I am trying to shoot some paddling oriented pictures in my home studio. Here is the recent composition: two Watershed waterproof duffels with a wooden canoe paddle and a hat. I am going to take it set up outdoors and add a river.

Waterproof duffels

I bought these two Watershed Yukon duffles for the 1994 Watertribe Everglades Challenge , and used them also in the 2006 Ultimate Florida Challenge, two Missouri River 340 races and numerous overnight trips. They fit very tightly side by side in a cockpit of my Sea Wind canoe behind a seat and serve three purposes:
1. my main cargo storage with an easy access
2. extra flotation
3. a “bed” to lay down back to rest or take a nap on water or land

After years of use and abuse they are still in a good shape, waterproof and airtight.The only drawback, especially for racing: a long seal is somewhat time consuming to close. Watershed has several models in different sizes.

Hat

This is my cold season head cover. I like it especially for paddling a kayak with a wing paddle which splashes a lot of water onto paddler’s head.

Paddle

I paddle my canoes with Zaveral racing paddles. They are great for paddling, but not so great for photography. The nice wooden Bending Branches Cruiser paddle above travels with me only as a spare in the Sea Wind canoe and appears in action mostly for photography like here on the South Platte. It is much more photogenic than black carbon fiber.

Here is my low water paddling rig I am using recently on local rivers: old Seda Cyclon whitewater kayak with a fin attached and wildwater wing paddle with aluminum tips. The fin really help tracking and moving forward, although, it is a liability when dragging a kayak over obstacles. It doesn’t cause problems in shallow spots.

I am packing my Canon DSLR camera, a tripod, sometimes a second lens or flash and doing short exploratory paddling on rivers like Cache la Poudre in Fort Collins or St Vrain Creek. I am also going to shoot some diversion dams on the South Platte.

I am planning these short trips around the best time for photography, so late afternoon or early morning. After evening paddling, I am trying to shoot something at “blue hour” after sunset like the Fort St Vrain Power Station or Ft Collins downtown.

Problems with a tennis elbow prevent me from more intense paddling workouts right now.

Related posts:
Last Fall Colors on the Poudre River
Poudre River from Fort Collins to Greeley – Late Fall Paddling
Poudre River from Windsor to Greeley with High Water from Horsetooth Reservoir
Old Aqueduct over the Cache la Poudre River
Biking and Shooting along the Poudre River – Fort Collins Downtown
Kayaking on Saint Vrain and South Platte Rivers near Platteville
Shooting Paddlers – Photographic Adventures with Canoeists, Kayakers and Rafter

After posting the “Paddling in Clouds” picture, I’ve got several questions: How did you do it? And, I had troubles to provide a reasonable answer since this shot was technically really trivial.

Two pictures of Surfrigger, my outrigger canoe …

It turned out to be sort of a still life study with my paddle resting on a canoe bow. It was calm without any wind, but I still had troubles to keep that long (24′) and light boat still on water for photography.

I often use a paddle to stabilize my Pentax Optio camera, especially, when paddling rather tippy boat like Sisson Nucleus or Spencer X-treme. It serves two functions: 1. To have your paddle ready for bracing. 2. To avoid shaking the camera when pressing a shutter button.