Floating the Boise River

[QuietOne]

Well, since the Barber Park rentals are now open and people are out on the river, I might as well show some of 'em.

There's a floating object to fit anyone's style. Inflatable "kayak"
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Rafts of all sizes (yeah, the kids in that one raft aren't up to mischief, are they?)
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You can get a couple of people to do the paddling for you - not a bad idea if you're not familiar with the river.
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The dive and rescue team is out most days. This jet ski is larger and more powerful than the two they usually run. I don't know if they got a new toy and it hasn't been marked yet, or if they're test driving it. But the operator was doing the equivalent of wheelies with it.
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[Mad Aussie]

Here's a thread we let slip by unnoticed ...

Shot 4 ... that woman on the back will float if she falls in. In fact ... everyone else can just grab on and she'll keep them all up!!! :)

[QuietOne]

Shot 4 ... that woman on the back will float if she falls in. In fact ... everyone else can just grab on and she'll keep them all up!!! :)

Maybe she gets assigned to the rafts where everyone refuses a life jacket.

The river's getting crowded these days. Families and groups of all kinds are piling into rafts.

[QuietOne]

Parents and grandparents taking quality time with their kids and grandkids.
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In this last one I'm pretty sure that the gentleman paddling is Pete "Zimo" Zimowsky. He's the outdoors writer for the local newspaper.

[QuietOne]

And some people just have their own style when it comes to what they float in.

[Mad Aussie]

Maybe she gets assigned to the rafts where everyone refuses a life jacket.
:laughing: Maybe!

Some lovely clear shots in that lot. The shot of the girls (where one is waving to you) ... it looks two of them are twins.

[QuietOne]

The shot of the girls (where one is waving to you) ... it looks two of them are twins.

Could be, I didn't look closely until you mentioned it. I have more float photos, simply because most of last week was too hot to do much else. In the next picture the arrow points to the rock I've been sitting on. It's very pleasant that close to the water, even when the temps are in the upper 90s.

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[QuietOne]

This was one I couldn't believe. She's talking on her cell phone! I mean, can't ya leave it behind for a couple of hours? :headslap:
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Dad as a float seems to work for these two.
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I'm not sure what the one girl saw. I'm not that scary looking.
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[QuietOne]

The river is still a bit higher than it usually is this time of year. The water is moving at a pretty good clip.
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Lots of couples floating, some sharing rafts, some not.
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But most people I see are having a good time regardless of how many rafts there are (and sometimes there's half a dozen tied together).
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[mbrager]

You seem to be having a fun and cool time on your rock. Pictures as a group are interesting and I enjoy your comments. Not an unflattering one in the lot. Mike

[Mad Aussie]

This was one I couldn't believe. She's talking on her cell phone! I mean, can't ya leave it behind for a couple of hours? :headslap:

Amazing. This was why I took a photo of two girls fishing in my Noosa photos a few weeks back. Two teenagers out there having fun on the beach without an ipod or iphone to be seen! Taking one a tube on a river is stupid. Give her a slap 'upsard her hay-ed' and tell her it was from me k? ;)

Some good additions to the thread. Man the stretch of river is popular with the people at present!

[QuietOne]

Amazing. This was why I took a photo of two girls fishing in my Noosa photos a few weeks back. Two teenagers out there having fun on the beach without an ipod or iphone to be seen! Taking one a tube on a river is stupid. Give her a slap 'upsard her hay-ed' and tell her it was from me k? ;)

I'd like to add one guy I see walking frequently - I think I've seen him exactly once when he wasn't talking on his cellphone. My experience is that people miss what's going on around them when they're plugged into electronic gadgets. At that point you might as well be on a treadmill.


Some good additions to the thread. Man the stretch of river is popular with the people at present!

Sure is. There's another stretch easily reachable at the back of Julia Davis Park. I might make my way there during lunch next week, depending on how well things at work go.

[Marko]

some really nice additions here for sure. :highfive:

[QuietOne]

You seem to be having a fun and cool time on your rock. Pictures as a group are interesting and I enjoy your comments. Not an unflattering one in the lot. Mike

I managed to miss your comment last night. Thanks, and yes, I'm enjoying myself. For the most part people wave back when I wave. Those that don't are usually simply startled to see me and are gone by the time they wave back.

Marko, thanks. I'm glad people are enjoying the thread.

[QuietOne]

I tried photographing things other than the river this last week. The day I went to the butterfly garden worked, as it was very overcast. The other day was sunny and hot. Boy, was that a mistake. So I went back to sitting by the river.

This gal waved before being caught by surprise by the way the water picks up right at that point. Her companion didn't seem to be bothered by much of anything.

