Day 2 - Back to Back Canoe Days on Barren River Lake - Plus 1

 Day 1 was characterised by troublesome headwinds. Oh it was a great outing for the first canoe day of the 2024 season, but by the end of that first day I was pretty tired. Ended up paddling just shy of 11 miles on that first outing, so on day two I opted for a more leisurely 5 to 6 miles and did more fishing along the way. Those 5 to 6 miles lead into an area I had not paddled before and I discovered some amazing bluffs and beautiful skies. The wind moderated on day two to light and variable making the trip all the more relaxing.

Photography became the main emphasize on day two as the skies were characterised by high wispy clouds against a dark blue backdrop. When combined with the scenic value of the tall bluffs, well...Ansel Adams would have recognized the photographic moments.

A few days after Day 2, I made a third outing to explore that new area in more depth and distance. It became a day of discovery, so as part of this video, I've included some bonus footage from that amazing float. Come and Join me, Beyond the Campfire, as I continue my exploration by canoe of Kentucky's  Barren River Lake.

First Canoe Outing of the 2024 Season - Back to Back Days on Barren River Lake (Day 1)

 The weather for 2024 here in Kentucky has been an up and down experience. I've been chomping at the bit to load up my canoe and head out for a first outing, but the wind this season has been rather troublesome causing me to delay that first outing. This past week the wind moderated enough to allow me to give it a try. As it turned out, what was forecast fell a bit short of what was experienced.

Five to ten wind speeds was what the weatherman said. Low enough to be manageable but could still present a few issues, but none so big as to cause another postponement, so I loaded up the canoe and headed over to Barren River Lake. My launching off spot was 'The Narrows' and I headed north up the lake planning on doing maybe eight or maybe ten miles or so. At first the winds were light, but as the day progressed, the wind kicked up well beyond what was forecast. By the time the winds became bothersome, I was well into my trip and managed to cover some distance beyond what I had managed in previous trips. By the time I reached the Beaver Creek camping area, I planned on paddling a bit further up the lake, but at that point the lake narrowed significantly enough to compress the wind squeezing it between the heights on either side creating a wind tunnel effect and I could make no further headway.

Murphy's Canoeing Law suggests that no matter what direction you are paddling, the wind is almost certain to be in your face. Most of the way back I struggled against those headwinds but managed to complete the circuit covering almost 11 miles...not bad for a first outing. Needless to say, I was pretty worn out.

The next day proved itself a far better day as the winds lay down to become light and variable and I managed to make a leisurely 5 mile float through a part of the lake I had never paddled before where magnificent bluffs, calm waters, high wispy clouds created an Ansel Adams kind of day. The story of day two will be posted soon...but for now, please enjoy this video about my first day out canoeing in 2024.

Coming soon after the Day 2 post, I will be making another overnighter, then shortly after that, I'll be doing what is possibly the most ambitious flat water canoe trip I've ever attempted. That trip will be a three day, end to end paddle of the lake covering close to 40 miles with the second day covering almost 20 miles. Just need the weather to cooperate, but I am up to the challenge and looking forward to the attempt, so stay tuned...

The Story Behind the Image: Sandhill Cranes at Sundown

 For a good number of years now I have enjoyed photographing Sandhill Cranes. A few thousand of them migrate through Kentucky and will winter over around Barren River Lake. Photographing them has been hit and miss the last several years as their patterns have changed somewhat. However, there is a location about a three hour drive from where I live where somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000 Sandhills winter over. That location has provided numerous photographic opportunities to capture these amazing birds.

 Not far from Seymour Indiana are thousands of acres of farmland where soy and corn and wheat are grown. These fields provide an abundant source of food for the migrating Sandhills and late December and well into January it is possible to find huge flights of Sandhills using these and other surrounding fields. On one remarkable outing a few years ago, I encountered an estimated 30,000 (probably more) of them and spent an entire day from before sunrise to after sunset photographing them. Although I managed to capture hundreds of photographs that day, a single image captures the essence of the experience. I call the image Sandhill Cranes at Sundown. Here is the story of how the photograph was captured.

A week or so into January 2020, word came down that a huge flight of Sandhill Cranes had been using the fields west of Seymour for the past couple of months and I made plans to journey up there and hoped to capture a few good images. My plan was to leave very early, about 2:30ish AM so I could be on location before sunrise and maybe capture images and video of the morning flight off their roosting area. I did not know for sure what to expect, but with a sleep deprived fog hovering around my eyes I headed out that morning and arrived a little while before official sunrise. The sky was overcast at that time, but forecast indicated partly cloudy skies as the day progressed. 

Only a few minutes passed after I had pulled into an area I could park off the road, an area about midway across a large expanse of cornstubble, when I stepped out of my Jeep to survey the situation. Within a minute or so, I heard the high pitched, chattering roar of thousands of Cranes lifting off their roost probably less than a mile from where I was.

I grabbed my Nikon camera that I often use for shooting video, and made a quick exposure adjustment. The light was very low, but I simply pointed the camera hand held toward the rising cloud of Cranes and followed them as they flew overhead. I was simply awestruck at the sight. In the past I had witnessed several thousand snow geese rise like that and even had seen a couple thousand Sandhills rise over near Barren River Lake, but nothing prepared me for what was playing out in front of me at that moment. I simply cannot put what happened into words, so I'll let the video speak for itself.

 It seemed to take half the morning for all the birds to pass over, but eventually they did, but it was not long after the sun came up they began to return in huge numbers and set down in the corn fields. I spent pretty much all day driving around the area looking for photo ops and managed to shoot hundreds of photos and shot a great deal of video footage as well that was eventually placed into a BTC video production called, Ancient Migration.

By mid-afternoon many of the cranes had exited the area with just a few stragglers hanging around. The cloud cover was broken and as the sun lowered toward sunset, I realized there would be a magnificent sunset to end this already incredible day. I hoped the Cranes would return before then and head back to the same roost from which they lifted off that morning. As the day began to wain, there were but a few Cranes drifting by, but maybe 20 minutes of so before sundown, the Cranes began to return. Wave after wave of them drifted over my location and I began to shoot photos and video wishing I  could clone myself into a group of three people to capture everything that seemed to happening all at once.

One large group flew across the fields and headed directly into the setting sun, and I fired off several photos. Most of the images were shot at f/22, 1/3200 of a second shutter, ISO 200, and 500mm, using a 10 frame/sec burst, from a tripod. I thought my camera was going to wearout from all the shooting. I had no idea if I was capturing anything of value, I simply fired off photo after photo and captured video footage as I could.

Eventually, although Cranes were still flying, it grew too dark to capture anything and I called it a day and began the 3 hour journey home. It wasn't until the next day I was able to truly see what my camera held and I was simply overwhelmed by the footage. It was truly a remarkable day afield and this single image, as pleased as I am with the results, does not come close to capturing just how awe inspiring that single day afield truly was.