Flying a kite and KAPing from a beach is a very common activity, but when this beach is desert, when the water and air temperature never exceed 40 to 45°F, when we are on the border of British Columbia and Alaska, there is a risk (or a potential danger) to have to share the beach with a …. BLACK BEAR ! Some high adrenaline KAP story “à la Wind Watcher”….
Skedans Archaeological site is located in the Gwai Hanas National Park in Haida Gwaii (ex Queen Charlotte island) and the only access to these Haida sites ( the Haidas are a west canadian « first nation ») is by boat with quite often some challenging weather conditions. Our boat is the SV Maple Leaf, a 1904 schooner that we share with 4 other guests. The Haida Archaelogical sites are villages and wooden Totems that will most probably be gone in the next 20 years (except for those preserved in some museums around the world) and the UNESCO has designated one of this site on the World heritage list.
Landing on the beach by Zodiac is rather “humid” and the water T° is as warm as the air T° : 40 -45°F, but today is a beautiful day ( An euphemism to say that it is not raining..yet!)
Heidy and the 4 other passengers are gone on their visit of the site with the « watchman » ( an Haida guide who spends the summer and organizes visit for no more than 1500 visitors per year) on my side I am getting ready for a KAP session on the beach, it is not raining, the light is OK, the wind is blowing in the right direction, trees are not too tall, the low tide will give me a bit more space to move around without taking too many risks. The Dan Leigh Delta R8 takes off gently and within seconds the Ricoh GXR and its 12mm Voigtlander are aloft; in the distance I can see my companions. Everything is fine, the wind is very stable, but all of sudden I “feel” a presence on the beach and find out that less than 400 feet away, I am sharing this “deserted” beach with a BLACK BEAR…
I am trying to remain calm, Bears have a very bad sight, I am not under his wind and hopefully he will not smell that I did not have a shower for the past few days… What should I do ? getting everything down as soon as possible ? Should I tie the Kite and the camera to a rock and run? I finally decided to gently haul the kite down, an eye on the kite an eye on the Bear. The “watchman” had also spotted the Bear and soon my travel companions switched from wide angles and totems to telephoto lenses and wild life… I cannot help to think that if the situation would have become critical, at least we would have some images….After a few looooooong minutes the Bear gently turned around and walked back in the forest.
I will later find out from the watchman that it was a female and her 1 year old offspring was probably not too far away.
Who said that KAP was a quiet activity?
==============================
Kite Aerial Photography Ipad and Iphone Application
==============================

Tags:   pierre lesage kapstock kite Aerial photography KAP AutoKAP Canadana Haida Haida Gwaii Gwai Hanas maple Leaf Queen charlotte island Bear Beach Totem cold

© All Rights Reserved

Flying a kite and KAPing from a beach is a very common activity, but when this beach is desert, when the water and air temperature never exceed 40 to 45°F, when we are on the border of British Columbia and Alaska, there is a risk (or a potential danger) to have to share the beach with a …. BLACK BEAR ! Some high adrenaline KAP story “à la Wind Watcher”….
Skedans Archaeological site is located in the Gwai Hanas National Park in Haida Gwaii (ex Queen Charlotte island) and the only access to these Haida sites ( the Haidas are a west canadian « first nation ») is by boat with quite often some challenging weather conditions. Our boat is the SV Maple Leaf, a 1904 schooner that we share with 4 other guests. The Haida Archaelogical sites are villages and wooden Totems that will most probably be gone in the next 20 years (except for those preserved in some museums around the world) and the UNESCO has designated one of this site on the World heritage list.
Landing on the beach by Zodiac is rather “humid” and the water T° is as warm as the air T° : 40 -45°F, but today is a beautiful day ( An euphemism to say that it is not raining..yet!)
Heidy and the 4 other passengers are gone on their visit of the site with the « watchman » ( an Haida guide who spends the summer and organizes visit for no more than 1500 visitors per year) on my side I am getting ready for a KAP session on the beach, it is not raining, the light is OK, the wind is blowing in the right direction, trees are not too tall, the low tide will give me a bit more space to move around without taking too many risks. The Dan Leigh Delta R8 takes off gently and within seconds the Ricoh GXR and its 12mm Voigtlander are aloft; in the distance I can see my companions. Everything is fine, the wind is very stable, but all of sudden I “feel” a presence on the beach and find out that less than 400 feet away, I am sharing this “deserted” beach with a BLACK BEAR…
I am trying to remain calm, Bears have a very bad sight, I am not under his wind and hopefully he will not smell that I did not have a shower for the past few days… What should I do ? getting everything down as soon as possible ? Should I tie the Kite and the camera to a rock and run? I finally decided to gently haul the kite down, an eye on the kite an eye on the Bear. The “watchman” had also spotted the Bear and soon my travel companions switched from wide angles and totems to telephoto lenses and wild life… I cannot help to think that if the situation would have become critical, at least we would have some images….After a few looooooong minutes the Bear gently turned around and walked back in the forest.
I will later find out from the watchman that it was a female and her 1 year old offspring was probably not too far away.
Who said that KAP was a quiet activity?
==============================
Photo by Greg Shea, captain of the SV Maple Leaf
==============================
Kite Aerial Photography Ipad and Iphone Application
==============================

