I love this photo of Instructor Alan D. working with Roger B. to get his roll at the MEC Toronto Paddlefest last year. It’s a great example of how it feels to work with student when they finally make the breakthrough.

Photo Credit: Kamil Bialous

Extreme camping has risen to a new level. Back in June 2010, a group of researchers and guides decided to plumb the depths of Nyiragongo Crater which is in the heart of the Great Lakes region of Africa.

Here are a couple photos from their adventure.

His doctor suggested paddling to help with his anger management. I think its working.

Image credit: thereifixedit.com

Below are two examples of why its way safer to just stay at home and watch Wheel of Fortune on your sofa. Nature is just dangerous these days.

This guy just got away with his life when the top of a tree blew off while he was camping and crashed through the windshield.

You can see the complete damage here. Thanks to Andrew for passing the link along.

Next time you are out beware of the land shark lest you get bitten.

Image credit: failblog.org

Who knew there would be such a fine line between a happy kayak and an angry kayak?

Not sure where this monster is currently living but it looks like it’s in a paddling/cycling shop somewhere.

Image Credit: caramelbear on Reddit.

I have no idea if the photo is fake but it has been making the rounds on the internet over the weekend. If it's a fake they did do a good job putting all the pieces together including the small collage of memory photos of grandpa out kayaking.

The forum on Reddit is all abuzz if bad and goofy puns. Here is a brief sample:

"At least the funeral seemed to go swimmingly."
"Making jokes at a funeral, canoe believe this guy? That is definitely a paddling."
"Give him a stern look and thwart his plans."
"I think we should all take a bow for our efforts."

Here is Paddle Canada Executive Director, Graham Ketcheson and myself keeping it classy and rockin' the house while we are waiting for our surfing clinic to get started.

Taken at the 2010 Georgian Bay Storm Gathering by Emily Chan.

Looking to become a paddle rock star yourself? 3 tips to get you started:

• Work on your wide leg stance. That's critical when wielding the ax in front of 8 people.
• 1/2 a kayak paddle works better unless you are planning some classic ZZ Top choreography in which longer is always better.
• Go out on a high note. When you are done your solo; never forget to raise your ax over your head while yelling, "Thank You Seattle! There will be no encore!"

We all know the world of modeling and print advertising is fake. If you didn’t know its fake, let me tell you that it is F-A-K-E. I once had a kayaking student who worked in an advertising company where he photographed cereal bowls for packaging. I believed him when he said your average bowl of cereal is made up of about 10-15 different photos.

Usually ads are pretty well and don’t notice the trickery but sometimes they are thrown together with pretty poor results which in turn provides for some great content for psdisasters.com.

Here is a recent flyer ad for The Bay up here in Canada. Want guess the problem? A couple clues: A poorly oversized bow, knees that are not at the right height and seem to be different sizes. What about that her right shoulder? It seems to have been made out of thin air. Finally the shoes seem to be different sizes.

The 8 Person Kayak




Kevin Utas ahead of the trend on a hugely growing sport - Stand-Up Paddling on an upside down sea kayak.



He didn’t last long.

All were taken in Parry Sound, Ontario at the 2009 Georgian Bay Storm Gathering.

Photo Credits: Myself

Keeping in line with the recent surfing theme, I found this film trailer below. I’m fascinated with surfing but even more then that I’m fascinated with surf films. To me, they seem to be so ahead of kayaking or canoeing films in that the angles are better and they make better use of techniques like slow motion to create those big beautiful sweeps as the surfer goes from left to right across the TV. That’s not to say that there are lots of good sea kayak pieces out there but I will die a happy man if I never see another camera-stuck-to-the-front-deck-facing-backwards kayak surfing film.

Here is the description on the new Fiberglass and Megapixels film that won several cinematography and documentary awards on the film festival circuit.

Fiberglass and Megapixels sheds light on Hawaii's North Shore winter surfing scene and finds the true beauty within the overcrowded image gathering free for all.

The surfing industry relies on these inspiring pictures from Hawaii to sell the surfing lifestyle to the masses. It’s all about the surfing image, and these surfing images must first get in the camera. Fiberglass and Megapixels goes deep as professional surfers, photographers and cinematographers share their perspective on what it takes and what it means to get the shot and be able to live a life completely based around surfing.