[Leica] Kayaking camera: demonstration of concept

[hoppyman at bigpond.net.au (G Hopkinson)]

Doug that Egret is an elegant bird. You must look like one of those market 
hunters with a punt gun when you paddle out with that
outfit. Please never mention the possibility of dunking the R8/DMR/280 APO 
again. I feel a little queasy now.

Cheers
Hoppy

-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+hoppyman=bigpond.net.au@leica-users.org 
[mailto:lug-bounces+hoppyman=bigpond.net.au@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of
Douglas Herr
Sent: Tuesday, 3 July 2007 16:00
To: lug@leica-users.org; LEG; LeicaReflex
Subject: [Leica] Kayaking camera: demonstration of concept

For some time now I've wanted to take a camera with me while kayaking. 

Background: the kayak allows me much better access to the water side of 
marshes, and when I'm in the kayak I don't look like a human
and can get much closer.

more background: As most of us know, kayaks are supposed to float on top of 
the water, but there's always the possibility of turning
turtle (flipping over) or becoming a submarine (taking on too much water) so 
I've been hesitant to carry something like the
R8/DMR/280 APO combination in the kayak.

My solution: About a year ago I picked up from an ebay auction a Novoflex 
400mm f/5.6 T-Noflexar very inexpensively, and on the
camera end of this lens I've fitted an very ugly but (thanks to DAG and UPS) 
very functional Leicaflex SL.  Total cost of the rig is
about US$375 including the SL, Novoflex lens, its shoulder stock, and the 
LEA-R adapter for Leica-R.  I won't be happy if it gets
dunked, OTOH it's not like I'd have the repair expense of the R8/DMR/280 APO 
if they got soaked.  On the DMR the Novoflex has proven
to be adequately sharp for a good 8x12 print.  Not APO-Telyt sharp, but 
adequate.

The kayak is a fiberglass sea kayak, the Easy Rider Sea Hawk.  It has a 
covered deck, a big open cockpit so I can get legs or camera
in and out easily, and is known as a 'dry' boat, i.e., water doesn't splash 
in easily.  I've found that I can keep the camera out of
the kayak's bilge by balancing it on my legs as I paddle, and far enough 
forward that it's out of the way of errant splashes from
the paddle.

The location I chose to test the rig is a marshy backwater off Lake Natoma, 
a reservoir just west of Folsom California.  From put-in
to the backwater area there's a stretch of open water that can be crossed in 
fifteen minutes or so and given the unpredictable
nature of winds and of other boaters this is probably the riskiest part of 
the test.  Once in the backwater area there's very little
boat traffic and the waters are sheltered from most winds.

Among the wildlife I spotted during the test was a river otter, several 
Mallard families, a Common Merganser family, and numerous
landbirds.  Alos spotted a Great Blue Heron and a Great Egret, but not the 
Green Heron, the bird I was most interested in.

The Great Egret provided the best photo opportunities, but only after I 
figured out what to do with the kayak were the pictures
worth showing.  I quickly found that photography while the kayak was in open 
water was pointless: the kayak is always drifting with
the current or breezes or both, the birds are paddling a different 
direction, and I've got only a limited range of motion while
seated in the kayak's cockpit.  This plus the floation vest interfering with 
the shoulder stock and keeping track of the paddle
while holding the camera ... clumsy and uncoordinated are the words that 
come to mind.

I found the best way to use the kayak as a photo platform was to run the 
boat onto soft mud, jamming it in place, and to wait for
the egret to approach as it fed, leaning my elbows on the lip of the cockpit 
for added camera stability.  So without further words,
the result:

http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/ardeidae/greg01.html

technical stuff: SL, Novoflex 400mm f/5.6 T-Noflexar, Kodak Portra 170 NC, 
kayak.  All comments welcome.


Doug Herr
Birdman of Sacramento
http://www.wildlightphoto.com

_______________________________________________
Leica Users Group.
See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information