I spent a good part of the day at the 15th Annual Scantic Spring Splash, in Enfield. Scantic, in this case, refers to the Scantic River, a moderate sized stream that cuts through Northern Connecticut. It is a white water river.
OK – we’re not talking about shooting the rapids on the Colorado, but for Connecticut, this is pretty cool stuff.
Because of the lack of recent precipitation, the Scantic is down. Still, there was enough water to make it a fun day for those who went down river and those who brought cameras… like me.
I went with my friend Kevin. He was originally going to be a participant, but after having some back surgery, he’s not quite ready.
Actually, he might be a little happier not to have kayaked, because it was chilly in and out of the water. We were told the river was 44°. The air was comparably cold.
We walked up river from the parking area in Hazzardville (really – it’s part of Enfield). A few hundred yards of hiking brought us to a nice area with a good view of some white water.
I opened my tripod and set up to shoot. I seldom use a tripod, but I wanted fast shutter speeds and there was hardly any light. The day was thickly overcast.
I’ve taken a quick, first look at my shots. I am pleased and also disappointed.
We picked a pretty good spot and there was lots of action coming through the rapids. On the other hand, the lack of light forced me to really push to camera – and I did. That adds noise to the photos.
Sometimes, in dark and moody shots for instance, noise is fine. It adds texture and character. Not in these shots. The noise is distracting.
It was a fun day and I ended up taking over 150 shots. I’ll post more shots over the next few days.
Oh – the top two shots… they went all the way over and into the drink.