January 1, 2006

The Art of Erosion

It's 9:00 am. The only other car in the parking lot is John's, and I'm sure he is long gone. It will be a short paddle today as my shoulder hurts a bit, but I want to keep the tradition alive by going out on the 1st.

I've now switched over to the new Sirocco as my kayak of choice for the winter. The Explorer is put away until spring. The reason is a simple one - in the dry suit it is difficult for me to look around, so I end up turning the kayak a lot to look behind me. The Sirocco turns on a dime. The shorter trips I take in the winter also has me exploring more narrow passages or traveling near shore navigating between obstacles.

Today would be one such day as I hung near shore to try new settings on the new Optio WPi camera. The first outing was not very impressive, as I had significant issues with focus. A trip through the owners manual found an option called 'Pan Focus' - a setting which is supposed to keep objects both near and far in focus.

The pain in my shoulder is persistent. I hope it works its way out as I paddle toward the point from the beach. There is a slight fog in the distance and the sky is almost dreary. On the water are large mats of decaying hydrilla, which adds a pungent small to the crisp air.

I spend almost all of my time near shore playing with the camera. I probably took over 200 photos in the five and a half miles I will cover today. I danced in through the logs along shore. I loved having the maneuverability of the Sirocco to allow me to thread the kayak through tight spots and sharp turns.

I took quite a few photos of the trees that had fallen into the water. The 'Art of Erosion' is the title that played through my mind. This shore was a museum of sorts. One in which the displays change minute by minute, day by day, year by year.

The camera performed much better. The photos I took that were not in focus was due to shaking. Balancing the camera on the paddle, as I learned from Marek did wonders for holding the camera steady. A carbon fiber paddle makes this an easy task.

I'm not 100% happy with the photos yet, but believe I'm getting close to the type of photos I got with the Sony. When I find the right combination for the 'instamatic' type of shots I got with that camera, I'll document them here for the world to see. In the mean time, if you've found the perfect all around settings for outdoor use - I'd like to here from you!

Pictures

Woody