How do you take pics on a kayak?

[Hextall]

So I finally got myself a digital camera (hey... this is what the 21st century is like... cool!).

and finally took some pics of the stripers and bluefish I caught... but it was pretty dang awkward. I just bought a Pentax Optio W10, which doesn't have the eye viewfinder (just the screen)... so it made it kind of tough to hold the fish and snap a pic.

I'm curious how people take pics of their bigger fish... lie it in the boat at your feet?

Here's a few pics from last night:

[MOturkE]

Looks to me like you did pretty well. (thumbs up) I don't take my camera (Sony Mavica) out with me as it's not water-resistant. I should get me one of those waterproof camera bags but I haven't found one large enough yet.

[Thwack]

I hold the camera at arm's length and just try to aim towards myself without zooming (a wider field of view gives me a better chance of being in the frame).

Some times, I'm paying too much attention to aiming the camera in a hurry (for the fish's sake) and not paying attention to 'posing' so I get gofy facial expressions like this one:




Yeah, a real whopper of a bluegill there.

[rtzden]

1. Never take your digital out of the bag for that fish picture; unless you could afford to replace it.

2. Disposable Fugi water resistant cameras are great for those fish shots.

3. Laying the reel along side your fish is a great size indicator.

4. Double bag your camera with Zip Lock

[billknepp]

AquaPak is a sponsor here and quite reasonable in price, For waterproof protection....Just be sure that your home when it is delivered...I could have given you more info on the performance of em...but I lived in Syracuse at the time of ordering..and it was swiped from the mail box!!!

[Diane]

One thing I've recently tried which has made my shots much better is to use "Sports" mode on my Optio. It's a faster shutter speed and keeps my shots from being as blurry as they are when I just use plain "Green" mode. Now, about your actual question.. I do just what you do; hold the fishies out at arm's length and hope.

Oh.. get a strap for that Optio and attach it to yourself or your kayak.


My Optio takes some pretty good photos of flies if I put it in macro mode and use a tripod and good lighting.

Enjoy!

[Thwack]

No bagging or ziplocks required for the Pentax camera I use for taking fish pictures...I'm using a camera that's water proof. I keep it on a retractable leash in case I drop it but I don't worry about water contact.

It's also a lot of fun to stuff it under the water to get some really interesting shots. That also causes a brief moment of panic amongst folks near you that haven't heard of water proof cameras. You can easily get shots like this:





I hadn't tried the 'sports' mode that Diane mentioned but certainlly will next time I'm out.

I have used the macro mode to take pictures of bugs I've pulled off the water. I use a minnow net from the local pet store (costs less than a dollar and works great):



The waterproof cameras are handy for more than just taking pics of your catch and not having to worry if they get splashed (everything in a kayak will get wet at some point).

I've used a waterproof bag for one of my other cameras and it made it very difficult to use the camera. Pentax's solution is far more practical in my experience.

[l1ranger]

I have a dry box I keep my camera in. when taking pictures, I like to have somebody close by that can get a good shot, but of course thats not always possible. when that happens, I try to get a good shot across my legs/feet with the rod set up to give a indicator of size. I wouldn't do that with bluefish though, especially larger ones

[Gigmaster]

I use an inexpensive Polaroid 'Sport' 600 digital. It's not pro-quality, but it works. I also have an inexpensive Argus digital with a zoom function.

Semper Fi!

[Norm]

Here are some of mine! I use an older Sony 3.2 mp camera.

Norm