Inspired by GnarlyDog News?

A recent YouTube video has been brought to my attention where a paddler performs a similar balancing act to my recent guest Geggamoja video .
In "Sea Kayak Video Production" video a happy paddler with remarkable balance tries to stand on the deck of his kayak.


YouTube screen-shot

I then read his accompanying description on the video where he says:

>>It usually takes several years dedicated to paddle before being
able to balance standing in a kayak.
Some of us, probably, they will never (like me),
others do not see any purpose,
just like some people do not see any reason to learn how to roll a kayak.
I admire these kayakers able to handle the kayak with ways so
graceful .....
able to communicate with a few simple steps ...
real Guru can teach all of us ...
<<

Wait a minute... those words sound familiar!
In my post I write:

It usually takes a few years of dedicated paddling to be able to balance standing in a narrow beam kayak. Some of us will probably never get it (like myself) and some will see no point in it.
Just like some see no reason for learning how to roll a kayak or master more than a sketchy combat roll, I admire paddlers that can finesse the boat with graceful strokes.

Have I inspired people across the pond, all the way to Italy, to mimic Geggamoja video and copy my text?
Should I think that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?
If nothing else, at least it has inspired people to have a go and make it fun :-)

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Profile: Jill Remme_outdoor photographer

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I stumbled across Jill's work when she became a follower of GnarlyDog News.
Her profile linked me to her blog site (jillremme.blogspot.com) and I was immediately taken by her images.

I have checked her blog on a regular basis for a while and every time I was really impressed with her work.
Jill possesses an incredible talent that allows her to view the world through the lens of a camera like very few other photographers can: to me, her images convey passion, happiness and love.
I finally approached Jill and asked her a few questions; I wanted to know how she developed that photographic view.
("amber" is GD, "light blue" is Jill)



1) Jill, you photographic work is outstanding. So, how long have you been photographing and what sparked the passion?

I guess all my beautiful tours in nature spark the passion further and further. The love for nature and the movement in a picture to capture the moment….I love coming home and see what is the catch of the day on my camera; it is one of my favorite thing to do. I had my first camera when I was 17, and I still have that old Canon. I think I spent a small fortune to capture images before digital came along.


2) Your work has a very friendly and lovable feeling. Your portraits depict very relaxed faces and the subjects are really pretty. Are they professional models or just friends?


It is mostly friends and family. I really enjoy taking pictures of my children. I have three daughters and one son, two of them are stepchildren :) It's always fun to be with them; so that's perhaps why they look so relaxed.  And now I also have a grandchild;  lucky me!
Occasionally people ask me if I can take their pictures, but I more often say no than yes :)

3) Do you spend some time planning the photographs that you are going to take or is it just candid capturing of moments as they happen in front of the camera? With the portraits, do you have any special technique to put your models at ease or are you just good friends and they feel relaxed?

I have no other technique than: I try to think of the light and movement: I try to catch people as they are in that moment, but it is not always so easy. I rarely or never plan. I get inspired by others and the pictures I see on the Internet and other places. What inspires me most is just being in nature and enjoying it. I also use Photoshop when images aren't captured they way I saw them.
I spend some time trying to think up new ideas and angles but I often feel that I repeat myself. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes not.




4) Your images are taken often in very cold places and you seem to love the outdoors a lot. Do you prepare or protect your digital cameras in any special way to make the battery last?


My camera is well tested in bad weather. I use my Canon D 30 mostly indoors and in dry weather, but my Canon G 12 stands up to the weather in the outdoors. There is a lots of rough weather where I live and I've already worn out a Canon G 12. When I bought a new I also bought a waterproof housing since I paddle a lot and I always have a camera ready with me.
I clean my camera almost always after a trip. When the weather is too wet, I use a plastic cover around the camera. If its really shitty weather, I have a bag that I use. If I am in extreme cold as -20C, I hang the camera away from me in the hallway so the lens does not fog up. The contrast from the outside and inside temperature is not good for the lens. I always have with me two camera batteries. The batteries run out quickly when exposed to such cold temperatures, but a little heat from my pocket revitalizes them again.




