Taking Photos Around Water

Cameras and water can mix if you take the right precautions.  There are many options from glorified plastic bags to rigid plastic cases designed for specific camera that give access to every control.  For the last several years, I've used the Canon WP-DC300 housing with my Canon PowerShot S30.  It's very similar to Canon's presently offered WPDC40.  All camera controls are accessible and it can be used at depths up to 130 feet.  I've used my in pools, whitewater paddling and ocean snorkeling.  Look at your camera manufacturer's web site under accessories or check out digideep.com, which specializes in underwater photography hardware.  Look for a housing that floats (not all do!), for obvious reasons.  A few picture and some video of a couple of younger kayaker's practicing their rolls can be found in the Whitewater Photographs section.

If you take your camera on a paddling trip there are two additional considerations:  1)The camera needs to be secured so that it won't be lost or get tangled up.  A good solution is to secure the wrist strap on a life jacket buckle and put the camera in pocket.  If this can't work, Bob Anderson, SYOTR.com (See You On The River), holds his camera in place using a large "rubber band".  It is placed under the chest part of his life jacket with a loop sticking out both sides.  The camera is placed on the outside of the life jacket.  Each loop is hooked around the opposite side on the lens, pulling the camera tight.  2) Drops of water will form on the lens, causing blurs in the photograph.  A good solution is a sun glasses bag.  Most are safe for cleaning glass / plastic and have draw strings.  The draw string can be attached to the camera's wrist strap to keep it handy for wiping off drops.  Just be sure to keep the bag clean to prevent scratches.

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