We realize that to be a truely sick kayak website and show you how awesome we really are, we need to show you some video. Below are several video clips. Watch them. Be impressed.
Blackfly OC-1 freestyle video
Here's a little video I put together with some footage from Colorado of the Blackfly in action. Has some good freestyle canoein' music too. I'm pretty pleased with how the boat handles, and I've already got some ideas of how to make it better.
The first in what may become a series of instructional videos, "How to Not Suck at Kayaking." I wanted to do some super-basic level instructional videos rather than show you how to do the latest, coolest trick that you'll never do. This one covers basic hole surfing, with an emphasis on common mistakes. I hope someone finds it useful, and I'm open to suggestions for future video topics. I feel like I should include a disclaimer: Kayaking is inherently dangerous and you may be maimed or beaten up or have your lunch money taken. Kayaking may ruin your life. But seriously, be smart about where you kayak, and use your own judgment.
At the beginning of the week, I'd never heard of "tilt-shift." After seeing a video on Vimeo that made everything look tiny, I got inspired, read up on how to do the effect in post, and by the time I got to the river that afternoon, I had amput a dozen shots planned out in my head. The editing was a lot of work (but a lot less work than building a miniature Holtwood), and the final result is pretty good. See what you think.
Pennsylvania has been getting hit pretty regularly for the past few weeks with "winter mix," a lovely little combination of snow, sleet, and rain. The upside of that is we've had pretty good water for the past month or so. I've been shooting a good bit of footage, and finally got around to putting it together. My "Winter Mix" is a combination of creeking in the Delaware Water Gap and playboating on the Susquehanna at Holtwood and Chickies Hole. It's been cold, but good fun.
I've been getting over to Scudders on the Delaware a bit lately. It's the best thing going in the area right now. Here's a little video I put together from some of my "training tape." If you've ever been there, you'll appreciate the opening time-lapse. If you haven't, all I can say is it's truly a feat of civil engineering, and you should go, because the hole is sweet.
Scudders freestyle from Jeremy Laucks on Vimeo.
On my recent trip south in search of warmer water (more on that later), I got the chance to play with the Maelstrom some more when I was in Rock Island. I'm really happy with the way the boat came out, it does a little of everything pretty well. I also finally got to try out my PeakUK squirt drydeck on the river- and after paddling the boat for as long as my feet could take it, there still wasn't enough water in the boat for me to notice.
So I had this grand plan to head to Alabama to go to the NAWF. Then it rained. A lot. So divert to Fayetteville hit the dries at 50,000 cfs. And Manns Creek too. Anyway, here's some video from the Dries. New River Dries from Jeremy Laucks on Vimeo.
It's been cold and the river has been up. Time for some winter Holtwood. I also got a new HDV camera, so I've been shooting with that, and figured I'd put together a little video and try hosting it on Vimeo. I'd be interested to know what people think about doing it this way.
This past weekend I got to take the Rev out to Storm Hole, pretty much my favorite spot anywhere. I'm loving the boat. I got out to Storm at a couple different levels and shot some video, so I figured I'd post it for all the fans out there. This song (Civil Twilight by The Weakerthans) was stuck in my head the whole time I was surfing. The imagery of the cold is something I can relate to- it's starting to set in here. Today I went out for a sprint workout in the Speeder, and came back covered in ice.
