September, Bowron Lakes, BC. I got caught in a rookie mistake last week, on the Bowron Lake Canoe Circuit in British Columbia. I punched a hole in the bottom of my fiberglass Necky Eliza kayak during a portage when the padding on the aluminum rails of my cart slipped off. As I hauled the loaded […]
Light-Weight Backpacking and Photography __ 10/2009
I was tempted to call this tip “Small is Beautiful”.I started pruning backpacking poundage after a 1995 trip to Washington State’s Enchantments, when my pack for five days in mid-September tallied 55 lbs. There’s no reason to re-hash the old gear, but the same trip today would weigh in at about 35 lbs, with better […]
Photo Tip: Backpacker Panorama Hardware __ 09/2009
A year ago I built a light-weight panorama tool out of wood. My hope was to make back-country panoramas. My dream was to rival the pixel count of high-end, medium-format digital backs, or scanned 4×5 film cameras without the weight, bulk or cost. Here in Washington State, I imagined Prusik Peak in the Enchantments, or […]
God’s Pocket Resort with Sea Kayak Adventures
A high-summer, resort-based, guided trip with Sea Kayak Adventures at a remote wilderness archipelago called God’s Pocket. July, 2009. Hurst Island, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. My wife Kate and I join with guests of Sea Kayak Adventures on a resort-based kayak trip—five days paddling and five nights at the God’s Pocket Resort. The location is in God’s Pocket […]
Photo Tip: Image Maturity ___ 08/2009
The late, great Galen Rowell crafted the term “image maturity” to describe a quality of an image. In his 1993 book, The Art of Adventure Photography, Rowell explained that “immature” subjects require straight-forward depiction; with “mature” subjects, subtlety or originality prevail. He used a Snow Leopard and a deer as an example. A Snow Leopard […]
Photo Tip: Bird Photography Kayak __ 07/2009
I’ve photographed birds with a 500mm f/4 from kayaks since 2003, when I mustered the courage to risk the big, expensive glass for the task. Since then I’ve used the same set-up in a dozen or so different kayaks—kayaks from my own fleet, outfitter kayaks and rentals. All of these were closed-deck boats, which offer […]
Photo Tip: 10-day Power Trip ___ 06/2009
Gearing up to photograph for a ten-day trip without power—in this instance a sea kayak trip—has two obvious concerns: flash memory and batteries. You need enough capacity in both to shoot through to the finish. Still, ten days isn’t so long that you can’t keep it simple. On a recent trip around Isla Carmen in […]
Around Isla Carmen
An April, 2009, guided trip with Sea Kayak Adventures around Isla Carmen in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, with cactus and agave blooming, birds nesting, and the water refreshingly cool for snorkeling (sans wetsuit). April, 2009. Isla Carmen, Sea of Cortez, Baja, MX. (revised 6/14/09) ”Whale Shark!” A huge maw, a white-spotted gray body, a length maybe 25 […]
Sea Kayaking: Baja, Sea of Cortez
An early November, 2008, guided trip with Sea Kayak Adventures to Baja, Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, an ideal time for warm water, pleasing temperatures, moderate wind, and—lucky for us—blooming wildflowers in the aftermath of hurricane Norbert. November, 2008, Loreto, Baja, MX. My wife Kate and I are on a guided kayak trip with Sea Kayak Adventures, joined by […]
Orca Whales, Johnstone Strait
On a guided trip with Sea Kayak Adventures, we kayak Johnstone Strait off Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, to see Orca Whales. September, 2008. Telegraph Cove, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. The afternoon skies are a bright-overcast—photographer’s light—with just a wisp of a breeze that would make pulling the paddle through the tranquil water a joy if […]