I just got a fisheye lens for my Canon 5D/II: Sigma 15mm F2.8 EX DG Diagonal Fisheye. It is designed for a full frame DSLR camera and offers a 180 degree field of view. It was difficult choice between this lens and Canon 15 mm fisheye, but the Sigma lens had better reviews.

My primary reason for this lens was to shoot caricature portraits (including self portraits) inspired by the work of Sharon Dominick. Of course, I am also going to have some fun with that lens outdoors with landscape and paddling. So, here is my first series of pictures with the Sigma fisheye shot during recent paddling with Sea Wind canoe on the Horsetooth Reservoir near Fort Collins – just trying different angles and distortions. The last picture was shot after sunset with a tripod.

I am sure more fisheye pictures will appear here in the future. I am going to mount a camera with this lens on kayak front deck and, also, shoot more from a kayak cockpit to add something to my old post A View from a Kayak Cockpit – 3 Paddlers, 3 Cameras, 3 Boats.

What do you think about the fisheye perspective for paddling photography?

You can find a lot of good fisheye pictures including shots from sea kayaking in Flickr photostream of Mark Payton. He is shooting with the Canon lens.

Related posts:

Canon PowerShot G11 First Paddling Pictures
Canon EOS 40D Camera on the Bow of a Racing Kayak
Paddling with Canon PowerShot G11 Camera on a Monopod Mast

This year the race was postponed for a month due to flooding conditions on the Missouri River. So, instead of driving to Kansas City I had time to go through my old pictures. A lot of memories!

Since Texas Water Safari was postponed due to flooding I switched to plan B, packed my camera gear and Sea Wind canoe and drove to Wyoming instead of flying to Texas.

In my desperation I ignored weather forecast. My trip turned to be shorter than planned. In Wyoming I experienced heavy rains, thunderstorms, hail, strong wind, cold, and flooding. Nevertheless, I achieved my main goal – exploring the paddling access to Medicine Bow River Arm of the Seminoe Reservoir.

First, you need to drive to Hanna, a small mining town (hwy 72 from I-80). Then, there is about 25 miles of a dirt road – county road 291, and then a short narrow road to a boat ramp. This is a good gravel road traveled by RVs and boat trailers. Of course, after heavy rains driving conditions may be more challenging.

So, despite of rain and some water flowing across my road I reached the boat ramp in a pretty remote location. There were some people there, but they were hiding inside their campers. I took a short paddling upstream the Medicine Bow Arm of the reservoir. The wind was quite strong, but not so bad (actually good for training). However, when I got surrounded by thunderstorms with intense lightning I gave up and returned to my car.

I decided not to camp there – I was afraid that the road could get too muddy or washout during night, so I drove back to Hanna and I-80. Finally, I ended up for night at a motel in Rawlins. It was raining all night and till noon of the next day. When rain was stopping it was cold and windy. So, I stopped at Fort Steele to see the North Platte River, and then return home.

River flow: North Platte River at Dugway – 16,000cfs, Medicine Bow River as seen from the bridge above Seminoe Reservoir – 3000cfs.

Since Wyoming Outback Challenge (annual 44 miles paddling race) is gone, we decided to make a longer training run on the North Platte River this year (May 22-23). We means me with Pixel, Rob Bean and two Kruger canoes.

On Friday, May 21 we run a shuttle between Seminoe State Park and Bennett Peak campground which we reached at sunset after a stop at Saratoga. Saturday was a full day of paddling starting around 7:00 am and stopping for a night 12+ hours later between Dugway and the Seminoe Reservoir. On Sunday, we paddled the last few miles of the river and then a lake to the North Red Hills campground and boat ramp. We finished paddling around 4 pm, took a look at the dam, drove to Saratoga for a dinner, and recovered our second car from the Bennett Peak campground at sunset. The Snowy Range road was still closed, so we returned to Fort Collins through Walden and Cameron Pass.

We experienced every possible weather Wyoming can offer: a very warm night and morning at the Bennett Peak campground, winter conditions (rain, snow, wind) during the second half of out first day, chilly night in tents covered by frost, sunny second day: calm and turning windy in the afternoon.

Wildlife: one moose, plenty of deer, proghorns, bald eagles, pelicans, and a lot of other birds.

