I've posted three videos that were taken this summer during my trip from Whittier to Seward, Alaska. This was the first trip on which I had used the monopod / camera mount I built for my sea kayak. This was a proof of concept essentially, and for me it demonstrated the value I had hoped to get out of using a boat-mounted monopod.

In the past, I had found that it was pretty difficult to take video of some of the more interesting moments in sea kayaking. When the going starts to get threatening, few people in their right mind are willing to let go of their paddle to hold a camera. This is what drove my desire to get the camera mount installed on the kayak.

The three videos I posted are some of the more interesting ones from the trip. As mentioned in other posts, my lessons learned from this proof of concept were that the monopod as built did not threaten my ability to paddle aggressively or brace effectively. In hindsight, I could have used it in more threatening situations comfortably. Also, video takes a lot of memory, which is why I would recommend using a waterproof camera like the Optio W30 which can make use of high capacity SDHC cards.

My approach to video will probably similar to my approach to photos - take a bunch, and a few will be good. Hopefully in 2008 I'll be able to take a lot of video, piece scenes of each together and have something really good to show for it.

Learning is fun!

Learning is fun, especially when your school is on the water. Here are a few photos of a sunset during a sea kayak trip two summers ago in Halibut Cove, outside Homer, Alaska.
Tom Pogson, who runs Alaska Kayak School, is the closest thing I have to a kayaking sensei. We worked in the tidal rips, practiced edging, paddling refinement, navigation and rescues. We all had a very fun time.
This was in May of 2006, and there was still frost appearing on the roof of my tent in the morning. It was cold, and I was thankful that I had brought a sock for my sleeping bag.
Needless to say, we wore some heavy fleece under the drysuit. This kept us nice and warm while trying to rodeo back into a kayak in 51-degree water. This last summer, we were out again on a similar trip and practiced rescues in fast current. Skills refinement and practicing rescues are activites that you can never be too proud to engage in.

Powerline Pass by Mountain Bike

I'm posting links to a few albums from the summer. This one is from a bike trip my friend Josh and I took over Powerline Pass. This trail runs from Anchorage to Indian. It's an easy trail for most of the trip, with a wicked climb approaching the pass and then a super-steep downhill switchback coming down the other side.

It's a really beautiful trip - really enjoyable for a sunny weekend afternoon. It basically ends at a bar in Indian where you can get a burger and a beer while waiting for a friend to come pick you up. Alternatively, I guess you could ride the highway back to town, but with the traffic and exhaust, that's not my cup of tea.

During this trip, Josh's tire blew out, and I dented my wheel a bit. That was
probably a function of us goofing off in some rock fields. Josh had an extra tube, so it wasn't serious. Reminds one to bring appropriate gear though..

Pie-eyed

Tonight was Pie night. We made an awesome lemon meringue pie, which is probably my favorite kind of pie. Making the prebaked crust resulted in a do-over, but aside from a couple lost hours, it all went well. Pie is delish.

Gordon Brown's New Book

My friend told me about Gordon Brown's book, Sea Kayak: A Manual for Intermediate and Advanced Sea Kayakers, today. This was published about a year ago, but it's all new to me. Brown is a level 5 BCU coach living in Scotland - that's kinda like Alaska. heh. Seriously, I'm expecting a great read here.

I've ordered a copy, so considering the super-cheap shipping I paid for, I may get my paws on it late next week. The cover looks cool, I'm really eager to see what's inside!

Geoffrey Canada

This link will shortly have the video of Charlie Rose's conversation with Geoffrey Canada, CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone. This was a great conversation about education in America, one of the best conversations we're likely to hear in the public forum on education in the next year, sad as I am to say that. This is certainly one of Charlie Rose's best interviews in a long time.

Along with Joel Kline's interview, you can sit back and hear a double-header of refreshing thought on American education. If we're lucky, you and I will elect a president that will take Mr. Canada's and Mr. Kline's points to heart.

Speaking of good conversations, another one was on TV this week that was also very thought-provoking. I can't find a link to it anywhere on the Internet, but I'm speaking of the interview with Dr. Obery Hendricks on Tony Brown's Journal.

