I haven't been as productive as I'd like to in plenty of areas ... especially photography.  Lately I've been spending a lot of time in the kayak, and a lot ( but a bit less than in the 'yak ) on a bike.  Summer is here, and it's been a long time coming.  Seattle winters are dark and bleak, and our summers too short;  it's vitally important to enjoy them while we can.  The Blue Scholars sing about the region's best kept [secret], that nothing is like summer in the Northwest.

 

On the other hand, we've seen a great deal of snow this spring, blocking access to the mountains.  This should be the time for more photography than I have hard disc space for ... being trapped in the city doesn't help toward this end.  Cycles, kayaks, and the like are a good way to get outdoors, enjoy the sun, fill one's lungs with fresh air ... and to do it all inside of severe travel constraints.

 

I've been doing some photography from the kayak, and learning a great deal about the process.  Having carried my camera and one of my best lenses nervously in a Vagabond Viking, worried about the hull rocking in the waves, hearing that somebody else rented the same boat and crashed it 50 yards from the dock is a cringe-making experience.  Thus far I'm using a sea-bag, which is water-tight and floats even when loaded with a 5D and heavy 300/4 IS telephoto.  On a leash, the bag will even float behind the kayak without adding too much drag.  Heat and condensation become a problem, however;  even a waterproof bag will get some drops inside as you use it, and as the sun beats down, this turns into vapor.

 

Whatever case the camera lives in - a pelican case might be a wiser choice, but seems cumbersome - it needs to come out for use.  There are unfathomably expensive underwater "housings" for scuba photography, but at many hundreds of dollars ( often more than a thousand ), this isn't a viable solution.  Still, my heart races every time the camera leaves its bag.  In general, though, the camera tends to stay behind when I go boating.

 

I'm still going to the mountains, and just published a piece on Talapus Lake, along I-90 in the Cascades.  More, and longer stays, are planned for this year ... hopefully they'll be fruitful, at least in the photographic realm.  Surrounding oneself with nature is always enjoyable and relaxing;  photos are "merely" something to show for it.