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

[mel]

oh wow different location this year huh? i'm still mad i had to miss it (stupid job). we coulda had a k-7/k20d shootout. nice work and good shootin' as usual mike!
(jealous)

[Marc Langille]

Sweeeet! Those are great shots Mike.

I took a guess on the shutter speeds without looking at EXIF: minimum was 1/750 sec. for #2 and #3, based on the water flow frozen in those captures. Not so sure about #3 though... Was I close?

Again, those are great - I wish I was there with you!!!

Regards,
Marc

[skinja]

Great stuff Mike, just looked threw your photo's at Photo.net, I really like what you have been able to do with the bigma. Keep up the good work. Some day I will make it down there and you can show me how to use mine.

John

[Just12hvFun]

Wow !!!!!!!!!!

These are great shots

Very good action photography

Wish I can do them too

Thanks for posting them

[MRRiley]

Mel, yeah, they did run the VA side this year so things were much closer. The observation deck was packed so I ended up going up to the rocks upstream from The Spout for part of the shoot and went down on the cliff below the observation deck for the rest. You'd have loved it. Sorry you couldn't come.

Marc, you nailed the shutter speed. The first 3 were shot at 1/750sec and the second 3 were done at 1/500sec. I probably shoulda upped the ISO to allow even faster shutter speeds but it was a pretty bright day and I always feel funny shooting higher ISOs in bright sunlight. Wish you coulda been here too.

John, thanks... and the Bigma is really good for these types of events...

Just12hvFun, thanks, Just takes some practice. Gotta be some fast action happenin over your way.

Thanks again everyone,

Mike

[Sailor]

Wow, Mike, these are terrific. I never think of an eastern river having this kind of characteristic.

Great job, as always.

Jer

[Marc Langille]

Marc, you nailed the shutter speed. The first 3 were shot at 1/750sec and the second 3 were done at 1/500sec. I probably shoulda upped the ISO to allow even faster shutter speeds but it was a pretty bright day and I always feel funny shooting higher ISOs in bright sunlight. Wish you coulda been here too.

Thanks again everyone,

Mike

Cool! My eye for sports hasn't changed then.

I think you wanted me to be there so I would bring my FA* 300/2.8... Just kidding Mike, it would have been most fun to shoot that event with you!

Cheers,
Marc

[vievetrick]

Great shots. Looks like the Bigma did very nicely for you.

[IN_Varmntr]

Awesome photos! I'm actually heading down to Great Falls in a few weeks during my vacation to D.C. and purchased a K20D primarily for the trip!

[Jimbo]

You do some awesome work Mike. Well done on a very tough subject. JIM

[mithrandir]

Mike, you got the hang of the K20D very quickly. Nice series . . . got more to share?

[MRRiley]

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

[daacon]

Wow now those shots are excellent and that looks like sooo much fun! I go white water rafting evey year on the kicking horse river (several Class 4 rapids) - no where near as extreme as these guys. Well done and congrats on the K20

[MRRiley]

Thanks Dave. I wish I wish I wish I had the nerve to learn enough to get into one of these boats so that I could get thru the Class 3 stuff below the falls onto some of the rocks and islands out in the middle. The shooting spots out there tend to be much closer and less crowded (for obvious reasons). Maybe I just need to make friends with a guy who knows how to paddle a tandem kayak that would be willing to take me over.

Mike