paddling with a camera

Tag: sunset

  • Boyd Lake at dusk: bike and canoe adventure

    Boyd Lake at dusk: bike and canoe adventure

    I love photographing Boyd Lake at sunrise and sunset. This year I visited this State Park twice.

    Gravel biking

    First time it was in late January. The lake was covered by a solid ice and there was a lot of ice fishing going on. I rode a gravel bike, Trek Checkpoint, from my home in Fort Collins opting for one of several routes ranging from 22 to 26 miles, primarily on dedicated biking trails. For added variety, I occasionally incorporate sections of bike routes on residential streets. While these trails are mostly paved, it’s possible to find dirt paths along the shores of Boyd Lake.

    • senior male cyclist with his gravel bike on a frozen lake in Colorado - Boyd Lake State Park
    • lonely male figure on a frozen lake at dusk in Colorado - Boyd Lake State Park
    • dusk over frozen lake in Colorado - Boyd Lake State Park
    • lonely male figure on a frozen lake at dusk in Colorado - Boyd Lake State Park

    Canoe paddling

    The second visit was in the middle of March with Seawind canoe. The lake is opened for boating or any form of paddling this year on March 11th. It looks that there are no winter restrictions for paddling on lakes within Larimer County parks: Horsetooth Reservoir and Carter Lake.

    I paddled a 8.5 loop around the lake starting a the rowing beach. It was a good workout with some wind. Seawind canoe is my strongest candidate for 340 Missouri River race this year. The lake was pretty full (88%), but I couldn’t reach the dam structure in southeastern corner, so we need a little bit more water. I was paddling too slow and missed beautiful sunset color by 10 minutes at my launching and finishing spot. However, I shot some pictures at blue hour. What is the blue hour?

    decked expedition canoe on a calm lake at dusk in Colorado - Boyd Lake State Park

    Blue hour

    Blue hour refers to the period of twilight before sunrise or after sunset when the sky takes on a deep blue hue with a soft, diffused quality of light. It occurs when the sun is below the horizon, and the indirect sunlight passes through the Earth’s atmosphere, scattering shorter blue wavelengths more effectively than longer red wavelengths. As a result, the sky appears predominantly blue during this time, creating a unique and visually appealing atmosphere for photography.

    Photographers often cherish the blue hour for its atmospheric qualities, soft lighting, and vibrant colors. It’s considered an ideal time to capture landscapes, cityscapes, and architectural shots, as the gentle, diffused light can add depth, mood, and a sense of tranquility to the images. Additionally, during the blue hour, artificial lights such as streetlights and building illuminations become more pronounced, further enhancing the overall aesthetic appeal of the scene.

    Dawn and sunrise

    Later in spring and summer the lake will become very busy and crowded with all sort of power boats including jet ski. It may be a good time to practice stand up paddling skills in waves and chop. But, I will be rather driving to Boyd lake before sunrise when it is still calm and quiet. Here is a selection of old pictures and a video clips from early mornings on Boyd Lake.

    • summer dawn over Boyd Lake and Front Range of Rocky Mountains in northern Colorado
    • sunrise silhouette of a man with a fat mountain bike on a lake shore, Boyd Lake State Park in northern Colorado
    • sunrise over Boyd Lake and Front Range of Rocky Mountains in northern Colorado with a long stand up paddleboard on a shore ready for paddling
    • dawn over a swimming beach at Boyd Lake State Park, Colorado
    • silhouette of a male stand up paddler watching sunrise and flying geese over a calm lake, Boyd Lake State Park, Colorado

    Royalty free images

    The pictures above were shot with Sony A7R5 mirrorless camera with 24-105 zoom lens on a light travel tripod. It is my standard gear for biking and paddling. As usual, I am adding all pictures to my stock photography portfolio. There are available for licensing as royalty free images from Adobe stock and other agencies online. My portfolio currently includes: 30,000+ still images, 1000+ video clips, and growing stock of conceptual vector illustrations.

    Feel free to explore the paddling and rowing playlists on my FitOver67 youtube channel for more content.

  • 6 Sunset Pictures from 10 Minutes of Paddling on Boyd Lake

    6 Sunset Pictures from 10 Minutes of Paddling on Boyd Lake

    Here is another composition exercise from the old blog posted originally in June 2007. It is good to use a waterproof camera, especially, when you are paddling a tippy boat. And, always keep that camera on a leash. Usually, I have a camera tethered to my life jacket.

    10 years ago I was paddling with Pentax Optio W10, and now with a similar Olympus STYLUS Tough TG-5. I switched mostly because the new camera offers RAW format for picture recording, so I have a full control in postprocessing. For a more casual shooter this may be not so important.

    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”.


    Boyd Lake, Colorado

    Boyd Lake, Colorado

    Boyd Lake, Colorado

    Boyd Lake, Colorado

    Boyd Lake, Colorado

    Boyd Lake, Colorado

    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.

    Then, it was time to look west and shoot the sun and clouds over mountains, but that is another photo story …

    Which is your favorite picture?

    Related posts and links:

  • 3 Bow Shots from November Sunset Paddling

    I really enjoy November paddling in northern Colorado. Evenings can be calm with a glossy water and beautiful sunsets. No mosquitoes! It could be cold with ice on a kayak deck, but this year November is very warm.

    I selected these 3 pictures from my paddling tonight on Beaver Pond in Arapaho Bend Natural Area near Fort Collins. Basically, the same “classical” snapshot showing the bow of my Thunderbolt-X kayak. However, I hold the camera, Pentax Optio W30, at different height from eye level to almost fully extended arms over my head. It gave quite different perspective. Of course, the light was changing.

    Unfortunately, it was too dark for shooting when some geese, actually, a few hundred of them, tried to land on my head …

    Fort Collins kayaking

    sunset paddling in Colorado

    Thunderbolt-x kayak after sunset


  • The Last Frame during the 2008 Missouri River 340 Race

    I packed my Canon EOS 40D camera with a tripod for the recent MR340 race. I launched 40 minutes before the start and paddled across the Kaw River to shoot 150 boats lining up above boat ramp, then starting, entering the Missouri and heading down the river.

    Exactly speaking, there were only 149 boats starting since my Sea Wind canoe was waiting for me stacked in a muddy beach of the Kaw River. Amazingly, I lost not more than 5 minutes to other boats before I was able to launch and start my race. You can see 8 of these pictures in the Fitness Paddling blog.

    After 86 miles and more than 12 hours of almost non stop paddling (just a few minute breaks at two checkpoints) it was time to stop and turn my navigational lights on. Fortunately, the Big Muddy offered a beautiful big sandbar for this purpose. I couldn’t resist the quiet sunset and unpacked my camera and tripod. I spend next 25 minutes shooting. I preferred not to count how many boats passed me during that time.

    The above picture is a HDR image derived from three 3 frames shot with different exposure time, processed and map toned with the Photomatix software. It is similar to my recent picture of the Colorado sunset combined from 5 frames.

    During the 2007 MR340 I also stopped to shoot sunset between Waverly and Miami, but I was about 10 miles closer to Miami paddling a faster Thunderbolt kayak. Mark Przedwojewski and Brian Weber were just passing in their Kruger cruiser. At that time Connie was at Miami looking upstream and shot a picture of West Hansen and Richard Steppe approaching the checkpoint.

    This year I managed to shoot Toby is his Sea Wind leaving the sandbar. Why he was in such a hurry?

    It was the last time I used Canon camera during the race. My serious photography attempts ended there. The camera and tripod remained packed till Coopers Landing where I left them with my wife. I focused on paddling and shooting with my compact Pentax Optio W30.