paddling with a camera

Category: trip reports

reports, river guides, maps, GPS tracks

SUP (Stand Up Paddleboard) in Riverbend Ponds Natural Area

September 30, 2012. To SUP ot not to SUP? Paddling SurfTech 14-0 Bark Expedition SUP in Riverbend Ponds Natural Area. Camera: GoPro Hero.

Starting from the parking lot on Cairnes St (off Timberline, left shore of the Poudre River) it is possible to paddle a loop through three small ponds with one very short portage and one passing under low walk board (on the picture above). The smallest Turtle Pond is amazing – a crystal clear water with a lot underwater vegetation. It is one of my favorite photography spots in Fort Collins. That long walk board appears in many of my pictures.

Related posts:
Winter at Riverbend Ponds Natural Area, Fort Collins, Colorado
Speed Test of Alpacka Yukon Packraft
Bark Expedition Stand Up Paddleboard in Fall Scenery

October 14, 2012
Low Water Paddling and Photography

A kayak portrait – Cache la Poudre River in Fort Collins below the Timnath Reservoir inlet dam
(near Nix Natural Area)

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

October 23, 2010
Paddling the Poudre River at Nix Natural Area in Fort Collins

Where to paddle in Fort Collins in winter time when all ponds and lake are frozen? The South Platte River is usually the only open water in northern Colorado, but it is 30-40 miles of driving. However, it is possible to find short sections of our local Poudre River suitable for some paddling even if the river flow is almost nothing. One such a spot is about a quarter mile of the river above I-25 within Arapaho Bend Natural Area. You can access that section from the Strauss Cabin parking (the very east end of Horsetooth Road) through two small ponds. When these ponds are frozen the river access requires a pretty long walk (~0.5 mile).

The picture above shot in January 2007 shows another opportunity – the river above the Timnath Reservoir Inlet Dam between Lemay and Timberline Streets. Finally, I found a comfortable access to this river section from the Nix Natural Area and did some scouting with Seda kayak.

Here is the entry (fire lane gate) to Nix Natural Area from the Hoffman Mill Road (driving north on Lemay turn right just before the bridge into Poudre River Drive, and then follow Hoffman Mill Road until you pass a gravel quarry).

…

About 200 yards of gravel overgrown fire lane leads you to a bike trail and the river.

Then, you have about half a mile of the river with standing or slow moving water. A lovely scenery in fall colors. It may be also good for some winter paddling photography. You can paddle upstream almost to Lemay Street, but before the bridge you will encounter some shallows with a fast current. I did my paddling on October 14 with ~100 cfs of the river flow in Ft Collins. It was enough water to run through those shallow downstream. However, rocks were pretty slippery and water too cold too drag my kayak up the river.

…

A final shot of the dam from a high cliff on the right shore. I visit this place quite often riding a bike or inline skates on the Poudre Trail. Here is another image of the dam with more gold colors. And, just below the dam there is an old, rusty aqueduct

Related posts:
Paddling the Cache la Poudre River in Fort Collins – maps and mileage
Old Aqueduct over the Cache la Poudre River
Solo paddler, solo photographer – February 2005
Cache la Poudre in Winter by Racing Canoe – December 2006

October 18, 2010
Lower Saint Vrain Creek – Paddling and Evening Blue Hour Photography

I started my exploration of the lower St Vrain Creek in spring of 2004. I covered 7 miles of the river from highway 66 to the South Platte near Platteville. Most often, I launch at the Weld county road 19.5 just north of the Fort St. Vrain Power Station and a mile above the confluence. The best flow to paddle there is perhaps around 400 cfs, but there is still enough water to paddle at 100 cfs, especially, if you are just going downriver. You may encounter occasional log jam and one rocky and shallow spot near a high cliff before you reached the South Platte. There is a diversion dam with an easy portage about 1.5 mile above the county road 19.5.

