Kayaking - NSR 2013

Ice Globe · 5 Mar 2013 at 18:55

Went to watch the National Student Rodeo last weekend. It's a kayak playboating competition held at Nottingham's whitewater course at Holme Pierrepoint.

Below are my favourites, a few more on my flickr.

#1

National Student Rodeo 03 by Ice Globe, on Flickr

#2

National Student Rodeo 12 by Ice Globe, on Flickr

#3

National Student Rodeo 24 by Ice Globe, on Flickr

#4

National Student Rodeo 20 by Ice Globe, on Flickr

#5

National Student Rodeo 02 by Ice Globe, on Flickr

Cosimo · 5 Mar 2013 at 18:56

Great shots.

Phal · 5 Mar 2013 at 19:05

Spent a weekend there as a kid and did some runs on the first day with the water set to a more noob friendly level (it's a man-made area with controllable water flow)

Nice shots

Any shots not so close up? Some that show the water around them a bit more etc?

Ice Globe · 5 Mar 2013 at 19:15

Here's a couple of the course if you're interested in the levels:

And some of the wider carnage:

theheyes · 5 Mar 2013 at 19:17

#1 definitely the pick for me.

Phal · 5 Mar 2013 at 20:27

They let us swim/float down it once for fun/safety training on what to do if you capsize and have to gtfo! Was fun jumping in and having the water rush you away.

No crazy rodeo noobs doing it with hand paddles?

munge · 5 Mar 2013 at 20:42

Great photos! Love some of the facial expressions. It's that moment when the water is coming at your face and you have to remind yourself that it's okay, you're not going to drown...

From a technical point of view (for my learning) was there any reason you used f/10 rather than a wider aperture and lower ISO? Curiosity, that's all!

munge · 5 Mar 2013 at 20:43

And how's number 5 got so much air??

Ice Globe · 5 Mar 2013 at 22:04

munge said:
Great photos! Love some of the facial expressions. It's that moment when the water is coming at your face and you have to remind yourself that it's okay, you're not going to drown...

From a technical point of view (for my learning) was there any reason you used f/10 rather than a wider aperture and lower ISO? Curiosity, that's all!

I wanted the camera in shutter priority mode with the aim of having a shutter speed of 1/1250 to 1/1600 to stop the motion of water. I set the ISO to various amounts throughout the day depending on the sunlight/clouds in order to achieve those shutter speeds.

The lens aperture varied considerably to match those requirements depending on how much whitewater and hence light I happened to be pointing at/zoomed to. So in an ideal world I would have preferred the lower ISO and larger aperture but I wanted to play it safe with so much quick action and variable light conditions.

munge said:
And how's number 5 got so much air??

Number 5 is a duo aka 2-person kayak; they've backed the boat into the stopper/wave to the right which uses the downward force of water to sink the back and raise the front. There could also be a fair amount of water in the boat by that point which further sank the back.

munge · 5 Mar 2013 at 22:15

Ice Globe said:
Number 5 is a duo aka 2-person kayak; they've backed the boat into the stopper/wave to the right which uses the downward force of water to sink the back and raise the front. There could also be a fair amount of water in the boat by that point which further sank the back.

Now I look at it, I can see that it would be one very short kayak if it was a single seater!

And re settings, was wondering if there was a rationale over and above making the most of the available light and it changing between shots. Was thinking a larger aperture would allow a higher shutter speed, lower ISO and less depth of field.

Having said that, these photos are a good example of how capturing the right moment can really make a picture, irrespective of any thoughts re exposure etc. I'm sure any of these people would be pleased with these pictures and I could see them in magazine or newspaper somewhere.

But I'm nowhere near a pro, so my opinion counts for nought!