Photographing from a kayak

I am still early in my attempts to do photography from a kayak.  There are a lot of things I need to work out before I feel comfortable taking camera gear along with me.  The first thing I do is check the weather and have a look at the current radar map to know what storm systems may be out over the ocean that could move in quickly and bring gusty winds and rain.  Today I bought a water tight bag to store my gear when I go to and from a location I want to photograph in.  It will offer some protection for my equipment but there still is always a risk of being out on the water and becoming distracted by other events going on around me.  I am certain that in time I will become more comfortable with it and hopefully produce some interesting photographs. 

Cypress Trees

I bought a used kayak the other day and made my first attempt to photograph from it.   Living here in Florida I have noticed there are some inland lakes with beautiful stands of cypress trees in the water.   I could see a real opportunity to make some interesting photographs if I could access the grasslands of the lakes and float in and around the trees.  Today was my maiden voyage in the kayak with camera gear.  It is an uncomfortable feeling to be floating around in a very tipsy boat with expensive equipment.  I had a pretty good time other than the soaking rain shower that hit as soon as I got out on the lake.  It was fairly calm the first couple of hours until a strong wind blew up and made some white caps on the water.  That was my signal to head in and not chance being out on the lake with some strong winds blowing up.  My first year living in florida has been interesting and I need to educate myself a little more about the Fl. habitat.  I have seen some rather large alligators in some of the areas I plan on boating that are bigger than my little kayak.  The water moccasins are another concern and there seems to be a lot of them around.  It is exciting to find new subjects to photograph and having a new challenge in accessing these wild locations.

The old and the new

In our recent trip up to the panhandle of Florida we stayed out on St. George Island. Much has changed there since our last trip there 15 years ago.  A few hurricanes have hit the area since then and they usually bring change with their destructive winds.  Old buildings are gone and replaced with new ones, roadways rebuilt, and fishing boats blown away from their moorings and beached. 

Big Sur Ca.

We recently made a camping trip along the California and Oregon coast.  We spent our first few nights of camping in the Big Sur area.  This area has so much to offer the person looking to hike and photograph.  I made this image at sunrise on a cloudy and rainy day at Pfeiffer Beach.  Access to the beach is at the end of the Sycamore Canyon Rd.  off  Rt. 1.  The short hike to the beach has some very amazing wind swept trees along the trail.  It is a day use area and a great location to photograph along the Pacific shoreline.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pfeiffer_Big_Sur_State_Park

Old Jack

I have people ask me why and how do I take these charactor pictures of people.  Certain people just tell a story just with their looks.  I find them to be interesting and usually extremely friendly people when I stop to photograph them.  They often provide me with interesting life stories with a real down to earth perspective.  I have never considered myself a portrait or street photographer but when I force myself to do it I am generally very pleased with the results.  My approach in meeting a stranger and asking to photograph them starts with a smile and a real interest in who they are.  I build a sense of trust with them before ever lifting my camera.  When they agree to be photographed I move quickly and make a few images and then end the session.  I do a lot of planning while talking with them to determine composition, exposure, and proper lighting.  I have enjoyed the many people I have photographed over the years and usually try to get their names and address to send them a print a few weeks later.

The Oyster Fisherman

We recently took a couple of weeks and traveled up to the panhandle of Florida.  We stayed on St. George Island in our motorhome at the State Park.  We chose this location to be close to the towns Apalachicola and East Point.  These communities have a rich culture of fishing and we spent several days learning about the oyster fishing business from the locals.  The oyster fishermen from East Point are a rugged group of men and women that work long hard days out on the bay collecting oysters.  They fish from a simple flat bottom boat built out of plywood, using long pole tongs that act like scissor rakes to scrape up the oysters on the bottom.  The oysterman then heft the poles loaded with oysters up and sort them on a culling board according to their size.  Sadly the oyster fishing is in great danger in region.  Oysters require the right amount of fresh water mixing with the salt water to grow.  The Apalachicola River originates in north Georgia and flows down to the Gulf of Mexico.  This fresh water is the life blood that is required to spawn and grow oysters.  In recent years the state of Georgia has diverted water from the river to provide water to areas like Atlanta.  Each state has valid reasons for their use and need of the water from this great river, but hopefully a solution can be found to help save the oyster habitat.

http://seestgeorgeisland.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apalachicola,_Florida

Ice House - Sebastian Fl.

This year we moved into a new home near the small coastal town of Sebastian Fl.  We have been on the road living full time in a motorhome for over three years and decided we needed to settle down in a  home again.  We chose this area because of the closeness to the Atlantic Ocean and small town feel of the area.  I remember a photographer telling me that I wouldn't use my camera much living in Florida because there is nothing to photograph.  I realized with moving here there would not be the mountains or dense forest with waterfalls that I am use to living around, but I have found there are plenty of opportunities to photograph in a land of big skies.  Some of my best work in over forty years have been made here in the past year.  Yes it is easy to become bored with the flat and predictable landscape but if you are open to the possibilities there are many new an exciting images that can be made in Florida.  I made this image this morning in Sebastian of an old ice house that was used to keep the fresh fish for processing.  I used a -16 stop neutral density filter attached to my 40 to 105mm zoom lens.  The exposure was around 3 minutes at f11.