[LRflex] Kayaking camera: demonstration of concept
- From: Douglas Herr <telyt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "lug@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" <lug@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, LEG <leica@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, LeicaReflex <leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 2 Jul 2007 23:00:11 -0700 (GMT-07:00)
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
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