Monthly Archives: November 2013

Seen from a Kayak

By Vladimir Brezina

Some works of art were surely put there for the sole appreciation of passing kayakers…

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More marine art, specifically of New York Harbor, is here.

Travel Theme: Short

By Vladimir Brezina

Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge this week is Short.

Compared to the Red Herring (a Feathercraft Heron kayak, 17′ 7″ long, on the right in the photo below), the Baby Vulcan (a Feathercraft K-Light kayak, on the left) is absurdly short for a sea kayak—only 12′ 10″.

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It must have looked ridiculous when I paddled it, as I did for years.

But Johna finds it to be a fun boat around town

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and quite capable of crossing the seas…

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(More on that Florida trip here and here.)

Weekly Photo Challenge: Layers

By Vladimir Brezina

This week’s Photo Challenge is Layers.

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At the 9/11 Memorial, Manhattan.

Endless Reflection

By Vladimir Brezina

Which Johna do I focus on?

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At the Hotel del Coronado, Coronado, CA.

San Diego Sunset Panorama

By Vladimir Brezina

The big picture—click on it to expand it…

San Diego sunset panorama

Photography 101: Editing Basics

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This is the fourteenth installment of Photography 101.

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Habit

By Vladimir Brezina

This week’s Photo Challenge is Habit.

Gus the polar bear was one of the stars of Manhattan’s Central Park Zoo. New Yorkers took to him probably because, as a result of being cooped up in the equivalent of a tiny apartment, he was a creature of neurotic, not to say compulsive habits, such as obsessive swimming. But, like a true New Yorker, he managed to thrive on his neuroses—he outlived both his younger female companions, and finally died this past summer, aged 27 (which is quite old for a polar bear).

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Travel Theme: Connections

By Vladimir Brezina

Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge this week is Connections.

And to travel by folding kayak, you do have to make a lot of connections…

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… and maintain them in good working order!

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For more, see here.

Capture the Colour 2013—Results!

By Vladimir Brezina

A month ago I submitted, at the last minute, my entry for Travel Supermarket’s 2013 Capture the Colour competition—five photos that best captured the colors red, blue, green, yellow and white.

The results are out, and my Yellow photo, although it did not win, did, quite unexpectedly, make it into the top three!

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That’s an improvement over the year before, when my Green photo only made it into the top eleven. So things are moving in the right direction. ;-)

Do take a look at the winners of this year’s competition—some of them are quite lovely!

Staten Island Serendipity

By Johna Till Johnson
Photos by Vladimir Brezina

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It was the first Saturday in November, and we desperately needed to get out for a long paddle—we’re seriously starting to train for the Everglades Challenge next spring, and we need to start putting in the mileage.

The currents indicated a southerly trip, and Vlad suggested one that had become very familiar over the years: An out-and-back trip to Sandy Hook. I wasn’t enthusiastic. Much as I love the trip—the closest you can get to open water in New York City’s waterways—we’d done the trip quite often recently, and it felt a bit like a treadmill workout: Paddling for the sake of exercise, not adventure.

I counter-proposed a trip around Staten Island, which we haven’t seen much of this year. I particularly missed the beaches along the south shore, and the excitement of traversing the Kill van Kull at night. But Vlad pointed out that the day wasn’t ideal for a Staten Island circumnavigation—given that the southbound current would only start late in the morning, we’d get back at midnight, if we were lucky. And he didn’t want to do an out-and-back down the coastline of Staten Island, because he likes having a destination.

So Sandy Hook it was.

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