Digital Camera in the Surf: Brad Gwynn

Brad Gwynn often launches his kayak with a digital camera attached to his foredeck. Frequently kayak surfing the heavy groundswell that rolls in along the New England coast during the fall, he snaps from his foredeck digital pictures using a waterproof digital camera set on repeat autoshoot.

Then he powers out into the surf, and with his shutter set to snap a picture every ten seconds, tears around while the camera shoots a portfolio of pictures. To prevent water droplets on his lens, he coats his camera's lens with RainX, a car care product that repels water.

To fasten his camera to the foredeck, Brad uses a rig he made from a piece of a cut-out plastic trash can, minicell foam, a capped PVC pipe and a couple of nuts and bolts. He then sticks the whole thing beneath his foredeck bungee cords, secures the camera with a tether, and lets it rip.

The camera he uses, a Pentax Optio W10, has gone through many model permutations over the years: different shapes, different thicknesses, first with then without an optical viewfinder. Many say you can't go wrong with any of the Optio W models, although some express a preference for the earlier models' optical viewfinder.

Two highly-rated and respected waterproof digital cameras from are the Pentax Optio W30 and the Pentax Option W10.

Their basic differences are in megapixel count.

The W10 street prices at about $140, the Pentax Optio W30 at about $260.

In this eight-part series (this is part one) we'll take a look at Brad's photos in sequence. They demonstrate the steps involved in surfing a sea kayak. All parts of the series are listed below. Each is a clickable link.

Digital Camera in the Surf: Brad Gwynn
Surf School Part 1: Meet Brad Gwynn
Surf School Part 2: Setting Up and Taking Off
Surf School Part 3: Staying in the Wave
Surf School Part 4: Bracing Out
Surf School Part 4: Bracing Out/2
Surf School Overview: From Setting up to Bracing Out
Kayaking Surfing: Local Wave Height and Period Forecasts

To read a review of the current version of the waterproof digital camera Brad uses, go to Digital Photography Review.

Below: setting up on a warm glassy day, Brad plots his next move.


Copyright 2008 Sea Kayaking Dot Net
Photos copyright 2006 Brad Gwynn