Paddling the St Vrain above the lowest 7 miles may be a little bit more problematic and challenging. A few years ago Mark Zen sent the following comments:

My family and I have paddled the St Vrain from near Hygiene all the way to the confluence with the Platte. There are a few stretches you want to avoid – from 119 to Barbour Ponds (St Vrain State Park) We would take out at 119, and then put back in on the I-25 frontage road. You have to get back out near WCR 17, near a gravel quarry… We finally stopped doing that part of the river, due to the large number of portages, due to barbed wire across the river in many places. 8 portages??

That is a similar reason we only paddle the Platte from Brighton to Ft Lupton, as some of the portages between Ft Lupton and Platteville are horrible. If there is enough water, the Adams County Fairgrounds all the way to Ft Lupton is a nice full day. There is one really bad portage near the dam on the Fairgrounds to Brighton piece. Just because you come around a blind corner.

Pictures in this post come from my recent early October paddling on the St Vrain Creek. I was testing my low water paddling rig: old Seda Cyclon whitewater kayak with an added fin and a heavy duty wildwater wing paddle. The kayak was tracking pretty well and I enjoyed upstream/downstream workout. I had enough room to pack a tripod and my Canon DSLR camera.

The last two pictures are HDR (high dynamic range) images obtained by combining multiple frames shot with different exposure (4 frames above and 2 below) in Photomatix software.

Evening Blue Hour

I finished my paddling at sunset and I was ready to shoot the nearby power station during evening blue hour. Evening Blue Hour refers to the period of twilight when there is neither full daylight nor complete darkness. It is the best time to photograph cityscape or industrial scenery with a lot of lights against the deep blue sky. The blue hour starts approximately 15 minutes after sunset and is lasting only 10 minutes, so it is really a short time window.

I see a few way to improve my picture of the power plant. Cold temperatures can add drama by making steam plumes from cooling towers visible. Some snow cover on the foreground wouldn’t hurt either. Finally, water reflections would be cool. The power plant is nicely visible from the diversion dam upstream (see a thumbnail of my 2004 picture). So, it looks like I have a plan for a winter night paddling …

Fort St. Vrain Power Station was Colorado’s only Nuclear Power Plant and America’s only commercial High Temperature Gas Cooled reactor design. It was also the first commercial nuclear generating plant in the United States to be decommissioned. Currently, it operates combustion turbines burning natural gas.

Related posts:
Kayaking on Saint Vrain and South Platte Rivers near Platteville
2009 South Platte River Marathon/
South Platte River below Denver, Colorado – GPS/photo river guide

October 12, 2010
My Photography During the 2010 Missouri River 340 Race

Photography has been a part of my racing since the 2005 Texas Water Safari when I bought the first compact waterproof camera available – Pentax Optio WP. Missouri River 340 race is easier for photography since it is open water without any portages. Nevertheless, photographing before, during and after a long endurance race is always a challenge.

I paddled my Sea Wind canoe during this year MR340 race and used two cameras: my main DSLR – Canon 5D with 35-70mm zoom lens, and waterproof Pentax Optio W30 mounted on a bow.

Before the race

One of my pictures shot a day before the race. A dragon boat at the Kaw Point “beach”. Camera: Canon 5D. I visited Kaw Point with a camera twice during that day.

Kaw Point – race start

Photographing the race start. Kaw River with Kansas City skyline far away at a background. It was pretty dark, cloudy, not so good light for photography. A view from my bow camera (flash fired).

A busy boat ramp about half hour before the start. Tighter shots turned to be much better that a general scenery pictures. Camera: Canon 5D.

One of my pictures from the race start. The right bank of the Kaw River was really muddy, so I was shooting from my boat. Camera: Canon 5D.

The Canon camera stayed in a waterproof Pelican case for the rest of race. I really regret that I didn’t take it out at a beautiful foggy morning below Hermann. It was already third day of the race. I was pretty tired and a tennis elbow problem was affecting a grip in my right hand. ZRE paddle is much lighter than a DSLR camera.