I covered almost the entire course of our trip before, but in shorter separate segments paddled at different times. I didn’t paddle before the river from Dugway to the middle of the Seminoe Reservoir (Sand Mountain). I visited the Seminoe Reservoir only once years ago. It was in August of 2000 with my CLC Patuxent kayak: there is still a short report from that trip at Mountain Wayfarer. It looks really ancient …

GPS odometer: 114.5 miles, 16:58 hours of moving time, 3:34 stopping time (not counting our overnight camping), 6.7 mph average moving speed, 11.7 mph max speed.

River flow: 7000-8000 cfs at Dugway above Seminoe Reservoir, the reservoir was filled to 70% of full capacity.

It looks like I need to update my post Cost of Paddling – Access to Local, County, State and Federal Waters. Wyoming Game and Fish Department requires now Aquatic Invasive Species decal:

Based on direction from the Wyoming legislature, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission has implemented emergency regulations to address the aquatic invasive species threat. Under this regulation, all watercraft using Wyoming waters are required to display an Aquatic Invasive Species decal. Costs for the decal under the emergency regulations are $10 for motorized watercraft registered in Wyoming, $30 for motorized watercraft registered in other states, $5 for non-motorized watercraft owned by Wyoming residents and $15 for non-motorized watercraft owned by non-residents. Inflatables 10 feet or less in length are exempt. Decals go on sale on the WGFD website April 15 and at license agents May 17.

North Platte River at Eagle Nest below Saratoga, Wyoming

Since I bought annual passes for Larimer County Parks I am paddling on the Horsetooth Reservoir quite regularly this springtime. I started with Sea Wind canoe when the lake was still covered by ice. Now, I am paddling mostly Thunderbolt kayak, but I am going to use other boats too (at least for photography purposes).

I love early (and late) season on the Horsetooth since there is very little or no motor boat traffic. However, paddling workout with a racing kayak is always more challenging here than on a smaller body of water like Beaver Pond in Arapaho Bend Natural Area. This narrow reservoir is about 6 miles long. You can make a 14 mile loop by paddling around the lake. Many more miles can be added if you follow closely the shore and visit all coves.

Last time (April 18, 2010) I started at the South Bay and paddled total 11+ miles to the island next to Eltuck coves and back. The water level is high enough to make it an island now (a favorite place for Canadian geese).

March 16, 2010. My lake paddling season in Colorado is opened!

I took Sea Wind Canoe for a short paddling on the Horsetooth Reservoir. I started at Satanka Cove next to the dam and managed to go to the South Eltuck Cove. Ice was melting along shores creating a narrow channel of free water. However, wind was shifting ice and some passages were closed making necessary to drag or push my boat over ice.

All the way I stayed next to the shore, so my round trip got pretty long – 6 miles. Ice canoe racing was coming to my mind. Now, I need a little bit of snow to enhance my pictures.

Related posts:
Paddling and Photographing the Horsetooth Reservoir in Northern Colorado
Cost of Paddling – Access to Local, County, State and Federal Waters
Paddling Horsetooth Reservoir in Winter Scenery
Sea Wind on the Horsetooth Reservoir - Colorado Winter Paddling Video
Launching Thunderbolt Kayak on Horsetooth Reservoir from Lory State Park
Ice Canoe Racing across St Lawrence River in Quebec City

After producing 4 parts of TITS (This is the Sea 1, 2, 3, 4) series devoted to sea kayaking, Justine Curgenven delivers This is canoeing.

“THIS IS CANOEING” is a 2-disc celebration of canoeing, showcasing top single-blade paddlers in their pursuit of remote wilderness journeys or challenging white water. Multi-award winning film maker, Justine Curgenven captures the essence of canoeing in 12 short films. From open canoe slalom races to 1,000 mile birchbark expeditions, Justine provides insights into the diversity of the sport and the influential people who tell it’s story. Immerse yourself in this globe-trotting 3 hours of adventure to world class canoeing destinations in Canada, the United States, Scotland & Wales.

I just ordered my copy from Amazon.

I have many miles of bike trails in Fort Collins and neighboring cities of Loveland, Windsor and Greeley. They allow me to follow the Poudre and Big Thompson Rivers on a bike or inline skates. On January 31, 2010 I decided for a little bit further bike exploration – the South Platte River north of Denver.

My photography destination was the output of Denver sewer. In typical winter conditions it delivers practically all water into the South Platte (up to 200cfs, see flow data).