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First
Fourteen
Photo Championship Far Nor Cal Through the roof Reality LA-EA1 Corrected Sierra River Scenery Unnatural Fresh Abandoned System Sahalie Wallpaper Back in the office Out of the office The Constant Change Heading North Subtle Details Camera Gear List Argentina! Illinois/Stoked Lifestyle wallpaper NEX-5r updates FM2 Hansel South Feather misc Sigma 19mm Review Running Free Two words Right Wrong Remix Astral Brewer Diane's October WP Dragon Tree Follow your head Sorting, sorting Breaking the Rules RSS Feed Fantasy Slide Thomas's B-day South Fork Feather The right wrong Birthday wallpaper Calendar/D600 Scenery & Stuff Tools D600 A99 commentary Fixing links Out of Town Stikine Wallpaper Camping Urban Moon NEX-5R Texture 2013 Calendar not quite Any camera 2013 Calendar Mighty Klamath Kyotsu Wallpaper Ligare Spin Green again Captain Challenge Drytop Test Challenge The Leaves Capitol Moonrise Colorado Captain Flying Squirrel Green Wallpaper lifestyle no name a different side upgrade path 4th of July NF Moke Dropping In At the river Stikine Wallpaper Camping Fader Shangri-la wallpaper Progression 2 Progression Dinkey Rok Wallpaper Lower Deer Creek Deer Wallpaper Into the unkown almost FWT + Yuba Gap Dinkey Wallpaper Black and not quite Snowy Box Canyon UMC Wallpaper Storm Clouds Sutter Buttes Flying wallpaper Barking Dog Talung Wallpaper French tutorials NEX-5N Firmware Wooley Creek Wallpaper Common Sense The Longest Road Siang Dreams little city subtle Reflections 2/13 Wallpaper Clear Creek 2/7 updates Taylor UMC Wallpaper More Shasta Four Deaths Tamron 17-50 Piaxtla Wallpaper In Color B&W Mix up Nikkor 24-70 Siang Wallpaper Smith Pano NF Smith Wallpaper Stars Wallpaper rain! 30 Mistletoe Jonas Wallpaper The Future Spirit of Adventure Lunar Ghost Lunar Eclipse Cody Wallpaper Watershed Wallpaper, other. NF Wallpaper Behind the scenes For Sale Drew Wallpaper Thigh Hooks 85mm f/1.4 Oakland Jackson Wallpaper Headed Home Rwenzori Four Elena Hut Werner Wallpaper Bujuku Hut The Green Tied for First Rwenzori One South East 2 Kokatat Wallpaper South East 1 Moonscape Centennial Not Davis Davis Safari Red Barn Pit River Clean Water Overnight Gear Itunda Dead Dutchman Bujagali BRG Talung 3 Talung 2 Night & Misc 135 DC 2 135 DC Talung 82 updates Camping Wallpaper Quote & Updates Scott Valley Backpacking DPP Beta Wallpaper Japan Diaries Dark Side Rapid Mag 72 UCC TS Q&A EFK TS Japan 3 Japan 2 Fantasy 65 South Silver Japan 1 Seasonal Update 70-300VR 4th of July TS Loop BK NFMF 300mm f/4.5 Gay Wave 52mm f/2 AI 53 Cowbell 51 Pakistan 2 Mill Big secret 50mm AF-D Silver Fork Pakistan #44 Back #42 Teesta Four Sony 16mm f/2.8 The road Fishing Silver Creek Lobster Pot 2 Lobster Pot A great paddler? Kern River Fest Jason Craig Sunday Teesta Three The Wave Teesta Two Teesta One Deer Creek UMC T/S Rainy Days Bear River TS What's in an edit? Siang River T/S Webber Shot o the day Change Squaw Valley Creek North Fork Cosumnes Nikkor 28mm f/2 Random Updated Tutorial #2 Tilt/Shift Siang Panning shot New River Update 24mm 2.8 Weaverville Stars Two lens reviews Night Photography Stars at Castle Lake Going with it. Lohit image First |
I'd like to welcome the first fourteen competitors. It's great to see
some international entries, and two sets of brothers. If profile
pictures are any indication, Tom Janney is off to a good start.