Award ceremony at St Charles

A part of the dragon boat crew during an ward ceremony. I was shooting with Canon 5D hand held with available light at high ISO (2000). Just a few shots were successful. Perhaps, I should think about some flash setup for the next year.

Bow camera setup

A waterproof Pentax Optio W30 camera was mounted on a bow of my Sea Wind canoe with Sticky Pod suction cup and a mini ball head. Normally, I am using a smaller and light knuckle, but during the race it was used to mount my Garmin Etrex GPS. A tether is always mandatory with anything mounted on a deck with suction cups. Sticky Pod cups are holding pretty well on a clean deck, especially, when rinsed with water before mounting. This time I rinsed my deck with a river water which leaves a lot of silt residue when drying. As a result my camera felt off the deck once and I got one underwater shot. I didn’t have that problem in previous races when I used my drinking water to clean the deck.

I have several blog posts on Sticky Pod suction cups including a review and different applications.

I am using an improvised lens hood on my Pentax to protect the lens against direct sun light and splashes.

The camera was set in a lapse time (interval) mode to shoot a picture every 4 minutes (medium quality) during ~60 hour race. Unfortunately, I forgot to turn camera flash and a battery went dead after 500+ covering about 36 hours of the race. Without a flash I would have a full coverage.

Below the are examples of pictures shot by my bow camera under different light conditions. I am hoping to prepare an animation using all frames.

Paddling under bridges of Kansas City. Pictures from my bow camera turned to be pretty good in these cloudy conditions with just a little bit of sun.

A few miles further downriver.

A bottle of Ensure Plus is going in. A sunny afternoon.

Night time pictures with a flash from my bow camera were not very good …

And, being blinded by flash at night every four minutes was not a fun. I couldn’t sleep!

Sleepy, tired or bored? A very early morning, second day of the race. Still in my night time clothes and a full life vest instead of an inflatable belt jacket which I used during daytime. Nights were pretty chilly.

Passing under the old railroad bridge at Boonville.

Other pictures

Of course, I shot also a lot of pictures not related directly to the race, e.g., during my Amtrak shuttle back to Kansas City, or during short trip to St Louis and the old Chain of Rocks bridge over the Mississippi River.

Next year?

Everything depends on what boat I would paddle.

I will consider a bow camera in a lapse time mode again, but without a flash. However, I would also like to have another compact camera ready to use. If I take Sea Wind canoe again I will try to photograph the race start with my DSLR camera. Probably, I will pack it in a soft waterproof bag instead of heavy Pelican case.

Pictures for prints or downloading

I am making some MR340 pictures available for ordering as prints or digital downloading in my stock photography website. More pictures are coming there.

Related posts:
Paddling and Hydrating during 2010 MR340 Race
120 Pictures from the Missouri River 340 Race
3 Years of the Missouri River 340 Race series:
Bryan Hopkins, West Hansen, Christina Glauner, Chuck and Di McHenry, Katie Pfefferkorn
My Experience in Three Famous Ultra Marathon Paddling Races
Olympus Tough TG-5 Waterproof Paddling Camera – First Impressions from 2017 MR340 Race

September 25, 2010
Sun, Snow and Wind on the North Platte River in Wyoming

Since Wyoming Outback Challenge (annual 44 miles paddling race) is gone, we decided to make a longer training run on the North Platte River this year (May 22-23). We means me with Pixel, Rob Bean and two Kruger canoes.

On Friday, May 21 we run a shuttle between Seminoe State Park and Bennett Peak campground which we reached at sunset after a stop at Saratoga. Saturday was a full day of paddling starting around 7:00 am and stopping for a night 12+ hours later between Dugway and the Seminoe Reservoir. On Sunday, we paddled the last few miles of the river and then a lake to the North Red Hills campground and boat ramp. We finished paddling around 4 pm, took a look at the dam, drove to Saratoga for a dinner, and recovered our second car from the Bennett Peak campground at sunset. The Snowy Range road was still closed, so we returned to Fort Collins through Walden and Cameron Pass.