5) Have you exhibited your work apart from your blog? Do you sell your images?

I have a photo bank called www.moments.no but it is not in use. Have been planning to add my photos there. Where I stored them before was not to sell them but only for safekeeping.
If occasionally somebody wants to purchase pictures of course I say yes. I have no need to display my photos publicly, but if anyone likes them, I'm incredibly happy.
It's always great that someone appreciates what you do, but mostly I do it because I like it so much. It is a fantastic relaxation in my life. Just being in the moment and 100% alive it is something that we should do much more often. If there is too much stress in your life it makes you forget why we are here; Nature is there for a reason :))




6) Lastly: do you travel around the world or do you concentrate to your local environment opportunities?

 I traveled a lot before but after that we got our Samoyed Nansen (big white dog), we have not traveled that much the last 2 years. Now, Nansen is an adult and it is easier to get someone to watch him. So we look forward to being able to travel again more in the future. I love to explore the nature around me. The light out here by the sea change so often that it feels like I see the place for the first time, every time, if you know what I mean.


As a formal professional photographer with academic training I am humbled by Jill's skills and passion.
I appreciate her imagery for the candid representation of her life and environment, love for the outdoors and happiness of being outside. I wish one day to travel to Norway to experience the beauty of that incredible land and possibly meet Jill.



All images: Copyright Jill Remme 2012_used with permission

Gnarlydog News product review policy

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After a recent post on Gnarlydog News where some commentators questioned my integrity with my reviews on this blog as true independent non commercial articles I think it's time that I clearly explain my policy.
"Mike" accused me (in the comments section here) of writing articles for this blog as commissioned paid reviews.
While GDN has now passed the 200th post with a variety of articles spanning from simple images, videos, observations, opinion and criticism I also include reviews of gear that I use.
I would like to stress the point here on the "gear that I use".
As the popularity of GDN increased over the years readership now reaches in hundreds of page loads per day. Some manufactures regularly visit my pages for ideas and to see what does not work for me; I guess, with my posts sometimes I offer an indirect feedback to them.
At the same time some manufacturers also notice my efforts in describing and researching a product, which I often accompany with non-stock images and videos of mine.
I have been approached several times by non-kayak related companies asking me to review some of their goods. After a brief discussion with the business interested in my blog I realized that they were after a favorable  review of products that do not interest me personally. I politely decline their offer explaining that I only would consider items that I would personally use.
I also have been asked to promote businesses and events but, since I was not personally involved with those, I declined again.
Occasionally there is a manufacturer that offers me a product that I would like to try. I engage with the supplier and analyze the product before I commit and ask them to send me a sample. I understand that small businesses are on a tight budget and can not afford to simply send samples to anybody therefore, if the product that they offer appears to be of a style and design that does not agree with my philosophy (I like things simple, compact and sturdy) I again decline their offer.
Now, there are some products that I really like and occasionally I will ask the manufacturer to supply me with a sample. Often they decline my request.
There are cases too where the manufacturer engages in a healthy conversation with me about the design of their product before they offer me any samples. This is the case with Northern Light Paddles.



Paul had a lengthy exchange of emails with me before he finally decided to take the risk to supply me with his paddles. He knew that if I didn't find his paddles to my liking there was a risk I would give them an unfavorable review. Just like with Flat Earth Kayak sails, where initially there were some minor design flaws, the conversation with Mick was open. He looked at my findings and he improved his product.
I now use Flat Earth Sails exclusively finding them superior to my design.


