So here I am out in my Skiff floating long looking for something to shoot at. All of a sudden I come upon a pair of loones. Now normally these birds like getting their photo taken about as much as I do. So I go into full command mode and start my track into their space... But wait.... this pair seem to think I'm some type of bird or something because they swim right toward me and start to dive under the skiff and it seems like they want to play. I’ve got my 80 - 400 VR on the camera and simply begin to shoot till the cows come home... Then out of the distance I hear a powerboat..... It is coming closer but I cannot see it..... I can tell the birds also hear it as they begin to get a little jumpy and not play as much. Then around the point comes a boat pulling a water skier and right into the bay he comes.... In a blink of an eye... The Loones are gone and my shoot is over. So now I’m sitting in the middle of a bay in a skiff that has about 4" of free board and I'm dealing with a powerboat with a skier and the waves they create.... I don't need to tell you that I had visions of a D2H with an 80-400 going “Gurgle Gurgle” in 25 Ft. of water.... "Lord Love A Duck".... Anyway.... to make a long story short.... I decided to be a pain and take a few images of the skier , as it was him who (buggered-up) my shoot and now he can figure out how to get around me every time he wants to make a pass. ( Says the dumb guy with 10,000.00 of camera gear in a skiff that will roll over if you look at it the wrong way….lol) At least this way.... I'll sell him some prints and make him pay for crewing up my Loone Shoot.... 8) :lol: {}
Safety first...if not saftey first the get the shot!!! Love this one, the light through the water veil is amazing. Hope you get to sell him this one!
Beautiful shot, Doug - love the effect of the sun on the ski spray. Welcome to my world of power boats threatening to dump muchos dolleros worth of gear into the lake. You might want to invest in a Pelican case when taking your kit out on the water. Obviously the loons knew that being under your boat would be a safe place *LOL* They're not bird brained at all....
WELLLLLLLLLL Doug, I bet you could sell a gazillion of those images. Absolutely fantastic. OHHHHHHHH How about some loone shots while your at it :>)))))) Great story , great image. Skiff and ten grand.....ouch
Doug you have done it again, came away with a wonderful image I mean. The lighting is really neat and the skier is cooperating. Now where the heck are the loons?
Hi Leigh: Yes safty is always an issue... But being an (old) bush rat... I (try) to stay safe in what some would consider an "unsafe" spot. Thanks for commenting and looking in. Greetings Sandi: Glad to see you are still in one piece after all the hot weather you have seen in TO.... I do have a dry box for my gear. But me being the "brain child" that Iam... It was on the shore where it will stay DRY...lol Thanks Gale.... As you know, we all own way to much camera gear. We then carry it all around with us and use about 1/8 of it in a given shoot.... I know... not bright! and yes I will post a few loone images once I get then all processed and figure out what ones I like the best. Hi Dave: Yes I was quit happy with the lighting I got with this shot. The darn guy kept doing his thing always at the wrong time and going the wrong direction. So I was quit happy when he finally set himself for a run that would give me the light I was looking for. Greetings Gordon: Thanks for the comments.... As I mentioned to Gale... I will post a few Loon shot's once I get them processed and figure out what ones I like. Again.... thanks all for the comments and for looking in on my post. It's always good to get a few comments as it tells me that I still can figure out what end of the camera to point at least once and a while. thanks again
Doug Thats a way cool shot there - it reeks of a story ! Funny you mention all this about $$$ and gear in a skiff - I had a dream about it a few nights back . . . and my dream was bad - all my gear went under You pulled this off beautifully.
Long time no see oh Light Master, great image at risk to limb, body and bank account. You are a braver man that I Doug
Great story and fantastic image..... Take Dave's advice about submitting the image to Kodak's Picture of the Day. Dave's advice worked well for me.
Good Morning Hans: Glad to see you are still around these parts. It seems like a long time since I last spoke to you. Thanks for the comment and I hope all is well in your corner of the world. Hi Harry: I'm glad you like the image... It took a little time to get the guy to get going the right direction but I think it worked out well in the end. Greetings Simon: Having dreams like this means that you are thinking about such disasters so the chances of them actually happening are not great. So take your gear out and use the Heck out of it.... Have fun Hello Mike: Boy it’s been a while since I last chatted with you... I sure hope you are still doing the swimming images, as they were GREAT. Hi Frank: I don't know about this Kodak image thing, as this is not anything I normally get to involved in. I just take pictures everyday and (hope) that something comes out in focus.... Thanks again.
Greetings Jeff: Thanks for looking in and spending the time to comment. Hi Ralph: Darn I just went to your website and took a look and some of your images.... Very well done stuff.
Wow! That is a very nice shot - what patience you've got waiting for just the right light and position. I would have given up and shot a loon. Twelve gauge most likely.
Hi Chris, Thanks for the comments.... I'm (sort) of happy with this image. But that needs to be tempered by the fact that I don't think I've taken an image yet that I can say.... That's as good as I can do.
Doug, I'm with you on your answer to Simon. Just use your equipment. Take it out to places you're afraid to. Use it - shoot with it ! Life is far too short to have fear in photography. As long as one uses their brain at the same time, shooting around water is no problem. I was taking pics of a friend of mine in his kayak, and he said 'pass me your camera and I'll take a picture of you'. Welllllll, thanks but no thanks. Camera stays in MY hands when around the water. A $6,000 kerplunk would not be good!! LOL
