Kayaker Portraits at Great Falls Park

Originally Published September 24, 2013

The outdoors and photography are both things that I truly enjoy. Bringing those two interests together is something that I’ve been wanting to do more of lately. Throughout the summer, I had the idea of photographing portraits of kayakers at Great Falls Park. After some luck and a connection on Instagram, everything came together one early morning.

With the help of fellow photographer Cory Brodzinski, I was introduced to Dave and Michael and met them on the Maryland side of Great Falls Park. Both are experienced paddlers and were willing to come out in the early hours of the morning. They were great with taking direction and as an added bonus, Michael was sporting one hell of a mustache.

Here’s my kit for the shoot. Since there was some hiking involved, I had to keep things light and mobile. The red bag held one light stand, a 7-inch reflector with grid, a large PCB octobox, and Vagabond Mini battery pack. My Thule backpack held my 5D Mark III, 24-70mm f/2.8, and 70-200 f/2.8 in the lower portion. The top portion perfectly fits one PCB Einstein unit. On the back of the pack was my tripod, and I carried my 20lbs. sandbag in hand.

Thanks again to Dave and Michael for coming out that early morning. And more importantly, a big thanks to Cory for the introduction and location tips for the shoot. It was great meeting you all, and we should definitely do it again sometime.

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