The Last Photo

June 19, 2007

I went kayaking (sit on top) on the Jacques-Cartier River on Saturday afternoon (June 16th), it was loads of fun. 4 hours on a river with friends and strangers with a common goal, the sun and some fine rapids… nothing better.

But there’s one downside to this story…

I stupidly took the chance and brought my digital camera (a Canon Powershot S3 IS) with me when my friend told me he forgot the waterproof disposable one back at our camp site. So, like any wannabe photographer and not wanting to miss a photo opportunity and having a so called “waterproof” bag with me, I brought the camera with me on the kayak instead of leaving it in the car. The bag had a cord attached to it so I tied it up to the boat so there wasn’t any chance of it sinking to the bottom, no worries there. About 30 minutes after the above photo was taken, which was only approx 30 minutes into the 4hr kayak trip, I hit some swirling water coming out of some rapids which turned my kayak perpendicular to the river, then a wave hit me and I got tipped over. There was enough force in the wave to knock the bag from under the straps on the boat and enough length in the cord that even after flipping the boat back over, the bag was still dangling in the water for about 10-20 seconds before I realized it and slide it back under the straps. By the time I got back onto the kayak with some help of someone else on the trip (cause it’s easier said than done) and paddled my way to a small beach to recompose myself, the damage was done. About a teaspoon of water got into the bag. I emptied it out, examined the camera and it wouldn’t turn on.

That must have been one of the biggest “d’oh” moments of my life.

I calmly removed the batteries and hoped that it would start to dry out during the rest of the excursion. By the end of the trip down the river with many more rapids and not falling into the water again, enough condensation was left in the bag to ruin the camera, it was a hot sunny day and the semi-transparent bag acted like a greenhouse and kept moisture sealed in. But I’m still hopeful that in a couple more days of drying out it will work once again. If not, it’s an excuse to buy a digital SLR finally (either a Nikon D80 or a Canon 30D - most likely the Nikon though).

Oddly enough however, I’m not pissed off in the least about the damage, I made a conscious decision to bring it in the first place, so really, I can’t be allowed to be pissed about it. Plus I had an amazing time and learned that I love kayaking, including the sunburn, blisters, bruises and all else that comes with it. I even went swimming for a bit (with camera safely on the kayak) made a new friend on the trip, she’s really cute, too…

I have many photos that I took the day before in Old Quebec city that I’ll be showing over the next few days, so there will be something to tie you guys over till I figure out my camera situation.

Posted in photoblog