A touch of reality

Right in the heart of downtown Reno is a wonderful area of rapids on the Truckee River. Kayakers love to come and "shoot the rapids" right off the Riverwalk. Generally this occurs in the spring when the mountain run off is high. But even in summer and early fall, kayakers are on the river testing their skill against the river.

Today, I decided to walk downtown along the river and just take some nice quiet photos of the changing foliage. After taking a large number of photos of the beautiful foliage and the river, I noticed a man heading for the river in a short kayak. I decided to go and watch - with my camera, of course.

He was a splendid kayaker, diving in and around the rapids, paddling upstream, then rolling and plummeting through them again. I must have taken over 100 photos just of him. Then, as I was shooting (on continuous high), I was able to capture as his miscalculated and the rapid rolled him. He came up just fine, but almost ended up losing his paddle. Regardless, I was applauding his amazing efforts!

I love this shot because of the clarity of the light, water, and his hand clutched to the paddle. I chose to upload as is, without any touch-ups.

What do you think?