[LRflex] Re: Kayaking camera: demonstration of concept
- From: bob palmieri <rpalmier@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 3 Jul 2007 10:54:24 -0500
Doug -
Nice snap you got there!
My kayak/canoe rig is an SL with one of those nasty 300 f5.6 generic
mirror lenses and your old 24mm Tamron in a leetle Pelican waterproof
flip-top case. I gotta admit, I've lost a few shots to the
limitations of the 300 mirror (for which I paid $40 on ebay.)
I had the Novo before the Telyt; it's way, way betterrer in every way.
Bob Palmieri
On Jul 3, 2007, at 1:00 AM, Douglas Herr wrote:
> 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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