. I broke some ribs despite a thick foam padded life vest. The rescuers finally found me, my wife and our canoe. Who knows what would have happened if I got swept under the logs. We now have three canoes that never get used. So, please be careful. You never know what suprises lay ahead on any kind of water.
The MAIN reason we have yet to shoot from our kayaks is the learning curve/safety factor. We want to be VERY solid in our training and awareness before trying anything else. But I will say that on a day like today paddling would be infinitely better than sitting around the house as I am doing - healing from being rather ill.
So going forward folks do be looking for some images from a VERY unique perspective on both flora and fauna from us!!!
Sounds like a lot of fun Rick. My wife and I were just up around your area (twin falls.) We were scouting some areas to shoot, but she slipped and broke her leg
Sorry to hear that, Doug.
Erik - you wild man! If I was to have that happen, I'd be selling the boats right fast.
My plan is to stay safe. No whitewater, just an open sea. The danger of cold shock, or capsizing and not being able to re-enter the boats are our biggest concerns. We are awaiting a call from an outfit on Orcas from whom we would LOVE to do some more training.
We are blessed to have hooked up with another great outfit here in our area where they teach "free" clinics to all their customers. Seattle Raft and Kayak has been a big help.
Yes it's scary, but we have always wanted to enjoy paddling. It looks scary as anything, hopefully with serious skill building, we'll be fine.
Discussion
9 repliesNancy & I have been engaged in a rather large distraction from our usual mad running about shooting images behavior - sea kayaking. My initial attraction to sea kayaking was as a new avenue for wildlife photography. Little did I know that it would prove to be so much more than that! Sea kayaking dare I say - ROX!! Think of it as hiking on water with access to areas previously inaccessible.
But unlike hiking the learning curve is considerably steeper along with the gear investment required! So we've taken a bunch of classes, bought boats along with all the other gear and are now looking into the steps and gear to be able to safely shoot from our kayaks. An easy access dry bag on the foredeck will be a big piece in making this work along with tons of common sense to know when to NOT shoot and focus simply on paddling.
So here are some images of us kayaking:
http://www.ramblinlamb.com/NewKayaks/index.html
The blue kayak that Nancy was paddling was a loaner until hers arrived from the manufacturer, mine arrived before hers. The images on-water were taken by Sean Watson using his Nikon D200 with a LowePro DryPack I believe. The images of us in front of our humble abode with our kayaks on the Jeep were taken by Nancy & I using my Canon 1D Mk II.
And last but certainly not least the image gallery was produced in Adobe Lightroom's Web Module. So please let me know what you think of the Flash Gallery if yall don't mind. I'm working on changing my website galleries to this same format so any feedback is greatly appreciated!!
Enjoyed your shots. Looks like you are all set. Love the web module. That is a great way to post an additional series of images.
Lightroom did you good on the gallery, too.
Looks like you have everything you need for your new hobby. My wife and I used to be into white water canoeing. That all came to a halt during the ski to sea relay near Bellingham on the Nooksack River which is held every Memorial day. We did the 18 mile canoe race twice and placed in the top 10%. The next year, we did it again and disaster struck. Our canoe over turned (we had a very tippy kevlar racing canoe). I was swept into some rapids and then into some logs. I Jumped up just as I approached one of the logs and heard a crack. I broke some ribs despite a thick foam padded life vest. The rescuers finally found me, my wife and our canoe. Who knows what would have happened if I got swept under the logs. We now have three canoes that never get used. So, please be careful. You never know what suprises lay ahead on any kind of water.
The MAIN reason we have yet to shoot from our kayaks is the learning curve/safety factor. We want to be VERY solid in our training and awareness before trying anything else. But I will say that on a day like today paddling would be infinitely better than sitting around the house as I am doing - healing from being rather ill.
So going forward folks do be looking for some images from a VERY unique perspective on both flora and fauna from us!!!
Erik - you wild man! If I was to have that happen, I'd be selling the boats right fast.
My plan is to stay safe. No whitewater, just an open sea. The danger of cold shock, or capsizing and not being able to re-enter the boats are our biggest concerns. We are awaiting a call from an outfit on Orcas from whom we would LOVE to do some more training.
We are blessed to have hooked up with another great outfit here in our area where they teach "free" clinics to all their customers. Seattle Raft and Kayak has been a big help.
Yes it's scary, but we have always wanted to enjoy paddling. It looks scary as anything, hopefully with serious skill building, we'll be fine.