Oregon Cup, "Boatercross" Sprint Race
East Fork Lewis River, Washington

Day two of my adventure in whitewater photography found me super sore from paddling Lake Merwin, and from bouncing off the face of that cliff yesterday at Canyon Creek. I got to the race location plenty early to scout angles and try to chat up the crowd a bit. I got advice from several experienced paddlers, but in the end, settled on a location of my own invention. There was one rapid at the top end of the course that bottlenecked the participants into an area that just was not wide enough for more than one boat at a time. Since the race was a head-to-head event, groups for four and five would be paddling like mad through this narrow strip of water. I decided to go with it. I figured they'd still be in a pack so close to the start. Most of the time, they were. I am happy with the resulting photos. I've got a few of competitors banging into eachother, and I think that was the peak action of the race. Some of the facial expressions are very telling of the tension of the moment.