WET & WILD...

(©2006 Bryan Kelsen for Paddler Magazine)

Whitewater season is coming to a close in Colorado. The water is receeding and with a few exceptions the paddling season is all but over. I have to say though that it was a great spring and summer of boater images for me. I was able to get to several different venues to record images of some of the best athletes in the sport of whitewater kayaking

I am learning more and more with each passing season as to new ways to get the images that I am after. And I already have an entire list of things I want to try as soon as the snow starts to melt in the spring and the flows start to rise again.

Whitewater kayaking is one of the most interesting sports that I have ever come across. I would also say that I have never run across a sport where more of the athletes carry cameras and document competitions and river outings. Part of it is because professional kayaking isn't a sport where very many of the athletes can actually make a living. So they supliment their income by shooting pictures of each other doing the latest trick or hucking off of the biggest drop.

I beleive that the other reason why there is a history of self-coverage by the boaters is that the hoards of media that cover such things as the NFL or the NBA haven't been flocking to kayaking competitions to get cover images for SI or ESPN The Magazine. There are some athletes who have become as adept behind the camera as they have on the water. A very good example of this is professional kayaker Tanya Shuman. Her images appear in a large number of publications either as editorial content or advertisment.

I have spent a great deal of time looking at her work and others to refine my skills in the world of whitewater kayaking. I have to admit that the one thing that they have over me is the great amount of traveling that they do to. I on the other hand work a 40-hour a week job as a newspaper photojournalist here in Southern Colorado. So I am pretty much limited to this region. But my intent is to learn the region, its rivers, creeks and dainages so that I have a knowledge base to draw from when I go out to photograph boaters.

The season may be over around here for this year, but I am already excited about all the possibilities for photos in the spring of 2007.

Stay tuned.