I went away for a few days in a canoe. My brother-in-law and I paddled part of the Rideau Canal Waterway, a World Heritage site that links Ottawa to Kingston.

It was pretty fantastic and very different than most of the canoe trips I have done.  We prepared to be self sufficient – packing a tent, sleeping bag, food, stove, TP, lanterns.

We guessed that there would be services en route and, ahem, we ate well at restaurants, camped on manicured lawns at locks and used services unknown to most wilderness paddlers.

It was a nice combination of semi-wild paddling and urban luxuries.

“What does this have to do with photography, Harry?”

I am glad you asked. I packed some fine camera equipment for the trip – a little, digital point and shoot camera. This was play and not work. Each holiday snap took seconds to capture – ie it was not work!

The point of this post is that little cameras can do wonders if you know photo fundamentals. I used it in auto mode. Pointed. Composed. Click.

What camera? I won’t tell you. It doesn’t really matter, anyway. How you use your camera matters much more than what camera you have.

Take lots of photos. Learn. Have fun!

Sunset in Newboro on the Rideau Canal.