Nick Gottlieb
Nick grew up in New York City and began kayaking at summer camp in VT
at the age of 11. A year or two at camp got him hooked, so he
discovered the infamous HACKS kayak club of Northwest Connecticut
(read: he was corrupted at the age of 14) on the Housatonic River. When
he got his driver's license, he began skipping school to go kayaking
regularly. After high school, Nick attended a little-known four-year
institution called Dartmouth College just minutes from the first place
he paddled whitewater. Unsurprisingly, he spent more time kayaking than
going to class, and received grants from the college to paddle all over
North America. Now, Nick supports himself as a freelance web developer
/ full-time kayaker / aspiring photographer. Keep an eye out in Rapid
Magazine's March issue for his first published photo. In the winters,
you'll usually find him paddling upstream on nearly frozen rivers in VT
in a sea kayak. In the summers, he lives in a small mobile home with
the words "Subaru Outback" written on the back with his black lab.Arlyn Agababian
Born and raised in the Florida Keys I was unaware that the rest of the
country sees snow and cold temperatures for half the year growing up. I
had this big plan to get out and see the world after I graduated high
school, no way was I going to allow myself to get sucked into the
island lifestyle that is so easy to bump into in Key West. So I bought
a 1000 dollar truck put a camper top on it painted a bunch of cool
island images on it and covered it with stickers (my favorite
“honk if you love reggae”). I dirt bagged around worked on
farms, slept on couches, slept in the dirt, and ate way to many peanut
butter sandwiches. My goal most days was to do whatever I wanted and
spend no money in the process, I kept to my roots and brought the
island lifestyle to the mainland and had a blast doing it. I feel in
love with whitewater in WV and six years later I’m still in an
amazing romance. I’m in school now, currently working on a double
major at UNC Asheville environmental science and kayaking!Jim
Janney
I'm an engineer, so a 200 word bio is probably gonna be a bit of a
stretch. In general, I'm a fairly upstanding citizen as far as kayakers
go. At least my Mom calls me the "good son", although that may change
now that my little bro is finally earning an honest buck in addition to
being a dirtbag kayaker. When I'm not at work playing Jimmy Neutron
(seriously, I work at a Neutron Source), I prefer to spend my time
schlepping my kayak into the most remote corners of the Earth just to
experience something a little off the beaten path. At least that's how
I like to think about it, but most of my friends just say I'm not
having fun until I'm suffering. Regardless, I just prefer to drink life
from a fire hose.Tom
Janney
I’ve been around the water my whole
life, I grew up in St. Louis, MO and was born into a family of
rafters. I cut my teeth on classic overnight whitewater out
west from the middle fork of the salmon to the grand canyon
and everything in between. I moved out to Colorado for
college and have been out here ever since. I started kayaking
seriously about 6 years ago and began taking pictures soon
after; I figured if I wasn’t running the shit maybe I
should take pictures of people who are (or I just wanted help
remembering cool places?). Over the past few years I have
been running more expedition style class 5 whitewater but
at the same time going back to my roots of great overnight
rafting trips. The trips provide such different shooting
conditions on one hand I am sometimes so scared of the whitewater
that it is hard to think about taking pictures. On the other I am
so relaxed and taken back by my surroundings (maybe had a few
to many brews?) that I forget to snap a few pics, but both are
fun as hell. I am pretty excited to see other’s
photographs from around the world and amazed at what people are
capturing these days.
Jakub
Sedivy
I have been traveling and kayaking around the world for the last five
years, trying to capture as much of my travels and experience on my
camera. My kayak and desire to see new places and more rivers has taken
me all around the world to first descents in Southern Patagonia, deep
canyons of Dolpa region in Nepal, amazing slides in Northern Norway,
deep forests of BC or just sony sweet days on the granite runs in
Piemonte or Tessin. I have tried my best to catch the atmosphere of
these amazing places as well as the sport of kayaking.Greg
Greig grew up in a small village on the south west coast of Scotland.