We experienced every possible weather Wyoming can offer: a very warm night and morning at the Bennett Peak campground, winter conditions (rain, snow, wind) during the second half of out first day, chilly night in tents covered by frost, sunny second day: calm and turning windy in the afternoon.

Wildlife: one moose, plenty of deer, proghorns, bald eagles, pelicans, and a lot of other birds.

I covered almost the entire course of our trip before, but in shorter separate segments paddled at different times. I didn’t paddle before the river from Dugway to the middle of the Seminoe Reservoir (Sand Mountain). I visited the Seminoe Reservoir only once years ago. It was in August of 2000 with my CLC Patuxent kayak: there is still a short report from that trip at Mountain Wayfarer. It looks really ancient …

GPS odometer: 114.5 miles, 16:58 hours of moving time, 3:34 stopping time (not counting our overnight camping), 6.7 mph average moving speed, 11.7 mph max speed.

River flow: 7000-8000 cfs at Dugway above Seminoe Reservoir, the reservoir was filled to 70% of full capacity.

[kml_flashembed movie=’http://photokayak.fit2paddle.com/slides/portfolio/loader.swf’ height=’740′ width=’740′ base=’.’ allowfullscreen=’true’ wmode=’transparent’/]

The above slide show is a new setup created with Adobe Lightroom 2 and SlideShowPro. Recently, I am using Lightroom to manage all my pictures both paddling and stock images. I created slide shows with Lightroom before (see, e.g., Colorado River Race or Dismal River 2009). However, this time I used also SlideShowPro which adds more functionality. Please let me know how do you like it, and whether you had any problem watching it. I am going to post more slide shows in a similar format.

Most pictures were shot with waterproof Pentax Optio W30, a few with Canon 5D/II (camping), and Canon PowerShot G11 (the Seminoe Reservoir and Dam).

Rob posted his pictures from the trip on facebook.

Some related posts:
Bennett Peak to Pick Bridge on the North Platte River, Wyoming
North Platte River Kayak Racing – 2009 Wyoming Outback Challenge
44 Miles of the North Platte River in 2 Minutes
44 Miles on Big Water - 2008 Wyoming Outback Challenge Results
7 Landmarks and Highlights of the 2008 Wyoming Outback Challenge
2007 Wyoming Outback Challenge on North Platte River- Results and Pictures
3 Days on the North Platte River in Wyoming: from Treasure Island to Fort Steele
Wyoming Outback Challenge on the North Platte River - Strong Current and Head Wind
North Platte River in Wyoming - Eagle Nest Rapid

Other resources:
The Floater's Guide to Wyoming Rivers: Paddle and Portage
Wyoming Atlas & Gazettee
map of public access areas by Wyoming Game and Fish Department
North Platte River flow: Northgate, CO | Ft Steele/Dugway
Wyoming Introduces Fee for Paddling and Boating

June 6, 2010
Icy Horsetooth Reservoir – Opening Lake Paddling Season

March 16, 2010. My lake paddling season in Colorado is opened!

I took Sea Wind Canoe for a short paddling on the Horsetooth Reservoir. I started at Satanka Cove next to the dam and managed to go to the South Eltuck Cove. Ice was melting along shores creating a narrow channel of free water. However, wind was shifting ice and some passages were closed making necessary to drag or push my boat over ice.

All the way I stayed next to the shore, so my round trip got pretty long – 6 miles. Ice canoe racing was coming to my mind. Now, I need a little bit of snow to enhance my pictures.