Dr. Hendricks wrote a book entitled The Politics of Jesus. The book explores the historic social context of Jesus' message, and argues that it is at once misinterpreted by the dominant Christian institutions and especially relevant today. I have ordered a copy at my local B&N store, and look forward to reading it. I'm not sure I'll agree with everything he's writing, but I'm anxious to read what sounds like a very compelling book.

Week at the Movies

I've seen a few movies in the last couple weeks. Let's take 'em from the top:

I Am Legend
This was a good movie, especially if you go with a friend who appreciates a good vampire/Armageddon flick. However, the real value of this movie is that it may convince you to read the book by the same name. Let me tell you: the book is of course better, more profound in plot, denouement, and climax than the movie, and has a completely different ending. The movie is a pretty lame injustice by comparison.

Charlie Wilson's War
Awesome movie. Go see. Ignoring the fact that I'm always happy to see Philip Seymour Hoffman getting more work, this is a relevant film, an exciting movie, and I wanted it to be longer than it was. 'nuff said. I'm almost tempted to read the book by the same name, but not quite.

Juno
Great movie, destined to be a classic in the spirit of Ghost World, Napoleon Dynamite, and Little Miss Sunshine. Bonus points for use of the Mott the Hoople song, All the Young Dudes. This is a great comedy/drama to watch with friends.

The Darjeeling Limited
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is easily one of my favorite movies. Its calm humor just leaves me in stitches. The Darjeeling Limited is a very different sort of movie, but you can tell the artist behind it is the same. The themes of parent-child relationships, alienation, and actualization remain in the crosshairs here, and the comedy style is like more food from the same great restaurant. However, while Life Aquatic was a spoof of sorts, The Darjeeling Limited is a drama and stands completely on its own. The characters are rich, the soundtrack is another wonder, the dialog and humor are in touch. Life Aquatic may have sent you away snickering, and this movie will send you away reflecting.

That's about it. Next movie I'm looking forward to: Cloverfield

Camera for Kayaking

Okay, Christmas has come and gone, but I recently saw that Pentax has come out with an update to what had become my favorite camera for kayaking: the Pentax Optio W30.

These little cameras are great for the kayaker. They're small, are waterproof, and shoot very decent pictures. I really became convinced of their quality this summer - the manufacturer's recommendations for the W10 state 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes. I happened to drop my w10 overboard near shore during an 18-foot tide. About four hours later, I found my camera about twelve feet below the high-tide mark and it powered right up with a happy chirp and took a photo. This was in Alaskan waters in May, mind you.

The one gripe I have about this camera is that the controls are exceedingly difficult to operate if you have gloves on (even low profile ones such as the NRS Hydroskins).

I may just have to buy this, or the probably soon to be released W40 (The E,M and A40s are already out). The W30 doesn't have a faster shutter speed than the W10, but it does support higher ISO sensitivities and has a higher resolution ccd. Also, it supports SDHC cards, so it will support 8GB+ cards. This is important for video. These cameras are great for video, btw, as they shoot continuously until the card runs dry.

Build your own kayak work stand

Here's another link to a photo album I published for kayak work - how to cheaply build a work stand or sawhorse for your kayak.

The Problem:
Fiberglass boats don't sit well on a concrete garage floor. They're unstable, the floor will scratch the gelcoat, etc.

The Solution:
Somebody does make a product for this: The Talic Seahorse. This is an elegant solution, but a very spendy solution - $103 for 31" high stands. They do have their advantages though: They're collapsible, they're lightweight, and that's about it. If you don't need the portability offered by the Talic product, and especially want to avoid paying 103 clams for a garage solution, I'd recommend you do what I did - build your own.