[QuietOne]

Some solo floaters.
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Floating with the gang.
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[QuietOne]

More families, of course. Dad's a ham in the first one.
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[QuietOne]

Girls' day out.
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And floating with a buddy.
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[QuietOne]

A close fit, if you want to lounge with 2 people in the small rafts.

[Mad Aussie]

I like that 2nd shot .. the surprize face one ... excellent expression :)

[QuietOne]

Has it been nearly 3 weeks since the last set? Boy, I'm falling down on the job!
This one, well, it's as sharp as I could make it. They were in one of the pull outs as I was walking back to the office, and I told them I'd try to get it here by the end of the week. I'm finding that it's often tough to keep things in focus, because the water really moves the rafts around.
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These guys were really mellow.
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Another family with an official guide/paddler
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[QuietOne]

The 2 kayaks were together.
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He doesn't look like he's too sure he likes this.
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Ah, yes. College age males. The one was trying to shock me with pelvic thrusts and suggestive hand placement. You can see what the one friend thought of his behavior. Honestly, there's just never a fainting couch around when you need one.:p
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[JAS_Photo]

Very cool thread QuietOne and lol at the fainting couch!

[Mad Aussie]

I love the little tot with the smilie face on her floaties :)

[Iguanasan]

More updates to a cool set. Fun watching all the people slide by. Amazing to me is how many don't bother with any kind of a life jacket. Are there any accidents to speak of in this past time?

Also, if you are having trouble keeping them in focus try increasing the aperture to f11, f14, or f16 and focus a bit in front of them which will increase your depth of field and give you more opportunity to keep them in focus. See Marko's podcast/post on hyperfocal distance and that might help - http://www.photography.ca/blog/2009/11/17/74-hyperfocal-distance-how-to-use-the-hyperfocal-distance/

[Bambi]

nice. I'll take the left-most mellow guy as my guide.....:cool:

I also like the little one with the floaties.

[Hillbillygirl]

Very interesting thread, with lots of interesting characters, and love them all QO.

[QuietOne]

Thanks, all, it's been fun watching the characters float by. The little girl with the smile floaties was a hit at work, too.

Bambi, I know what you mean about the left most mellow guy. He does look tasty (yes, MA, we're a couple of dirty old broads).

Iguanasan, life jackets are required for the kids (though it's too often ignored), but not the adults. The dive/rescue team keeps busy this time of year, and there's always a handful of accidents. They have an inflatable dive boat and 3 jet skis. For drownings this year, there was one at a diversion dam a few weeks ago, and I think someone got caught under one of the snags along the bank. The diversion dam was actually beyond the recommended float route, but it's not illegal for people to float any stretch of river, at any time of year. Just stupid, until the snags in the middle of the river have been cleared and the water volume is low enough.

Your suggestion for helping focus is on the list, as soon as I can find time for the podcast. I'm actually having to work with a couple of things. This stretch is just after a much shallower stretch. The river deepens suddenly. Rafts entering that stretch have two things happen, even if there are paddlers trying to keep them under control. The first is that they will tend to porpoise, sometimes dramatically. That's especially true if they're towards the bank I'm sitting on. The other is that they will be turned by the eddies, usually between a half and a full turn. The smaller the raft, the more likely. But everyone takes at least a quarter turn, and I've seen 2 full turns fairly often. I'm trying out the 3-d autofocus mode, to help keep focus on one of the subjects. It slows my shooting, but that's not a bad thing. I've also started trying to focus on a portion of the raft or a paddle, which is usually just in front of the people. No guarantees. And with the turns, sometimes you just get the backs of heads or people blocked by other people in less than photogenic ways. But if it were easy, it wouldn't be nearly as much fun.

[QuietOne]

OK, really, how could anyone resist this opportunity?
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[QuietOne]

And a couple more.
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[Peter]

All of the photos are very clear. Great job.

[QuietOne]

Thank you, Peter. I may have a few more to put up this weekend.

[QuietOne]

Deep Space 9 fan?
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Missing teeth, but not the fun!
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Snacks for the float.
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[Iguanasan]

Ok, if the float lasts long enough to take snacks I have to wonder how do you get back to your car, house, whatever? Do they have a bus service or does the river go in a big circle? :laugh:

[QuietOne]

Ok, if the float lasts long enough to take snacks I have to wonder how do you get back to your car, house, whatever? Do they have a bus service or does the river go in a big circle? :laugh:

There's a recommended stretch for floating, complete with 4 designated rest stops. The rest stops have portapotties and trash cans. The route is between two parks, and there is a regular shuttle run between them. There is a business that rents rafts of all types, life jackets, etc., though you can bring your own. But I'm guessing that if you use the official concession you don't have to figure out how to get the raft back to your car.

Floating the Boise River (http://www.cityofboise.org/boiseriver/)