Labor Day Paddle

Donna & Maya Bussinger rafting on the Middle Fork of the American River, Auburn, California. Yesterday was awesome! Jeff & I had the great opportunity to raft the Middle Fork of the American River (between Driver's Flat and Mammoth Bar), with our friend Donna and her 4-year old daughter Maya. This section of the the American River doesn't draw the hoards of tourists from the Bay Area and LA like the South Fork does. There are a few reasons why. For one thing, it is only 7-miles in length. It also consists of only Class I & II rapids. Lastly, not many know about this run, which is why we love it so much. Now, I know after writing this a few more people will know about it. But, hey, if I don't write about it someone else will. It may as well be me! We have paddled this section several times in the past. We have paddled it in a canoe, inflatable kayaks and rafts. We have also paddled the North and South Forks. Out of all the times we have paddled any portion of the American River, I have only photographed our adventure 1 time with a REAL camera. I would usually use one of those cheap disposable underwater cameras, which are a little better than nothing! This time, I was determined to bring a DSLR. I don't have a waterproof case for my camera (not yet anyway), but I wasn't going to let that stop me. After all, there weren't going to be any REAL BIG waves! So what did I do? I decided to chance it with my older camera (a Nikon D70). If it were to go overboard or get too much water splashed on it, it wouldn't be as devastating as it would be if I brought my newer camera. Donna had just been down this section recently. She said there were only a couple places where I would need to put my camera in the dry sack. She was right! I kept my camera around my neck for most of the trip. I knew if it wasn't handy, I wasn't going to get any photos. There were also times when I just tucked it down inside my life jacket. That made it much easier to grab quickly, when I wanted to get a shot. Other things I used for this photo shoot were:

1. Chamois Cloth - good for wiping off any water drops that did manage to land on my camera.
2. Wide-angle lens (12-24mm) - necessary when photographing people in your own raft.
3. A polarizing filter - great for reducing the glare on the water and for darkening the sky.

Although I am really glad I decided to chance it this time, I am really motivated now to invest in waterproof protection for my cameras for any future whitewater trips! Thank you for visiting. If you would like to leave a comment, simply click on the "comments" link (add your message in the box) at the bottom of this post. Visit our Stock Photo Website for links to photo galleries.

Tagged as: Adventure Stock Photos, Baby Boomer Stock Photos, Gold Country Stock Photos, Northern California Stock Photos, Placer County Stock Photos