FIND UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES [4]
“Look for angles that haven’t been done,” says Iromoto. “If you’re doing something that feels really awkward or difficult, it’s probably a unique perspective.” For this image, Iromoto sat in the back of a tandem kayak and held the camera just above the water at the side of the boat. For image #3 (previous page), he paddled ahead of the group and then twisted in his seat to shoot over his shoulder. “If you’re sitting and shooting comfortably in your kayak, you’re going to get the same images as everyone else,” he says. Finding a unique angle isn’t just a gim- mick. “A new perspective can be refreshing, inspiring and invigorating. It can spark something in people to go outside and explore and seek out their own adventures.”
OUTSMART YOUR
POINT-AND-SHOOT BY NEIL SCHULMAN
My friend and expert paddler Paul Kuthe has a t-shirt that reads, “It’s not the boat.” It’s not the camera, either. On my walls are poster-sized images made with cheap waterproof cameras, not digital SLRs with giant lenses and sensors the size of hatch covers. Skilled shooters can make excellent images with small point-and- shoot cameras.
Know How the Meter Works
Camera meters are programmed to make the image 18 percent grey, the tonality of a piece of outfitting foam. It will turn white snow grey. Want a black, inky silhouette? The meter will turn that grey, too. Since not everything in the world is grey, you need to take control.
Compensate 4 Georgian Bay, Ontario the trip
On my cameras, the exposure compensation button is worn from use. It overrides the camera’s meter in fine increments (1/3 of an f-stop). Know where this button is. You can also lock the exposure by holding the shutter button partway and recomposing.
Expose for the Highlights, Process for the Shadows
Cameras have less dynamic range than your eye. Dark shadows are often acceptable. Blown highlights aren’t.
Get Modal
Your camera’s modes (action, portrait, landscape, etc.) use different combinations of shutter speed, depth of field and color balance. Learn what they do so you can assert creative control.
Maximize Speed
Some shutter lag is inevitable. To minimize it, shut off the auto-review and flash and set the camera to burst mode. Use a memory card with a fast write speed.
Move
“Franklin Island is one of my favorite week- end getaways,” says Iromoto. The six-kilome- ter-long island lies an easy three-hour drive north from Toronto, and hits all the classic Georgian Bay highlights: abundant smooth rock campsites, windswept pines, breathtak- ing sunsets, a picturesque lighthouse and even a few secret sandy beaches. The island’s eastern shore is sheltered from the Bay’s prevailing westerlies, and numerous small islets protect much of the outer coast.
42 | ADVENTURE KAYAK
IF YOU GO: The easiest and closest launch is the public dock at Snug Harbour. Parking is free (so is camping for Canadian visi- tors—Franklin is Crown land) and the first campsites are less than an hour’s paddle across scenic, sheltered waters.
OUTFITTERS: White Squall Paddling Centre has been the Bay’s go-to source for kayak rentals, gear, maps, tips and guided trips for over 25 years.
www.whitesquall.com.
The best feature of these small cameras is their rugged portability. Use it. Change perspectives, get in the water, climb cliffs and get the best angle.
Point-and-Shoot is an Attitude
Point-and-shoot is more of a mindset about making quick snapshots than it is a type of camera. Take your time. Think. What really matters in photography is vision, light, composition and meaning, not the device. Nobody asked Melville what kind of pen he used to write Moby-Dick.
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