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Oklahoma Kayak Photography Slideshows
Class II Whitewater all Summer long!
Mt. Fork River -
Broken Bow, OK
The White River in Arkansas offers cold
water paddling on the hottest of Summer days.
White River Float Trips
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Kayak Photography - Get Ready to Love It!
There may not be any float trip operators in your town, but I'll bet there is a reservoir nearby. A small recreational kayak can open up a whole new world of photography fun in your own backyard. You can even turn Your kayaking photos into cool products or custom printed gifts! My wife Dianne and I started exploring kayak photography a few years ago. Dianne and I are not expert photographers. However, we have learned the tricks listed below and they have vastly improved our kayak photography efforts in Oklahoma. If you want to learn more details of our paddling trips visit our kayaking photo blog. Personally, I think kayak photography is ideal for novice photographers for a number of reasons. One reason is that we tend to own inexpensive cameras, but two better reasons are sunrise and sunset! Place yourself on any body of water larger than a puddle at sunrise or sunset and MAGIC happens. You won't need to be trained photographer to notice when it happens, just be there...with your camera. We hope a few folks might benefit from the lessons we have learned. So here goes: Top 6 Kayak Photography Tips from FreeWineUpdated: April 11, 2008. Kayak Photography Tip 1: Paddle During the Magic Hours. Many kayakers do the majority of their kayaking after 10am and
before 4pm. This is sad from a kayak photography perspective because
any photographer will tell you that morning and late afternoon
provide the best light for shooting. Shooting around the noon hour
tends to provide a harsh nearly colorless light that is better
suited for tanning a torso than landscape photography.
Consider launching at 4pm someday instead of landing. Capture the golden sunset light reflected off the waves made by your tiny boat and you are much more likely to see magic happen! The sky becomes a runway for a long line a dazzling colors and cloud formations on the best days, but even a clear day offers its own special allure. Mists are common in the early morning and evening, they are wonderful for shooting silhouette shots.
While you are looking at that online weather forecast, check the expected wind speed. I like using the Weather Underground Site (http://www.wunderground.com/) because they give an hour-by-hour forecast of the wind speed. Even on windy days the wind often settles down for a couple hours of calm early in the morning or late in the evening. These are great times to get out an take some reflection shots at water-level from your kayak. Kayak Photography Tip 2: Hunt the reflections. Canoe and Kayak Stuff for Paddlers
Our weather patterns here in Oklahoma provide us with a secret wealth of stunning sunrises and breathtaking sunsets. Remember that on still waters the sky will be reflected, meaning that you are seeing TWICE the sunset that the rest of the world is seeing....lucky you!
Capturing the experience of kayaking means more than simply shooting sunrises and sunsets on the water… although I absolutely LOVE doing that. A picture of the kayak paddle or the gentle wake created by a kayak in motion really speaks to fellow paddlers and they can add a lot to your kayak photography, too! I should say that there are those in the photography community that think taking landscape shots with the kayak bow in the shot is poor form. Myself, I think it helps the viewer get a sense of 'bring there' in the moment with you. I don't really see how that could be a bad thing. Your mileage may vary.
Capturing light is the name of the game in any kind of photography, kayak photography is no different. One of the first things I noticed was that my little plastic kayak photographed like one of those gleaming, colorful and expensive fiberglass kayaks...IF the deck of the kayak was wet. Some Flickr Friends even accused me of waxing my kayak after they saw the pictures. However, the truth is that I just grab a paddle full of water every now and again and dump it across the deck. Note the shiny kayak in the picture above was taken on Salt Creek from my muddy, old, five year old boat. Kayak Photography Tip 5: Use software, such as the freeware tool Picasa, to straighten the horizon line of your shots. The wake, waves and wobbling off your kayak are sure to cause the horizon line on many of your shots to be abnormally skewed. It may seem subtle, but the human eye picks up details like this without thinking about it. Correcting a skewed horizon only takes a second in Picasa. I have some vision issues that cause me to have to correct this problem on most shots that I take...even on land! Kayak Photography Tip 6: If you prefer whitewater paddling shots, learn where your local natural springs and hydroelectric dams are. Here in the Ozarks, rainfall generates a lot more of the paddling water than snow melt. This can make it tough to choose a good time to ride the local whitewater as rainfall is mostly seasonal when it comes at all. The exceptions to this are spring-fed rivers like the Spring River in Arkansas and rivers like the the Lower Mountain Fork River in Oklahoma that get their water flow from dependable hydroelectric dam releases. That is all of the kayak photography tips I have for today. If you liked this article and want to see more like it, check out our Oklahoma Kayaking Blog and leave us a comment. We would love to hear from you. May Your Days Be Filled with Good Light and Happy Paddling, Thomas & Dianne Jones (FreeWine) Kayaking with Camera - Equipment Safety Tips
Most importantly...wear a PFD anytime you paddle your canoe or kayak. Not wearing a PFD only makes the paddler look like a novice or a fool. Also, the pockets on a good kayaker PFD are handy for photographers.
Taking Pictures From Your Kayak Offers Challenges1. Motion Blur - When your kayak is
bobbing up and down on the waves, it can be tough to become stable
long enough to get a good shot. If you can't find a sheltered cove
to escape the waves, try setting your camera to 'Sports" mode or
setting an ISO of around 400. I have pretty shaky hands, so I
always shop for cameras that offer Optical Stabilization. 2. Water Droplets On The Lens - This one drives me crazy! You need to have a bit of cotton or something to wipe off the tiny droplets of water that are splashed on the lens. Worse, you have to remember to check the lens for the droplets often or risk large blurry spots right in the middle of all of your shots. If you are wearing a dry suit, wet suit or quick drying clothes, you will find they don't work well for wiping your lens. One guy I worked with once simply decided that the water droplets added value, so he ignored them. I carry my handy-dandy Nikon Lens Pen Cleaning System OR a hanky, when not wearing a cotton t-shirt on the river.
Want to visit some of my favorite kayak photography spots?
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