With Northern Light paddles I have found a product that is unique and fits my needs very well.
At no stage was I ever paid to review any product, never have.
I will accept products for review as well as I will review items that I buy in a retail shop, full price.
I also occasionally review items that are loaned to me but only if I personally I am interested in.
So, if you, the reader, feel that I have breached your trust with the honesty in my reviews, I ask you to stop reading this blog.
On the other hand I am sure that many will find my policy acceptable to be still called independent non-commercial review.

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On blogging

A recent post from Silbs made me reflect on the reasons I blog.
Since I don't have commercial reasons to advertise my products or ideas I wondered on my motives. It must be because I find that sharing knowledge enhances my life.
There is a tremendous amount of very good work out there, in cyberspace.
Just like I often come across great ideas, reports and good information in general when browsing for a particular item, I wish to share my findings with others. I have learned a lot from my fellow bloggers.

There are the usual high speed commercial sites where the info can be occasionally biased, there are a few good amateur independent offerings and then there are the useless ones that just like to post mindless material because they can.
And that last one seems to be the subject of Silbs post.
Does one really feel the need to post countless images of questionable quality of the same subject? surely they can see that a bit of culling would make the blog a bit more attractive.
The same goes with reports of trips and events.
Does anybody really care that I got up early in the morning to cook porridge and then pack up my camp and then load the kayak and then launch in a bit of North-Easterly and that the humidity was high and I was paddling at 5.3Kmp with a 45 degree feather in my paddle? You know what I mean.
I understand that not all blogs are directed towards a universal audience but even the selected few that might know the person/location could possibly get bored.

I am a lousy writer therefore I try to relay what I experienced with images. But just because an image says a thousand words it does not mean I should create "verbal diarrhea" by posting too many images of the same thing. The advent of digital photography means we can take hundreds of images but I select my images; only the ones I think are the very best make the cut and only very few are published. If any average photographer would pay just a bit more attention to on how they take the an image and try to be more selective when they publish or share them then I might better see the experience they are trying to relay to me.
The same goes with prose: cut the unnecessary stuff and tell me more about the essence and the experience, not the mundane facts.
Combine good images with decent copy and maybe there is something I can be bothered reading. Seakayakphoto is an outstanding example on how to create an appealing story: images and copy.
While I believe that no blogger is immune to ego, I notice some just like to post hoping to get attention.


Unfortunately some have very little to say and their efforts have the opposite effect, leaving them open to ridicule.
Some bloggers go for the "reheated news". Seen somewhere else an article that seems to be popular? Let's repost it in my blog hoping to generate some traffic.
I find it OK if a blogger actually comes across a terrific piece of work that is rather obscure and believes that it deserves a bit more publicity, but question the motive of those who cut/paste sensationalistic news so people flock to their blog.

I don't know what to say but I am compelled to have a new post? There is always the option of having unrelated professionals write for me. Maybe the topic has to be a bit generic but at least my blog has a new post.
I was recently approached by a commercial company of writers that does just that. They offered to write an article for Gnarlydog News for free to then have their company linked on my blog.
I asked them to write something about Aleut and Greenland paddles. Their reply:
"...However I feel that our writers may not be able to deal with a topic of that nature.
Have you anything else you would be interested in featuring on your website. Maybe something on travel kayaking? "
Yeah, a generic post about travelling: how riveting :-)
OK, not everybody can be good at blogging. I certainly am just average.
My writing is a bit ghetto but I like to use the excuse that English it's my 4th language. I try a bit harder with images though.
Some posts require a fair amount of planning, preparing and executing the footage/images.
Once I have acquired the material I spend some time editing it since I regard my raw footage as only good for a draft, rarely worthy of presentation.
I like to present my work with straight horizons and I crop out the disturbing elements, if I can. A bit of polishing makes a huge difference.
Despite all that I don't spend too much time capturing the footage, I'm rarely getting paid for it :-)
It's just an amateur effort in capturing fun moments of my activities, something that I will like to review in years to come.
Certainly bloggers are free to write what they want and publish as many pictures as they please, but if you want others to be as interested as you are in your offerings, it pays to remember: "quality over quantity".

