Thunderbolt – paddling with a camera

Paddling through Forest and Irrigation Ditches

Lonetree Reservoir southwest of Loveland belongs to my favorite paddling waters in northern Colorado. You can always enjoy a nice view of Rocky Mountains Front Range. It is a great spot to shoot sunsets over mountains:
A Peaceful Sunset after a Heavy Gun Fire on the Lonetree Reservoir
5 Pictures in 1: HDR Image of Sea Wind Canoe and Colorado Sunset
Sunset Is Not Always Spectacular over the Front Range of Rocky Mountains
3 Pictures from Sunset Paddling in Northern Colorado

However, in springtime when reservoir is full it’s time to explore some hidden treasures – submerged cottonwood forest in different lake corners. Please note that the heron rookery is a restricted area.

During last few weeks I paddled different boats on the Lonetree Reservoir: Surfrigger (outrigger canoe), Thunderbolt-X kayak, and Sea Wind Canoe. I cannot take Surgrigger into tight passages between cottonwood trees.

There is a lot of floating debris after recent heavy rains. So, Sea Wind is the best choice for my exploration.

7 years ago I was training here with Spencer X-treme canoe for my first Texas Water Safari. I couldn’t find any other place in my vicinity to practice portaging over fallen trees and log jams.

At this high water level you can even escape the lake and explore some irrigation channels.

You can easily find the inlet of a supporting channel to the lake. It is a little water cascade over headgates when the lake is low, but at this time it was the same water level in the reservoir and channel. However, there is also another entry to that channel hidden in woods which I discovered this year. No portage.

Paddling away from the lake across farmland. Deep water, big fish, water foul.

How far can I go? County road 14 bridge.

About 0.5 mile from the lake – another headgate and my turning point

All pictures from a boat were shot with Pentax Optio W30 camera. They turned pretty good, especially, during the last paddling with overcast and a drizzle or rain. Paddling selfportraits were shot with Canon EOS D40 DSLR camera on a tripod with aid of the programmable self timer.

Returning back to the lake.

May 4, 2009

Canon EOS 40D Camera on the Bow of a Racing Kayak

I always carry one of my waterproof Pentax Optiocameras attached to a life jacket to document my paddling trips and races. The image quality is fine to display pictures on-line, but it may be not sufficient for commercial applications. Pictures shot with compact digital cameras usually show a lot of digital noise when examining at 100% view.

In November 2007 I started to sell my pictures through microstock agencies. It forced me to carry a DSLR camera for paddling trips. It is a little bit tricky in the case of a low volume racing kayak like my Thunderbolt-X. Most often, I just pack a camera with a tripod and shoot from land. However, I am also trying to shoot from a kayak cockpit or from a decked mounted camera.

This is the original my sticky pod, a camera mount with 3 suction cups, modified by adding a 1/4″ bolt. It is the same platform I am using for my telescoping video camera mast.

Now, we can add a tripod head. I am showing here my old 3-way Manfrotto/Bogen head great for shooting video. It provides much smoother controls and more solid mount than a simple knuckle coming with the sticky pod.

Canon EOS 40D camera with EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM lensmounted on a front deck of my Thunderbolt-X kayak. This is my favorite lens for paddling or any shooting restricted to a single lens.

A wing paddle can be really wet… To protect the camera from splashes I am using a rain coat with a front glass from Ewa Marine. I bought it years ago for my camcorder and it fits pretty well my DSLR camera as well. I was not able to use the original lens hood inside this cover without vignetting, so I improvised a temporary paper hood.

Canon TC80N3 Timer Remote Controler attached to the camera also fits under the rain coat. It allows me to shoot pictures automatically with a desired frequency and delay.

This camera setup is pretty heavy and affects stability of the tippy Thunderbolt kayak! It is even more challenging if I move it forward to a narrow kayak bow. I would not leave it alone mounted on an empty kayak.

One of the pictures shot from the camera mounted in the front of the kayak cockpit on the Beaver Pond near Fort Collins. The light and scenery is not so great, but the camera setup work as expected. This picture is available for purchase from Featurepics.

Another shot looking backward from the kayak bow. Of course, this camera setup can be used only on calm water. The rain coat doesn’t protect a camera from waves or splashes coming from below. This picture is available for purchase from Featurepics

I am not really recommending it for use with racing kayaks, but it is not so risky with more stable and drier boats. I used this camera setup even without the rain coat on the front deck of Sea Wind canoe.

April 5, 2009

Paddling Photography a Year Ago – March 2008

March 2008. Not too much activity in this blog, but training and racing on the South Platte River I covered in my companion Fitness Paddling blog. I paddled mostly WSBS Thunderbolt-X kayak, but I was tried Spencer X-treme canoe.

Dramatic Clouds at Sunset during Biking in Fort Collins Foothills
Questions and Answers: Pentax Optio W30 Waterproof Camera
Paddling Photography a Year Ago – March 2007: River and Lakes in Northern Colorado
After Paddling Workout on Boyd Lake in Colorado with Thunderbolt-X Kayak
2008 New Books on Kayak Paddling, Fitness, Safety and Fishing
Back to My Paddling Pond
Bergans ALLY 560 Folding Sea Kayak from Norway – Pictures and Test Paddling
Bergans ALLY Is Focusing on Folding Canoes, No More Kayaks

March 3, 2009

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 …

Related posts from November paddling in recent years:

November 18, 2008

Spencer Xtreme and Thunderbolt in November Paddling Workout

November 8, 2008. Beaver Pond in Arapaho Bend Natural Area near Fort Collins. All leaves were gone, but it was a nice afternoon for paddling.

Rob was paddling laps in his Spencer Xtreme Canoe. I took my Thunderbolt-X kayak for easy paddling and testing a Flip Ultra camcorder as a bow camera. I attached the Flip grip from Wet Stuff to a suction cup mount from Sticky Pod. The mount worked OK, but batteries died and I didn’t manage to shoot video much of video on water. Recently, I more used to paddle with gadgets with rechargeable batteries. I don’t leave home without fully charged battery in my Pentax Optio or Garmin GPS.

All pictures were shot with Pentax Optio W30. I am using mostly my DSLR camera, Canon EOS D40, recently. So, I couldn’t not notice a shutter delay in Pentax camera when trying to shoot fast paddling Rob. Well, each shot included catching him first in my Thunderbolt.

Related posts:

November 16, 2008

Winter Dusk on the South Platte River

Dusk on the South Platte River below the Plumb Ditch Dam near Greeley. Camera: Canon EOS 40D on a mini tripod. The picture was shot during a short evening paddling workout with Thunderbolt kayak starting at the Mitani-Tokuyasu State Wilderness Area (open till the end of February only) above Kersey.

Some related posts from paddling the South Platte River in winter:

February 22, 2008