There is a new breed of kayaking professionals and these are the kayaking photographers. If you thought kayaking is tough, imagine kayaking through the Grand Canyon and taking photographs of the surrounding landscape. Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? Not really! If you are good at kayaking and know the basics including the rolls and if you have a good kayak the kayaking photography is a stress-buster!
You can probably take a look at the Voyager II two-person tandem sit-on-top kayak from Coleman Kayaks. It is one of the best kayaks on their catalogue and offers everything that you need in a kayak. It has a two-year warranty and has a self-draining facility that is designed to allow water to completely drain out. Now that you have a good boat, you need to choose the region for inflatable kayaking. Of course, you simply can’t do photography while trying to maneuver the kayak over rapids. That would certainly lead to a disaster. In such a situation, you’ll have a tough time deciding whether to let the $2500 Digital SLR camera drown or let your kayak flip.
Here are six tips for those people who would like to become better kayaking photographers.
1. Your camera needs protection first, since you will be going into water. How well you can protect your camera will also depend on your kayaking skills. Before you actually hit the rivers or the sea, practice on a long stretch of flat water.
2. Don’t hang the camera around your neck like most photographers do. This is a totally different and volatile environment. If you suddenly hit a tough paddling situation with your hands on the camera hanging on your neck then you can expect the kayak to flip, which will destroy the camera and its lenses.
4. While going for photography on a , use a paddle leash. There are times when while taking a photograph, you may accidentally hit the paddle and it will fall into the water. Again, this will be a stalemate situation because the kayak is almost useless without the paddle. If you use a paddle leash then the probability of loosing the paddle is much less.
5. The back up option is to carry an extra paddle in case your original paddle does fall into the water. Actually, there are other things that can happen like your paddle hitting a solid rock at a high speed while you are busy taking a photograph. In such a scenario carrying an extra paddle will be quite useful. In fact, nowadays it is mandatory to carry another paddle during kayaking photography.
6. The best way to make sure that you capture stunning photographs yet not lose control of your inflatable kayak is by taking a partner along. You can click to your heart’s content while your partner can keep you safe from rapids and sudden waves.
Hopefully, if you follow the above tips you will be able to get some great pictures, and at the same time enjoy this adventure called kayaking.
