Day Trip - East Head Reservoir 8-30-13

Trip reports that don't have a page dedicated to them.

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Sjroche
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Joined: Sat Aug 24, 2013 9:41 am
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Day Trip - East Head Reservoir 8-30-13

Post by Sjroche »

Hi, new yaker here and new member to WTP too. Here is a trip report for East Head Reservoir on Friday August 30, 2013.

East Head is located on the western side of Miles Standish State Park, on the Plymouth/Carver line.
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My wife, son, and I drove down in the early afternoon - a straight shot down Rte 58, about 40 minutes to arrive. Parking is 100 yards from a sandy launch off Fearing Pond Road (41.839741,-70.690204). We approached from Cranberry Road, but it might be an easier and closer launch from the other side (41.83911,-70.689584), approaching via Upper College Pond Road. The bridge connecting the two approaches is out of service to vehicles, so you will need to select. In any event, it's a short haul to the pond.

Since we are new to kayaking, we are still learning and still understanding what our capabilities are. We stick to quiet water for now, low wind, and avoid tidal areas, until we gain some skill. A pond like East Head is perfect - remote but not too far from the house, undeveloped with plenty of wildlife, no motorboats...

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We put in around 2pm and headed out. A beautiful afternoon. A Great Blue Heron was holding court in the middle of the pond, keeping one eye on us and another on unsuspecting fish.


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A duck.


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My wife and son along the eastern shore.


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Lots of (endangered) Northern Red Bellied Turtles and Painted Turtles sunning themselves on rocks and logs.

We had the pond mostly to ourselves, save for a few fishermen and another pair out for a paddle. I recommend this for novices and for anyone looking for a relaxing afternoon.


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- Stephen
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norm
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Re: Day Trip - East Head Reservoir 8-30-13

Post by norm »

Great pictures!

May I ask what kind of camera you used? It looks like you used a digital SLR with a nice lens the way you controlled the field of focus (is that the right term?).

Thanks for sharing.

Norm
Sjroche
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Re: Day Trip - East Head Reservoir 8-30-13

Post by Sjroche »

Hi, thanks! These photos were taken with a Canon T4i and a 18-135 kit lens. The T4i is an "entry level" to the better DSLR consumer cameras, but is enough camera for most people, including me. I have been very happy with the results, having started more "serious" photography only a bit before starting to kayak - both this summer. Combining the two has been great, as long as we don't all go overboard...

You are right, depth of field is key to making a photo pop and learning to control it was a big step for me - still learning. The f-stop is what controls it, and takes practice, but generally the lower the f-stop, the lower the depth of field, i.e. what's in focus and what's not.

Also post-processing is important, to maximize the photo, so some kind of software is needed to adjust contrast, hue, etc.
- Stephen
NorwayLady
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Re: Day Trip - East Head Reservoir 8-30-13

Post by NorwayLady »

Beautiful photos, Stephen. Thank you for sharing them with us. Love the turtle photo. The colors really pop!

Bea
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kayakerjnj
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Re: Day Trip - East Head Reservoir 8-30-13

Post by kayakerjnj »

Great photos! Thanks for sharing

Welcome to the flock :D
Paddle with a big smile, its contagious 8)


Jordan
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