Second paddling this week on ice free Beaver Pond in Arapaho Bend Natural Area in Fort Collins. Camera: Canon EOS 40D mounted with my sticky pod (3 suction cup mount) on a bow of Sea Wind canoe.
Tag: Canon EOS 40D
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Car Photography Session on the South Platte River
I started my winter paddling season on the South Platte River in the middle of November. It was a short trip, rather a photo session. The goal was to photograph old cars on the river shore at the Patterson Ditch dam. That time I packed my “big” camera, Canon EOS 40D together with a tripod, launched my Thunderbolt-X kayak at Evans Riverside Park and paddled about two miles down river to the dam.
I spent about one hour shooting the dam and old cars protecting river banks. I was planning to start paddling back exactly at sunset, but I stayed at the dam much longer enjoying the gentle light after sunset. I paddled upstream with in a falling darkness. It was a good workout. Only once I got stacked in a sandbar. Hundreds of geese were landing on the river and ponds nearby. At the end I had some problems to find my launching spot and a pathway to my car. It seems it was much easier to paddle on the river than to carry kayak on land in the complete darkness.
It wasn’t the first time when I photographed these old cars. It must be some strange attraction. Here are my three earlier posts where these old cars were involved:
- South Platte River – Another View or How to Photograph the River?
- Canon EOS 40D, Thunderbolt Kayak and South Platte River in Winter
- Old Truck, Young Eagle and the South Platte River Mysteries
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Thunderbolt-X Kayak Portrait
My WSBS Thunderbolt-X kayak shot after sunset at Beaver Pond in Arapaho Bend Natural Area in Fort Collins. Camera: Canon EOS 40D on a tripod. I was trying to shoot in a style similar to my Surfrigger canoe pictures.Beaver Pond is still open, but I noticed some floating ice during yesterday paddling.
The picture of Thunderbolt is available for purchase from Featurepics.
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A Big Pipe Feeding Boyd Lake
When I paddled Boyd Lake last time in summer it was pretty low. Today I was skating on a bike trail along the lake. The water level is rising. It may be a nice time to paddle there. I didn’t see any motor boats, just one catamaran sailing and a couple of windsurfers having fun with a strong wind.
After my skating I had a long photo session featuring a big pipe supplying water to the lake from Horseshoe Reservoir on the other side of highway. You cannot see that pipe behind the marina at high water.
Canon EOS 40D on a tripod, different angles, different shutter speeds – I shot more than 100 pictures, and I am still not completely satisfied by the results. You can call it “Obsession by a big pipe.”
Both pictures and other shots from Boyd Lake State Park are available for purchase/license directly from stock photography portfolio.
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Less Paddling, More Photowalking, Shooting, and Experimenting with HDR
I haven’t paddled much during last weeks due to a tendonitis in my right wrist. I believe the problem is more related to the overuse of a computer mouse than paddling. The wrist does not really bother me when paddling – I completed the MR340 Race in July without a problem. Nevertheless, it seem that paddling does not help in recovery. So, less or no paddling, but more biking, inline skating or just walking with the camera.Here is a little gallery of pictures shot during my recent photo walking. They are all HDR (High Dynamic Range) images combined from multiple frames with a different exposure. They were shot with Canon EOS 40D camera and Canon EFs 17-55 mm lens on a tripod and saved as RAW. Multiple exposures were processed into HDR images with Photomatix software using detail enhancer for tone mapping.
The last sunset image comes from my paddling on the Lonetree reservoir, but was shot from a shore with my DSLR camera. I haven’t had much success in an attempt to use my Pentax Optio W30 camera for HDR. It is difficult not to shake this little camera when changing exposure time even if it is mounted on a tripod.
Miller Block at historic old town of Fort Collins, Colorado, just after the sunset. 3 exposures +/- 1.5EV
Union Pacific boxcar covered with a colorful graffiti on the siding track near Harmony Mill, Fort Collins. Abandoned? A home of homeless? 3 exposures +/- 2EV 
Old abandoned grain elevator in Pierce, Colorado after heavy rain. 3 exposures +/- 1EV.
Sunset over Rocky Mountains Front Range and Lonetree Reservoir. 5 exposures +/- 1EV. It is the same sunset as in 5 Pictures in 1: HDR Image of Sea Wind Canoe and Colorado Sunset. The above pictures can be ordered as royalty free from FeaturePics (different sizes and license types including free thumbnails for blogging).
