Day 213 - Kayaking the St. John

The St. John River is an impressive waterway that winds its way through New Brunswick. It serves as the centre of Fredericton and, from the Mactaquac dam down many miles past the capital city, it provides a fantastic venue for water sports, like kayaking and canoeing.

I took this photograph, using the Olympus' automatic settings, while piloting a single-seat kayak down the St. John towards Fredericton. There's much to like about this shot, including the wide-open sky with its tiny clouds, the slight tilt to the kayak as I tried to hold the camera steady, and the breathtaking expanse of the river itself as you paddle your way down stream.

I didn't take this photo today. I spent the day painting the outside of our house so I was forced into the archives for the picture of the day. As I was wandering through the thousands of shots that now inhabit iPhoto on this computer, this one jumped out at me. It's New Brunswick, for sure, and lovely to look at.

The fact that it was on this kayak voyage that I encountered the bald eagle of which I wrote a couple of days ago only adds to the interest. This regal bird let me float right up close to him and take a number of pictures. At first, he seemed a bit agitated by my camera's clicking but, after a moment, he settled into this most eagle-like pose for me.

This is still one of my favourite photographs ever, even though from a technical standpoint it was very simple. A bright, sunny day, a subject that is willing to pose, lots of time to get it right. Simple.