After thinking I had booked in to race both days of the Northwest Creeking Comp, it was not to be. Having missed out on the 2nd day of racing i decided to take my camera and take my time paddling down the canyon. It gave me an opportunity to enjoy the river, watch people paddle very fast down the river, see some fun and also interesting lines. I’m breaking the photos into groups. The first set is from the put in and down through the rapid – ‘swizzle sticks’. It was a beautiful day, loads of people in kayaks and rafts. Great to see lots of rafts, unfortunately i was up ahead of all day so wasn’t able to catch any images of them. Always next year. Might have to bring my raft for a run as well.
After heading down below the racers I pulled off at the first rapid below to get a variety of images of racers paddling the rapid.
After that it was down to one of the premier rapids of canyon creek, though I did really like photographing Champagne falls and the Hammering spot. However I found the light to be quite nice at Big Kahuna Falls and was able to capture the effect of kayakers flying through the air. Shooting from directly overhead was my favourite but I also liked the the feeling caputred in the wider image with all the paddlers sitting in the sun watching people either run Big Kahuna well or eat it at the bottom.
Making my way downstream to Champagne falls and trying a couple of different locations to get shots of the paddlers coming through the two drops, with Hammering spot being the 2nd. There was a large group of paddlers at the end gathered to cheer on their fellow racers at the end.
After the end of the race it was a paddle across a lake and a short climb to the take out. Organizing a ride back to the car park, hanging out for a bit then it was time. Time for the drive back to Vancouver Island. Great times and a well run festival. Should be on your calendar if your in the area.
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