EndoRando
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No tripod here. My wife and I picked up a couple of 13 footers for local waters. She just enjoys being out, I enjoy it for the purpose of having an additional vehicle for wildlife photography opportunities. I probably engage in more risky photography than most from my kayak as I don't use any outriggers for stability, and rarely even have drybags along. But...I am cautious about the waters and conditions.
The greatest benefit is it's revealed a world of opportunities within just a few miles of where I live, or additional access to more remote places. And the variety of your captures can expand tremendously.
There's a lagoon here in Anchorage that has tons of nesting waterfowl. You can catch the mating rituals and then the non-stop offspring rearing. Just look at the size of this catch by a Red Necked Grebe!
Another local lake has a returning pair of nesting Pacific Loons. These are some of the most beautiful birds I've ever seen, and since they inhabit a calm lake the results have high potential for excellence. They weren't successful in raising their chick this year, which was pretty sad since we've seen them fly off as a family in the fall together in years past.
But some of the best surprises happen when you load up the kayaks and decide to explore a new lake. Most of our road trips have satisfied our urge to discover new bodies of water but have also allowed us to happen upon some scenes we might not see from a roadside shore.
This mode gets my whole hearted recommendation, but a few words of caution are in order: get comfortable with your limits in your kayak regarding the water conditions as you surely don't want to overturn with your valuable photographic gear, proceed slowly so not to appear threatening as the more you linger the less cautious the wildlife becomes, and try to add a lens with fair reach to your arsenal so you don't have to infringe on their comfort zone. I'm usually out there with a 300mm, and usually that's the ticket.
Happy shooting.
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