Tags:   pierre lesage kapstock kite Aerial photography KAP AutoKAP Canadana Haida Haida Gwaii Gwai Hanas maple Leaf Queen charlotte island Bear Beach Totem cold

© All Rights Reserved

Flying a kite and KAPing from a beach is a very common activity, but when this beach is desert, when the water and air temperature never exceed 40 to 45°F, when we are on the border of British Columbia and Alaska, there is a risk (or a potential danger) to have to share the beach with a …. BLACK BEAR ! Some high adrenaline KAP story “à la Wind Watcher”….
Skedans Archaeological site is located in the Gwai Hanas National Park in Haida Gwaii (ex Queen Charlotte island) and the only access to these Haida sites ( the Haidas are a west canadian « first nation ») is by boat with quite often some challenging weather conditions. Our boat is the SV Maple Leaf, a 1904 schooner that we share with 4 other guests. The Haida Archaelogical sites are villages and wooden Totems that will most probably be gone in the next 20 years (except for those preserved in some museums around the world) and the UNESCO has designated one of this site on the World heritage list.
Landing on the beach by Zodiac is rather “humid” and the water T° is as warm as the air T° : 40 -45°F, but today is a beautiful day ( An euphemism to say that it is not raining..yet!)
Heidy and the 4 other passengers are gone on their visit of the site with the « watchman » ( an Haida guide who spends the summer and organizes visit for no more than 1500 visitors per year) on my side I am getting ready for a KAP session on the beach, it is not raining, the light is OK, the wind is blowing in the right direction, trees are not too tall, the low tide will give me a bit more space to move around without taking too many risks. The Dan Leigh Delta R8 takes off gently and within seconds the Ricoh GXR and its 12mm Voigtlander are aloft; in the distance I can see my companions. Everything is fine, the wind is very stable, but all of sudden I “feel” a presence on the beach and find out that less than 400 feet away, I am sharing this “deserted” beach with a BLACK BEAR…
I am trying to remain calm, Bears have a very bad sight, I am not under his wind and hopefully he will not smell that I did not have a shower for the past few days… What should I do ? getting everything down as soon as possible ? Should I tie the Kite and the camera to a rock and run? I finally decided to gently haul the kite down, an eye on the kite an eye on the Bear. The “watchman” had also spotted the Bear and soon my travel companions switched from wide angles and totems to telephoto lenses and wild life… I cannot help to think that if the situation would have become critical, at least we would have some images….After a few looooooong minutes the Bear gently turned around and walked back in the forest.
I will later find out from the watchman that it was a female and her 1 year old offspring was probably not too far away.
Who said that KAP was a quiet activity?
==============================
Kite Aerial Photography Ipad and Iphone Application
==============================

Tags:   pierre lesage kapstock kite Aerial photography KAP AutoKAP Canadana Haida Haida Gwaii Gwai Hanas maple Leaf Queen charlotte island Bear Beach Totem cold

