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Are we telling tales now? I had some turtle fun. The last was after a long rainy day after which my bow paddler had an unexpected break down. I found her in tears with everything that went in the tent piled around her in the middle to avoid the half cup of water she brought in. But as I wiped up the puddle, the rain kept pouring down and in her defense, it sounded nasty in the tent.

Meanwhile a snapper was eyeing our hard won dinner and it took a couple of good whacks with the spare paddle to convince him to let go. Once  he did, he resurfaced five feet out and continued to hiss for a very long time, loud enough to be heard in the tent once the rain stopped.

The rain did eventually subside and I'm happy to report neither held a grudge although I did keep an eye out for that bad ass turtle the rest of the evening.

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Reptile sumo. 

We were canoeing some crown land a few years ago and our campsite had a nice 20' +/- cliff off the south side.  With our plates full of dinner we set up our chairs to eat on the top of the cliff.  A few minutes into our meal we hear something creeping up on us from behind.  We turn around to see this painted turtle on a mission coming up between us.  She walked between us and without so much as a pause did a flippin' Harry Carey right off the cliff into the water.  Just like Harrison Ford in The Fugitive.  Weirdest thing I have ever seen.

Amphibian sumo? 
WiF

Back in early September, we had a gnarly old snapper come up out of the deep like some monster out of a horror movie and almost take a fillet out of the hand of guy washing it off in the water.

Talk about someone who jumped back from the water's edge.

(We told 'him he shrieked like a 2nd-grade girl.)

The turtle hung around for hours, poking out his head to stare at us and sniff around. He (?) was not afraid of ANYTHING.

We tossed it a few fish scraps (I know we shouldn't) but he ate 'em up and then looked at us for more.

Another turtle came in at one point, and they sort of stared at each other in a sort of stand-off for a while, and then they lunged at each other like bulls. The first turtle promptly flipped the other one on its back, and that was it: the second turtle took off.

It was fascinating.

-- kypaddler

I agree, we usually see more by taking our time and being patient, but not always at that close of range (or zoom level).  And seeing with your eyes vs. getting a good picture can be definitely two different things. Good Job Hunting!

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 That's a very insightful observation. Slowing down is ideal but even if you can't, it pays too keep your head on a swivel and the noise to a minimum. Obviously you need to pay attention to your paddling path, but I've seen so many wild critters by initially catching the flash of movement out of the corner of my eye. You can't do this is you have the paddling version of " White Line Fever"

I made a reference to this in my trip report, posted recently.  If you are going to photograph on a canoe trip, you either have to be going solo or you have to have a tandem partner who is patient and willing to aid and assist with the photography.  It takes time and sometimes extreme patience to set up for a good shot.  Especially with wildlife, or with small things.  Good composition and good exposure don't come with just snapping and shooting (except when, on occasion, you happen to get very lucky--and on occasion we all do.)

I have been blessed to have such a patient partner to work with.  Our trips didn't start out to be focused around photography.  On our first trip in 1971 I had a small Kodak Instamatic and two rolls of film (12 exposures each).  Now, when I look at that album and see what I MISSED, I am aghast! 

So I began to "need" better camera and better film and more time, better light, SLR 35mm, digital SLR, tripod, telephoto lens, etc., etc.  But if you don't fish. . . .

Photos, for me, are where it's at.  And yours (I guess I should say "hers") have been very enjoyable for all of us here.  Thanks again.

Spartan,
Your comments, as the resident photographer extraordinaire, are especially appreciated. My daughter-in-law truly has a gift, IMO. She is a recent grad from vet school, so she has that unique perspective when taking a photograph. She is also an extremely patient photographer, not afraid to spend an hour or more waiting. And, as you mention, she's not afraid to take A LOT of shots. We took almost 11 hours to paddle the S-Chain from Agnes to North Bay, patiently indulging her as she clicked away. And she sat for hours to get what she wanted for those eagle pics. For me, it was enlightening to see how much I was missing when I travel my normal mode.
Ken