Related posts:
Paddling and Photographing the Horsetooth Reservoir in Northern Colorado
Cost of Paddling – Access to Local, County, State and Federal Waters
Paddling Horsetooth Reservoir in Winter Scenery
Sea Wind on the Horsetooth Reservoir – Colorado Winter Paddling Video
Launching Thunderbolt Kayak on Horsetooth Reservoir from Lory State Park
Ice Canoe Racing across St Lawrence River in Quebec City

March 18, 2010
Bennett Peak to Pick Bridge on the North Platte River, Wyoming

I am extending my paddling on the North Platte River in southern Wyoming. Last Sunday I had a very nice trip from Bennett Peak campground to Pick Bridge below Saratoga. I paddled Sea Wind canoe with Pixel, the water corgi, as a partner. Connie with Dax were waiting for me at the Pick Bridge. It was a fast training run: 36 miles in exactly 4 hours without any stops.

River flow: ~1700 cfs in the North Platte at Northgate + ~1000 cfs from the Encampment River joining just above Treasure Island, ~4500 cfs in the North Platte further downstream. It was still high water, but much lower than a month ago during the Wyoming Outback Challenge. A perfect weather with just a moderate wind, very green with a lot flowers. A lot of wildlife including nesting bald eagles.

The river below the Bennett Peak campground is very scenic. It flows in a granite canyon with many rocks and cliffs. There are multiple narrower channels in several places. Paddling was easy. I suppose that it may be more challenging at lower water: some rocks sticking out and rocky shallows in some channels.

Driving to the Bennett Peak access takes some time. It can be reached by 19 mile long dirt road starting at highway 230 a few miles east of Riverside. The road is well marked and pretty scenic. The first 10 miles you can drive at highway speed, then you need to slow down.

I started to paddle at 11am. The light was very harsh and not so pleasant for photography. Nevertheless, I shot a few pictures with Pentax Optio W30 camera between the Bennett Peak and Treasure Island for documentary reasons.

Related posts:

Paddling with Pixel, the Water Corgi
North Platte River Kayak Racing – 2009 Wyoming Outback Challenge
44 Miles of the North Platte River in 2 Minutes
44 Miles on Big Water – 2008 Wyoming Outback Challenge Results
7 Landmarks and Highlights of the 2008 Wyoming Outback Challenge
2007 Wyoming Outback Challenge on North Platte River- Results and Pictures
3 Days on the North Platte River in Wyoming: from Treasure Island to Fort Steele
Wyoming Outback Challenge on the North Platte River – Strong Current and Head Wind

Other resources:
The Floater’s Guide to Wyoming Rivers: Paddle and Portage
Wyoming Atlas & Gazettee
map of public access areas by Wyoming Game and Fish Department
North Platte River flow: Northgate, CO | Ft Steele/Dugway

June 30, 2009
Paddling with Pixel, the Water Corgi

I spent the Memorial Day weekend together with Connie and our two dogs at Saratoga, Wyoming. I raced in the Wyoming Outback Challenge, 44 miles on the North Platte River, on Sunday, but I also did some river runs before and after the race. In these two trips between Treasure Island and Pick Bridge I was accompanied in my Sea Wind Canoe by Pixel, our water Corgi.

Pixel has grown up with our Newfoundland girl, Dax, and is real water dog. We paddled together on my local lakes in northern Colorado and on the South Platte River. The North Platte was his debut on a bigger river with some waves and splashes. We paddled with a spraydeck on (except of posing for pictures below). These were short trips below 2 hours on a very fast river. Pixel was just sitting very calmly between my legs. Without a spraydeck he has tendency to walk around and climb to the deck.

He didn’t care about waves or wildlife. We were passing very close to geese, pelicans, a bald eagle, and deer. However, he growled at cows.

Related posts:

Paddling Workout with a Dog – Pixel in Sea Wind Canoe
Do You Paddle with Your Dog? K-9 Kayaking
Dog Paddling: A Guide to Canoeing with your Dog
Hi, I am Pixel !
North Platte River Kayak Racing – 2009 Wyoming Outback Challenge
3 Days on the North Platte River in Wyoming: from Treasure Island to Fort Steele

May 29, 2009