© All Rights Reserved

Flying a kite and KAPing from a beach is a very common activity, but when this beach is desert, when the water and air temperature never exceed 40 to 45°F, when we are on the border of British Columbia and Alaska, there is a risk (or a potential danger) to have to share the beach with a …. BLACK BEAR ! Some high adrenaline KAP story “à la Wind Watcher”….
Skedans Archaeological site is located in the Gwai Hanas National Park in Haida Gwaii (ex Queen Charlotte island) and the only access to these Haida sites ( the Haidas are a west canadian « first nation ») is by boat with quite often some challenging weather conditions. Our boat is the SV Maple Leaf, a 1904 schooner that we share with 4 other guests. The Haida Archaelogical sites are villages and wooden Totems that will most probably be gone in the next 20 years (except for those preserved in some museums around the world) and the UNESCO has designated one of this site on the World heritage list.
Landing on the beach by Zodiac is rather “humid” and the water T° is as warm as the air T° : 40 -45°F, but today is a beautiful day ( An euphemism to say that it is not raining..yet!)
Heidy and the 4 other passengers are gone on their visit of the site with the « watchman » ( an Haida guide who spends the summer and organizes visit for no more than 1500 visitors per year) on my side I am getting ready for a KAP session on the beach, it is not raining, the light is OK, the wind is blowing in the right direction, trees are not too tall, the low tide will give me a bit more space to move around without taking too many risks. The Dan Leigh Delta R8 takes off gently and within seconds the Ricoh GXR and its 12mm Voigtlander are aloft; in the distance I can see my companions. Everything is fine, the wind is very stable, but all of sudden I “feel” a presence on the beach and find out that less than 400 feet away, I am sharing this “deserted” beach with a BLACK BEAR…
I am trying to remain calm, Bears have a very bad sight, I am not under his wind and hopefully he will not smell that I did not have a shower for the past few days… What should I do ? getting everything down as soon as possible ? Should I tie the Kite and the camera to a rock and run? I finally decided to gently haul the kite down, an eye on the kite an eye on the Bear. The “watchman” had also spotted the Bear and soon my travel companions switched from wide angles and totems to telephoto lenses and wild life… I cannot help to think that if the situation would have become critical, at least we would have some images….After a few looooooong minutes the Bear gently turned around and walked back in the forest.
I will later find out from the watchman that it was a female and her 1 year old offspring was probably not too far away.
Who said that KAP was a quiet activity?
==============================
Kite Aerial Photography Ipad and Iphone Application
==============================

Tags:   pierre lesage kapstock kite Aerial photography KAP AutoKAP Canadana Haida Haida Gwaii Gwai Hanas maple Leaf Queen charlotte island Bear Beach Totem cold

© All Rights Reserved

Flying a kite and KAPing from a beach is a very common activity, but when this beach is desert, when the water and air temperature never exceed 40 to 45°F, when we are on the border of British Columbia and Alaska, there is a risk (or a potential danger) to have to share the beach with a …. BLACK BEAR ! Some high adrenaline KAP story “à la Wind Watcher”….
Skedans Archaeological site is located in the Gwai Hanas National Park in Haida Gwaii (ex Queen Charlotte island) and the only access to these Haida sites ( the Haidas are a west canadian « first nation ») is by boat with quite often some challenging weather conditions. Our boat is the SV Maple Leaf, a 1904 schooner that we share with 4 other guests. The Haida Archaelogical sites are villages and wooden Totems that will most probably be gone in the next 20 years (except for those preserved in some museums around the world) and the UNESCO has designated one of this site on the World heritage list.
Landing on the beach by Zodiac is rather “humid” and the water T° is as warm as the air T° : 40 -45°F, but today is a beautiful day ( An euphemism to say that it is not raining..yet!)
Heidy and the 4 other passengers are gone on their visit of the site with the « watchman » ( an Haida guide who spends the summer and organizes visit for no more than 1500 visitors per year) on my side I am getting ready for a KAP session on the beach, it is not raining, the light is OK, the wind is blowing in the right direction, trees are not too tall, the low tide will give me a bit more space to move around without taking too many risks. The Dan Leigh Delta R8 takes off gently and within seconds the Ricoh GXR and its 12mm Voigtlander are aloft; in the distance I can see my companions. Everything is fine, the wind is very stable, but all of sudden I “feel” a presence on the beach and find out that less than 400 feet away, I am sharing this “deserted” beach with a BLACK BEAR…
I am trying to remain calm, Bears have a very bad sight, I am not under his wind and hopefully he will not smell that I did not have a shower for the past few days… What should I do ? getting everything down as soon as possible ? Should I tie the Kite and the camera to a rock and run? I finally decided to gently haul the kite down, an eye on the kite an eye on the Bear. The “watchman” had also spotted the Bear and soon my travel companions switched from wide angles and totems to telephoto lenses and wild life… I cannot help to think that if the situation would have become critical, at least we would have some images….After a few looooooong minutes the Bear gently turned around and walked back in the forest.
I will later find out from the watchman that it was a female and her 1 year old offspring was probably not too far away.
Who said that KAP was a quiet activity?
==============================
Kite Aerial Photography Ipad and Iphone Application
==============================

Tags:   pierre lesage kapstock kite Aerial photography KAP AutoKAP Canadana Haida Haida Gwaii Gwai Hanas maple Leaf Queen charlotte island Bear Beach Totem cold

© All Rights Reserved