Photography Adventure Camp
Algonquin Provincial Park Canoe Trip
In partnership with:
Details
Length: 4 or 5 day options
Ages: 8-18 (born 2008-2018)
Group size: 6 to 15 campers, 2 Headwaters guides, and 1 Focus on Nature staff
Ratio: 1:5 leaders to participants, or better
Program cost: $860
Canoe tripping experience required: None. This camp is suitable for complete beginners and experienced canoe trip campers alike!
Spots available: Yes
About This Camp
Not your average canoe trip, Photography Adventure Camp is a unique combination of exploring the natural world, learning all about nature photography, mastering the beginner skills of canoe tripping, and having a fun adventure with new friends!
This camp is run in partnership with Focus on Nature. Each camp is led by two Headwaters guides alongside a Focus on Nature staff who will bring their popular photography camp programming to the backcountry canoe trip environment!
Every camper is provided with digital camera to use during the trip. Each day will have new lessons on a different aspect of nature photography. Campers leave the trip with a deeper love of nature, a new found creative outlet, and a master in photography skills including: framing, rule of thirds, composition, landscape photography, macro photography, elements of design, lighting, and more. All of this while on a safe, fun-filled canoe trip adventure! Photography Adventure Camp provides an intro to canoe tripping for those who have never been on a wilderness trip, while also enabling seasoned canoeists to discover a deeper, more meaningful experience than they have in the past. Too many canoe trip programs offer long and difficult routes that leave little time for anything but paddling, eating, and sleeping. We take an intentionally slow pace, paddling out to our campsite on day one and not changing sites for the duration of the trip. This means we only have to pack up camp on the last day, allowing us to really get to know our campsite – to discover what aquatic creatures come out at night; to venture out and explore nearby islands; and to befriend the birds nesting near our tents, learning their calls and hearing their songs. We learn how to cook meals over fires we made ourselves, catch and prepare our own fish for dinner, forage for edible berries, build shelters, and identify animals by their tracks and signs. With opportunities for nature journaling and fun games throughout, Headwaters canoe trips are designed to set young people up for a lifetime of enjoying backcountry camping and caring for our natural world.
Further Details
Drop Off and Pick Up Information
Drop off: Between 10:00am-10:30am on first day of the chosen week of camp, at Algonquin Provincial Park Access Point #1, Kawawaymog (Round) Lake Park Office
Pick up: Between 3:00pm-3:30pm on last day of the camp, at the same location as the drop off
Drop off/Pick up Address: Algonquin Provincial Park Access Point #1, Kawawaymog (Round) Lake Park Office, Unorganized South Nipissing District, ON P0H 1Z0
Google Maps link: Drop-off and pick-up location
What's Included
We provide:
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Canoe trip leaders who are as good as it gets: expert guides, master naturalists, certified teachers, and teachers of teachers, our staff are second to none. All professional educators, their work is to facilitate experiences that connect us to the wilderness and that teach confidence, compassion, teamwork, care, and joy. Most importantly, they are deeply thoughtful and caring people, masters beyond all else in embodying the values Headwaters seeks to teach
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All food and group gear: canoes, paddles, tents, cooking supplies, and everything else the group will need to live well with the wilderness
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We are very intentional about our gear, only using that which enhances the authentic experience of the canoe voyage, rather than impedes it
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Digital cameras and ongoing photography lessons throughout the trip
You bring:
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Personal clothing, sleeping bag, and sleeping mat (a detailed packing list will be sent upon registration)
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A PFD/lifejacket (we can provide a PFD upon request, but we recommend you bring your own to ensure that it is well-fitting and comfortable)
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An eagerness to explore, have fun, and travel with the wilderness!
Headwaters Highlights
An experience of living in community
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A sense of belonging and purpose toward the larger group, beyond oneself. In addition to developing both leadership and teamwork capacities, knowing what it is to live in a community who rely on you and on whom you rely is a profound experience, and a rare gift
A meaningful relationship with the natural world
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Unique to Headwaters, we intentionally weave environmental philosophy, naturalist knowledge, and eco-social history into everything we do, developing a relationship with nature far more meaningful than simply "enjoying the outdoors"
Time away from cellphones
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With no cell phones or other electronic devices permitted on our trips, it is a gloriously rare opportunity to unplug and re-connect
Traditional travel
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We travel by canoe and wooden paddle, we portage on foot. We cook on an open fire that we made ourselves, preparing each meal communally. Our food consists of homemade recipes long perfected for the canoe voyage, with fresh baking savoured when we please. We sleep in tents. We awake when our bodies are rested, rather than by the clock. We gather blueberries from the land and our water from the lake. We travel as according to how the weather dictates. We take rest days whenever we find a good spot. We live without haste, for the trip itself is the point.
Spots available: Yes