It is rumoured that even as a young boy he already had his distinctive
beard. Starting whitewater kayaking at the age of 13 he fell in love
with rivers. Despite growing up in this iddylic land of plenty he was
soon lured away by the call of adventure and excotic rivers. Working as
a river guide in Austria, Costa Rica , Uganda and Norway proved a good
cover for his real job as International Man Of Mystery. While in the
off season he moonlighted as a pirate with the notorious Captian
Redbeard sailing the seven seas looking for plunder. He has now
setteled in Norway where he discovered the joys of off-piste skiing
which put an end to his endless summers. Greig now spends his summers
working as a photoboater for a raft company and his winters wrestling
polar bears. About 10 years ago he got his first D-SLR and now takes a
camera everywhere which provides ample excuses to procrastinate at big
drops or rapids. Over 20 years of kayaking later Greig still does not
know what he will be when he grows up.Ben York
I was born in the northern province of South Africa in 1982. I took to
sampling various towns across the country and finally I settled down at
Lagoon Beach, in Cape Town. By day I’m a mechanical design
engineer specializing in materials handling for a company mainly
involved in diamond mines. But after hours and on weekends I
enjoy whitewater kayaking (if it ever rains down here), surf kayaking,
bodyboarding, surfing and as much windsurfing as I can stand. Failing
that there is always fishing for bass, fly fishing, chess, hiking and
of course, photography.I was born in the
raging metropolis of Carson City, Nevada. From there my life could only
progress in an upwardly direction. I was moved to the mountains south
of South Lake Tahoe, then to Southern California when I was nine. I got
my first kayak when I was 10, a New Wave squirt boat, paddled out in to
the ocean, and got completely handled. I swore never to go near the
water again.
After a 7 year hiatus during which I moved to India, and then to England for highschool, I found myself confronting my old squirt boat back in Cali. Taking it back in to the surf, I was delighted to find that the waves had gotten a lot smaller and more manageable in my absence. Finding kayaking enjoyable, I chose to go to college at Humboldt State, so I could try boating on rivers, instead of just surfing. I now teach at a small school in Southern Humboldt County. I spend most summers based out of Tahoe, boat when I can, and try to enjoy things as much as possible. I like Ice-cream, Pizza, and swimming out of caves. Leif Anderson
I started paddling in 1996, which means that I've
been a kayaker for more than half my life now. Kayaking is my
real passion, but over time I have begun to enjoy documenting that
passion through photography. Paddling can take you to some very
unique and beautiful places, and can also present you with some
breathtaking moments. Photographing and freezing those moments
evokes emotions in me that nothing else can. I love the suspense
of a photograph of a person about to run a drop, or the magic of a
photo capturing the essence of a sweet gorge that can only be reached
by kayak. I also love sausages. That has nothing to do with
the contest, they're just very tasty.In my free time, I am working on my PhD in theoretical physics; I study chaos theory. Everyone needs a hobby. Adrian Tregoning
Photography is still just an interest of mine and will never be a full time thing, but capturing beautiful moments and being able to relive the special times through a photograph is what really draws me to the practice. The beauty being that one can capture a scene or a moment, exactly how one desires. I’ve never been on any courses and am not a ‘tech-freak’, I judge photos by the way they make me feel, and I like to be happy, and in the water :) Max Ovett
My name is Max Ovett, and I have grown up paddling around the
southeast. My brother Sam and I got into to paddling around the ages of
9 and 13 and we are now 18 and 21 years old. Both of us have developed
as team and one coherent unit, we have been nicknamed the SMAXbros. The
reasons I paddle are extremely diverse from the thrill of running a
rapid to the feeling of having to push my limits not just in the
physical realm but in the mental as well. Having an ever-existent
paddling partner my brother Sam, has allowed each of us to charge
harder and steadily try and one up each other because of our friendly
sibling rivalry. This challenge has led to many adventures, and each of
us to progress as a paddler. Currently I am sophomore at the University
of Georgia in Athens, GA working on a degree in civil engineering
degree that will hopefully lead to work in the field of hydrology and
the removal/building of dams.Sam Ovett