Like with the YakPod, I first thought about reverse engineering somebody else's solution (in this case, Talic's). I mean, how hard could it really be, right? Well, I had sketched a few ideas on paper to do this, but one day while sitting in the garage with my buddy Dale (who was building a beautiful Pygmy, which is also featured in the photographs), it occurred to me that I was making things too complicated. Grabbing my sawhorses and some spare closed-cell foam, I went to work. I cut two pieces of foam as wide as the beam of the boat and sized them to fit directly on the sawhorses. Then, I cut V-shapes in the foam to accomodate the shape of the keel in the general area of the fore and aft bulkheads. The picture above shows the boat resting on these supports. It works great, and since the sawhorses are adjustable in height as well, it can be sized as necessary. It's the K.I.S.S. principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Kayak Camera Mount / Monopod

This summer I posted some photos to my Picasa site from a few kayak adventures and kayak construction efforts. I'm going to post a few blog entries linking over to these and will provide some detail here.

So here's the first one: The YakPod, or Shep's Kayak Monopod

This was great. I've been thinking about ways to mount a waterproof camera on my kayak for a couple years now, and I've finally checked this off of the project list.

The Problem:
If you have a habit of taking a camera along on your kayak trips, you know what a pain it can be to manage the camera. Your options are limited to either storing your stylish camera in a waterproof pelican case or using a waterproof camera. In either of these scenarios, you need to stop paddling and do some work to break out the camera. Forget shooting any action video.

This presents problems - in rough water, it's a bad idea to let go of your paddle. Also, when approaching wildlife, it can take too long to get your rig ready to take advantage of the moment.

Enter the kayak monopod. If you search around the web on this subject you'll quickly run across a pricey suction-cup based system. I had a couple problems with this: a) I'm a Scrooge, b) I have a distrust of suction cups. Now, I know that the suction cups on these systems are pretty heavy duty, fit for adhering to vehicles and able to withstand high speeds and all that. This system probably works fine, but I'm still not in the mood to pay a hundred bucks or more for what amounts to three suction cups and a piece of sheet metal. It's the principle of the matter.

At first I thought about just reverse engineering this design. As long as I wasn't reselling the copied product, I figured I'd be okay legally. At the same time I was thinking about ways I could build something better, or maybe more elegant, or.. just different.

The Goals:
My goals for the design were as follows:

• Materials need to be lightweight
• System must transition from a functional state to a "stowed" state
• System must not impede paddler performance or safety
  
• System must secure camera to boat with secondary failsafe
• System must replicate standard tripod mount (1/4 thread)

The Solution:
After thinking over several ideas, I finally arrived at one solution. I could mount a Scotty flush mount ahead of my cockpit, and modify a Scotty rod holder extension bar to accommodate a camera. This was something I could disassemble into a low-profile state, was far enough forward that I could still have pretty free range of motion with my paddle, and the standard Scotty mount would in theory allow for a host of other reuse scenarios. Scotty makes all sorts of accessories that fit this mount. I could use an actual rod holder, creatively make use of the fishfinder mount, mount a gps, or heck, they even make a cup holder that fits this mount!

Conclusion and Experience:
I had this camera mount ready by the time I went on a 125-mile trip through Prince William Sound. It worked as designed for the most part. I was correct in assuming that the rubber cap over the mount hole would do nothing to keep water out. It was right and proper to augment the mount with some fiberglass and sealant to avoid leakage.
Regarding range of motion - when assembled, the yakpod didn't get in the way, but I was still nervous to keep it up when the going got really rough, and it really did get rough on this trip when we went on the "outside" in the Gulf of Alaska. I missed some great and rare video opportunities because of this, and in the future I'll probably be pushing this limit to see what happens. From my experience on this trip, being in rough conditions, I will feel comfortable leaving it up in such future scenarios.
Video eats up a lot of memory. The YakPod really shines for getting video. Pictures are fine too, but when you unleash the power to grab video of sick waves or cute otters, it becomes the preference. On this summer's expedition I had only brought two 2GB cards. In the future, I would take nothing less than multiple 4GB cards.
On the whole, I'm very pleased with the outcome of this effort. I now have a monopod on the kayak and can mount a waterproof camera easily. Mission Accomplished.

Ready? Go!

Another milestone flies by on the road to total assimilation of my life by Google. I've decided to start typing jazz on Blogger and we'll see how long this keeps up..