Copyright infringment, again

Recently I have come across the blog of Canadian Ckayaker.

In one of his posts I recognized one of my images.

Unable to find an authorization/bill of sale in my records for that image I contacted the owner of that blog, Michael Bradley of Hatley (Quebec), to find out where he sourced my image.

Michael's reply to me was vague and he could not "recall" the source of the image.

That particular image is displayed on my flickr account.

Michael has conveniently cropped my name and copyright watermark from the bottom of the image, just as somebody else did in a previous case

Further perusal of Ckayaker's blog reveals that Michael seems to be using a lot of images that don't look to be his and I tend to doubt that he has permission to use them.

It puzzles me that somebody who is a teacher, and is happy to have an article of his published by Sea Kayaker magazine, appears to be ignorant of copyright laws.

Maybe Michael thinks that "because it on the net" it's OK to appropriate and in his case modify the image to prevent identifying the rightful owner.

The comment "if you don't want to have your images pinched, don't put them on the net" typically comes from provincially minded individuals that often are jealous of other's achievements.

Those individuals are unable to produce photographic work that is worth pinching.

If a photographer is happy to share his/her work with others usually their images are licensed under the Creative Commons license.

Those images are often free of copyright as long as they are attributed and are not used for commercial applications.

So, next time you want to use somebody else image, contact the owner.

The law only allows the use of images without permission in very specific instances.

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PS this post marks a milestone: according to webmetrics, Gnarlydog News has passed the 100.000 hits mark

Gnarlydog News advertising philosophy

Gnarlydog News following has grown in recent times.
It captures the attention of readers around the world and some seem to really like my postings.
The blog's popularity (still very meager compared to some teen based topic related blogs) has attracted the attention of some commercial operators.
I have been asked a few times if I would be interested in promoting, reviewing or advertising certain products or services.
While I love to test new products that personally interest me, I have declined offers that don't follow my philosophy.
I prefer to review items that I would personally use.
I have rejected requests to advertise products that don't meet my criteria of solid design and construction.
I have also declined to advertise for services that I don't believe in.
You might also have noticed that some of my reviews are not all honky dory and occasionally I don't exactly praise or hold back on a product that has failed on me.
I try to give you, the reader, an honest opinion of what I think.
While the web might be full of reviews for certain items that you would like to know the durability/performance of, just about all reviews seem commissioned.
There are several magazines that do the same: stellar reviews on ALL the products they test...
Hmmm, does not that smell a bit fishy to you? ...it does to me ;-)


Occasionally Forum/Blog administrators will pull non favorable comments from end users that may damage the advertising of a certain manufacturer.
It is rather difficult to get an honest opinion these days.
Some advertising masquerades behind "reviews" from consumers however for me it's often easy to spot the story that reeks of commission.
You will hear from me when I like a product but at the same time I will also let you know if something just ain't right...
I might not win myself any favors with some manufacturers (or individuals) but I won't say something that is not true.

"The currently fashionable idea that marketers can manipulate social media to serve their needs is largely a delusion. Yes, there will be isolated successes. But most web users are far too savvy to confuse honest social commentary with contrived social media "marketing." Social media is currently an effective way for companies to maintain good customers relations, and for smallish retailers to deliver sales promotion messages. "
(from The Ad Contrarian 25MAY10)

The first 20.000 hits

Gnarlydog News has received the 20.000th visit since its debut in February.

Thank you to all my readers from more than 80 countries that have bothered leaving a comment or asked a question.

If you would like to see a particular topic covered this is the time and place to ask.

I can't guarantee that I can address your query if it's outside my limited field of expertise but probably can explain some of my projects in more detail.

You can contact me off this site by emailing at gnarlydognews@gmail.com if you prefer to remain anonymous.

PS I have been asked to detail my kayak seat replacement with a foam one.

I don't have any pictures of the construction/carving phase but I have some finished seats. See what I can do...