Art and Architecture

Excerpt from my book SHOOTING PADDLERS

INTRODUCTION

Millions of people all over the magic are united by a passion for paddling. They feel a tough need to hear again and again the seductive, swishing in good condition generated when paddle meets water in an elegantly choreographed hoof it. Every spring, summer, fall and even winter, these fond lovers of the outdoors take their paddlecraft to favourite waters and lift the peace, freedom and excitement of doing what they all inclination: paddling.

They are the accomplished wilderness canoeists exploring the wayward and lonely waters of the far North. They are the whitewater enthusiasts who go on stir-filled weekends playing in rapids and even plunging down falls. They are the sea-kayakers searching for magical islands and bays in coastal waters. They are the racing fanatics, both marathon and sprint, spending numerous hours on the top-grade in canoes and kayaks enjoying their demanding frisk. They are the people who use inflatable rafts to run challenging rapids and come to see wilderness rivers far and wide. They are the cottagers, who use the cherished family canoe only for some quiet puttering about on the placid almost lake. And they are the kids in summer camp, for whom paddling is often significant to their activities.

What many of these diverse people share, besides a sincere betrothed of paddling, is the desire to bring home a token memorabilia of their times on and near the water, something that will always inspire affectionate memories of the moments they had outdoors and the joy they discovered there. They fall short of to add illustrations to the stories of their adventures, of the challenges they met, of their nagging races and of the people they befriended.

There is no better way to do that than through photography, the easiest but also most compelling method of building a fine collection of visual souvenirs. Nothing, not even the oral word or moving pictures, beats still photography as a approach to capture memories. Verbal descriptions of events are...

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