My name is Sam Ovett I started kayaking at 12 years old. I primarily
paddle with my younger brother. His name is Max. We are three years
apart. Our parents got us into outdoor sports and activities when we
were little with safety and skill building always being the first step
in learning. We both did scouts and achieved our Eagle Scout Awards. We
got to participate in a lot of outdoor activities through those
experiences, as well as others. Most of our paddling has been in the
Southeastern United States. I am about to graduate with an
undergraduate degree in Environmental Sciences and I like to paddle
because: It has the potential/does to encompass a few of my favorite
things. Logistics, technical precision, physically demanding stuff,
absolute focus, and water. I took this photo on Max’s 18th
birthday. We celebrated his birthday by both running Sunshine on the
Green River Narrows for the first time. I love paddling with Max
because we are very competitive with each other. This pushes me to run
cleaner, smoother and bigger lines. Life is good. Mikkel St.Jean-Duncan
I grew up in a kayak, my first experience was on the Kananaskis River
at age 4 and I never looked back. From the young age of 11 I have
competed in various aspects of the sport, the slalom nationals at age
11 and 12, freestyle worlds at age 17 and many extreme races since. I
spend a large portion of my time teaching kayaking with both Endless
Adventure in Nelson and Aquabatics in Calgary trying to share my
passion of kayaking with others. I especially enjoys exploring the
creeks around B.C. And Alberta trying to find those hidden gems. These
days I find my self spending more time than I would like in front of
computer while I work on finishing a Computer Engineering Degree. With
only 2 more months to go I can see the light at the end of the tunnel
and with any luck all the hard work will pay off.John
Webster
I’m John Webster and I come from Boise, Idaho. Whitewater
photography has been in my life for the past 3 years. I started working
up on the Payette River as a rafting photographer in 2010. Ever since
then I have fallen in love with the culture and experiences that
whitewater has given me. In high school I got my first D-SLR and ever
since then I have wanted to express myself through extreme sports
photography. When I first started working on the river I did not know
anything about kayaking or whitewater in general. When I started
shooting kayaking, I began observing how my friends paddled and took on
the rivers around us. Over time I got the feel of what lines they would
take and how I should compose my photos. Now I am presently in love
with shooting whitewater photography. It brings a lot to the table and
I love how much you can express emotion through this amazing sport and
medium. I’m surrounded by a lot of talented paddlers so it has
been a perfect mixture of whitewater talent and the desire to produce
high quality images. I look forward to the coming seasons.Laurent
Guyot
I discovered kayaking through school sports courses that took place at
the local club. I liked the activity and I joined the club, training on
flatwater and rolling in the pool for a few years.Occasionally trips over the waves downstream of dams were organized but it does not interest me. I didn't want to capsize in these strong flows with eddies full of garbage. That’s not good place to swim! I discovered the joys of wild water during a training camp on the river Drance, a Grade III river that flows into Lake Leman. We camped on the lake shore and the atmosphere was fantastic with friends. During this trip I took the taste for outdoors life and Stinky polypro. When I was 18, a friend suggested that we explore the Ardèche creeks. After many hours on the road, our car stops in the middle of nowhere. Supposedly, a river flows down in the canyon, hidden by vegetation. We change our clothes, go down with our equipment and are faced with the Limony Falls (30 foot high). Access to the bottom of the falls is complicated so we must put in upstream. That is how my passion is born for extreme kayaking. Following this event, I start looking for information on navigable rivers and contacting other paddlers to travel and navigate new places. I started taking pictures to explain to my mother what I was doing during my weekends. These I used to illustrate information from the rivers and shared it on the internet. It was only gradually that I am interested in the photo as such. I bought a digital SLR, I read a lot of books, magazines, I joined the photography club in my village and spent hours looking at pictures. All this to try and understand what makes one photograph more interesting than another. HTML
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