[Paddlewise] Stablizing for Photography

Dan;
To stabalize your boat quickly and easily for shooting pictures you could
try a modified "paddlefloat" attachment system on your front deck:  An
eyelet bolted on the left with a piece of line passed through it and a knot
tied in it, a hook bolted close to the cockpit, another eyelet with the line
passing through bolted on the right side, and a jam cleat beyond that.
Simply lay your paddle across the deck, lay the line over it and the hook,
reach forward and pull the line tight and snug it into the jam cleat.  It's
a rock solid attachment and won't move all around like bungies.  Just having
your paddle blade sticking out to dampen any sudden movements is often
enough to make a shot possible.  It isn't neccessary to use the paddlefloat
to greatly increase your stability.

I don't like to use my good camera on the water (I paddle almost exclusively
on salt water) so I keep a Nikonos IV-A with a 28mm lens on the deck and a
80mm lens handy.  It's versitile enough for using on the water for me.  The
camera I carry with me when I'm kayaking and use on land is a Leica R5 with
a 28-70 3.5 lens and a 70-210 3.5 lens.  It gives me enough latitude without
risking damage to my favorite camera.
John Winskill
----- Original Message -----
From: <dmccarty_at_us.ibm.com>
To: <paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net>
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 1999 7:15 AM
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Trip Photography: (was Down East Photos)


> |I protect against splash/rain, but that's all. Depending on where I was
> |paddling/skills, I would change this to a water proof hard case tho! Even
> |then I would have one camera that was easily within reach.
>
> Interesting that this subject just came up.  I've been pondering this
problem
> myself over the last couple of weeks.
>
> I'm trying to use my kayak to get to places that are difficult to get to
from
> land, especially with 30-40 pounds of photo gear.  I also want to be able
to
> take shots from the kayak as I paddle along.  My Looksha IV ain't got alot
of
> storage space in the cockpit so what to do?
>
> In the past I have taken a large dry bag and used that to protect my photo
gear.
> Very bulky and no real access when on the water even with the bag in the
> cockpit.  Done it.  Taken some pictures but not an ideal solution.
>
> My next idea is some pelican boxes to protect the gear.  I'm afraid I'm
going to
> have to get three or four to fit the gear in the boat.  I'm going to look
at a
> box that will hold one camera and one lense to keep in the cockpit.  If I
could
> fit another camera body and lense in the same box while not filling up the
> cockpit so much the better.  I don't think that will happen but at least
this
> way I'll have protected access to the most likely used gear when on the
water.
>
> I was going to look at the boxes this weekend but Floyd Fun prevented
this.
>
> Jordan Lake here in the Triangle of North Carolina, USA, has the largest
> population of Bald Eagles on the east coast with the exception of Florida.
If I
> go to the northern part of the lake I'll usually see three or four eagles.
If I
> get back to a part of the lake that is very shallow, thus keeping the
power
> boats out, I've seen the eagles catching fish and fighting each other over
same.
> This an the Osprey nest, that keepsgetting lower and lower as the tree
decays,
> just calls for taking great bird pictures from the kayak.  The problem in
doing
> so is having the equipment that keeps you far enough away from the birds
so as
> not disturb them yet still get the photograph.  Which begats the problem
of
> access to the geer and, in this case, having a stable enough boat to be
> confident in letting go of your paddle to operate you camera without
"doing a
> turtle."  I liked that expression!  8-)
>
> The last part has me worried.  I mentioned to my SO the other week that it
sure
> would be nice to have a small double so we could paddle together, not like
the
> subject a post I HAD to make a bit ago!  Course I could use the boat as a
photo
> platform!  8-)
>
> I don't think she bought into the idea!  8-)
>
> Anyone have ideas on how to stablize the boat while taking pictures?
> I've thought of rigging the paddle float..... I'm not going to mention
sp...ns
> and Sp...nMan!  8-)
>
> Later....
> Dan McCarty
>
>
>
>
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