pictures, video, stories, reviews, tips & gear for paddling photography
August 2, 2012. Missouri River near Dundee, Missouri, mile 76. Paddling JKK Supernova Kayak during 7th Annual Missouri River 340 Race from Kansas City to St Charles. More pictures from this race in fitness paddling blog
August 19, 2012. Dotsero, Colorado. Start of Annual Colorado River Race from Dotsero to Hanging Lake Parking Area in Glenwood Canyon. This race opened for all kayaks, canoes and stand up paddling boards run every year on the 3rs Sunday of August. More about this race in fitness paddling blog
Of course, I paddled much longer on the Boyd Lake, but I stopped for 10 minutes in the southern end of the lake to enjoy a magic light just before sunset. I shot several pictures looking north trying different angles, different placement of a horizon, with and without a kayak bow in the frame and switching from horizontal to vertical format. All pictures were shot with Pentax Optio W10 with EV compensation set between -1 and and -1.7 and white balance left on “auto”.
The above 6 pictures were selected from 20+ pictures I shot during that 10 minute photo session. The light was changing. You can see these young flooded cottonwood trees in the light at first, then they went into shadow. It looks quiet and calm, but passing power boats were sending wakes to my tippy photography platform – WSBS Thunderbolt-X kayak. It would be rather embarrassing to flip over in 1 foot deep water.
Which is your favorite picture? There are larger images behind the thumbnails.
This article was originally posted in my old blog on June 26, 2007. I was shooting with Pentax Optio W10 at that time. I have just upgraded my paddling camera to Pentax Optio WG-2 after shooting with W30 for several years.
I am using lightweight Zaveral paddles for my canoe paddling and racing. However, black carbon fiber is quite challenging to photograph and not really photogenic. So, over years I have gathered a small collection of wooden canoe paddles. Much more fun to photograph. Sometimes, they serve as spares, but mostly they are just photo props.
I am using single blade paddles with my Surfrigger (outrigger canoe), Kruger’s Sea Wind canoe and Spencer Xtreme (racing hybrid canoe for Texas Water Safari). I am also trying them on some of my kayaks, e.g., a recovery alternative paddling for my JKK Supernova kayak.
Here are some of paddle photos from my stock photography portfolio. These and other pictures are available for licensing as royalty free digital downloads starting with $2 or/and as prints. If you cannot find what you need in my stock portfolio I can shoot custom designs at affordable prices. Most of my pictures are also available in various stock agencies including Shutterstock, Dreamstime, BigStock, Graphic Leftovers, iStockPhoto.
Do you own an interesting kayak or canoe paddle? Handmade, perhaps? Would you like to get free pictures of your paddles? If you live or paddle nearby in northern Colorado, please let me know. Actually, old, scratched bitten paddles are great photography subjects too.
On Saturday morning (June 9, 2012) I managed to paddle 12 miles in JKK Supernova kayak. I started from the Sunrise Area south of the Soldier Dam and paddled to the South Bay. I was returning back with a strong and gusty wind and drove home just before the High Park fire plume was visible over Fort Collins. The fire started about 6 am when I was still paddling..
Pictures below were shot on Sunday evening from the Centennial Road under strong wind conditions Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II with24-105mm lens on a tripod.
Related posts on paddling the Horsetooth Reservoir:
Early Morning Paddling on the Horsetooth Reservoir
Springtime Paddling on the Horsetooth Reservoir
Paddling Horsetooth Reservoir in Winter Scenery
Thanksgiving Day Paddling on Horsetooth Reservoir
160 Lakes and Reservoirs of Colorado
After recent 4 days of paddling in Canyonlands I took a longer to return back to Colorado.
I spent one day exploring with camera rock art in Nine Mile Canyon in northeastern Utah. Then, I took tour on Flaming Gorge Dam and drove down the Green River through Browns Park to Colorado. The Green River is really very green and clear below the dam. I hope to return back to this section of the river with a kayak or, maybe, a packraft.
I added these three pictures to my stock photography portfolio together with a few others from our paddling down the Green River from the town of the same name to the confluence and up the Colorado River to Potash near Moab.
Related posts and resources:
4 Days of Paddling and Sailing in Canyonlands
Green River from Flaming Gorge Dam to Browns Park
Belknap’s Waterproof Dinosaur River
Saturday, April 21, 2012 – a very full paddling day on the North Platte River in Wyoming. It was a training run with Rob Bean before our incoming Canyonlands trip (down the Green River from town of Green River to the confluence and up the Colorado River to Moab).
I paddled Sea Wind canoe and Rob his Kruger boat (Sawyer Loon). The weather was sunny and beautiful, but with a strong head wind during most of the day. The head wind combined with a shallow and relatively slow river (below 1000 cfs below I-80) made our run longer and tougher than expected. We started at Treasure Island about 9am after early morning drive from Fort Collins and finish well after sunset at Fort Steele (I-80 boat ramp).
Spring was still very early along the North Platte – no green leaves, but a lot of wildlife: geese, ducks, bald eagles, herons, deer, otter, and later after sunset numerous beavers. The last memorable picture: the deer silhouette high above the river on a rocky edge against the fading sky.
Most difficult part of the trip: driving home after paddling.
57.6 miles, moving time: 10:00h, stopped time: 1:32h, overall average speed: 5 mph, max speed: 10.3 mph.
I was paddling with a Spot device and was recording a live trace. Please note that the trace is displayed on two pages for some reasons.
I don’t often visit the Carter Lake southwest from Loveland. I have much easier and faster access to the Horsetooth Reservoir and other smaller lakes like Lonetree or Boedecker. Nevertheless, I took my JJK Supernova kayak for a quick paddle around the Carter on March 30, 2012. The full lap is around 6.5 miles. It may be shorter in summer when sailboat anchorage takes over the northern part of the lake. The water level was much lower than in Horsetooth Reservoir.
Information from Larimer County Parks and Open Lands website:
Three miles long and about one mile wide, this beautiful 1,100-acre reservoir is surrounded by 1,000 acres of public lands. It’s a great place for fishing, sailing, water skiing, camping, picnicking, swimming, scuba diving, and rock climbing.
As part of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project to divert water from the west slope to the east slope for drinking water, irrigation, and hydropower generation, the reservoir is jointly operated by the Bureau of Reclamation and the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District who manage water levels for irrigation, municipal, and industry use. Larimer County manages recreation.
Carter Lake requires entrance and camping permits, and is open year round. At 5,760 feet in elevation, it is nestled in the foothills southwest of Loveland, Colorado, and northwest of Berthoud, Colorado.
There are three boat ramps. I used one near North Pines Campground. The second one is in the Carter Lake Marina, and the third at the South Shore Campground. I believe that is possible to launch a kayak also at some day time use areas along the eastern shore.
It feels like springtime in Fort Collins, but it’s not the spring in the Cache la Poudre River Canyon yet. I shot these pictures of whitewater rafters and kayakers floating over the Maddog rapid early June last year. I was biking with my camera along the popular Fillter Plant run. Camera: Canon EOD 5D Mark II with EF 24-105mm lens.
I was contemplating to run that river section in my packraft and use a bike as shuttle, but didn’t manage it last last. My packrafting and biking adventures were limited to the South Platte River.
Related posts:
Low Water Paddling and Photography
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
These and other paddling pictures are available for licensing as royalty free digital download starting with $2 or/and as prints from my stock photography portfolio.
Most of my pictures are also available in various stock agencies including Shutterstock, Dreamstime, BigStock, Graphic Leftovers, iStockPhoto.
