Well, now that the K7 is out the K20D has finally dropped into my target price range, so I picked one up at Ace Photo (Ashburn, VA) last Thursday. The timing was great since I had the perfect opportunity to put it through it's paces this weekend. The annual Potomac Whitewater Festival kicked off today with the Great Falls Race. This is "a quick, adrenaline-packed descent of 60 vertical feet through the Potomac's spectacular class V+ Great Falls." I shoot this every year but this year was particularly kind to photographers since the chosen line was along the VA shore which offers much better vantage points than the Maryland or Central lines.

The VA lines also offer what is probably the most spectacular single drop of the entire Great Falls. The Spout is a 20'+ single drop one side of which drops gradually in a froth of spray and the other side drops vertically into the pool below. All of the following photos depict the Spout from either above or below.

Going over the vertical lip of The Spout


Dropping onto the right side of The Spout


Another Paddler at the brink


Fully Committed


Of we GO!!!


YeeeeeeeeeeeeeeHaw


All shot with the K20D and The Sigma 50-500mm BIGMA. Shot in Tv mode and shutter speeds varied between 1/500s and 1/750s. Aperture varied as light conditions changed.

More shots available at http://photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=921919

Mike

[IN_Varmntr]

Thanks all...

> In_Varmntr... if you want to shoot any kayakers running the falls themselves you'll need to go early in the day as the park rangers try (though they can't actually prohibit it) to keep boaters away during the afternoons when there tend to be more tourists around. Also, there are actually 2 separate parks that straddle the Falls. C&O Canal Park is on the MD side (NE shore)and is the best place to shoot the falls in morning hours. The Great Falls Park is in Virginia (SW shore) and offers more vantage points to shoot the Falls and the downstream gorge. The VA side is also best for afternoon and evening light. Hope you have fun and enjoy your trip to DC.

Mike

Thank you for the tips Mike!

[Heinrich Lohmann]

Mike, these are fantastic images thanks for showing us. I guess they forgot to tell you that you can't do that with a Pentax and a Bigma to boot yet.

[JMR]

Excellent shots. I like no-1 best. The power of the water is echoed by the stance and clearly visible muscles of the kayaker who appaears to be challenging the waters as much as they challenge her. Nice work!

JMR

[MRRiley]

Mike, these are fantastic images thanks for showing us. I guess they forgot to tell you that you can't do that with a Pentax and a Bigma to boot yet.

Thanks Heinrich, I've actually heard that rumor, but I've never tended to listen to the ravings of lunatics... I actually had 2 high-end (didnt notice which models) Nikon users ask me what I was shooting and their jaws dropped when I said Pentax. They both had on ginormous 200-400mm f4 lenses and were amazed when I showed them some shots on my LCD. They were both firing away at 9fps and were getting mostly spray. LOL

Excellent shots. I like no-1 best. The power of the water is echoed by the stance and clearly visible muscles of the kayaker who appaears to be challenging the waters as much as they challenge her. Nice work!

JMR

Thanks JMR, Yeah, this was an excellent vantage point. It really tends to concentrate the power of the river and the power/nerve of the paddlers. Oh, and I'm pretty sure that is a guy, but who can tell from this angle?

Mike

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Last edited by MRRiley; 07-13-2009 at 05:04 AM.

[gawan]

I agree with others, stunning shots! I love the moments where the paddler is just on the edge, one really gets a feeling of the steep falling waters!

[MRRiley]

Thanks Georg... I'm glad that that feeling came through. Vantage point is very important and I think I picked the right one for these.

Mike

[cardinal43]

Nicely done, Mike. I noticed in one of your previous postings that you had acquired the K20 from Ace (I felt like a kid in a candy shop in that store), and looks like you put it to good use, as usual. I got my K20 last week (surprise upgrade from my lovely bride of 42 years), and I have been playing with a bit while doing something I never thought I would do -- I made myself RTFM!

Just curious, but in the Potomac series, were you using a tripod, monopod, or neither?

[MRRiley]

Ace Photo is the GREATEST!... And yeah, some of the shots were handheld, but most were on a tripod. The framing was relatively static so this worked well for the most part.

Mike