Kiteboarding?!?!

[DuckieLauren]

I took some pictures of my friend's neighbour's garden for her yesterday. When I took the finished photos over to her, she had company. This guy saw my photos and really liked them, then he asked if I would be interested in doing some photos of him and his friends kiteboarding. I felt quite flattered that he asked this, but I don't know how well those photos would turn out. I only have a 12x zoom on my Panasonic Lumix FZ30. I don't have a boat, nor a waterproof camera. He offered to get me a crazy Canon with a huge zoom (he didn't know specific info) to use to take the photos. I'm not sure if I trust myself to use such an expensive camera, especially when it doesn't belong to me.

However, it would be a great chance for me to play around and work on my technique. I need to get some Sports photography shots to add to a portfolio, so it would help prepare me for that. Can anyone help me and give me some tips?!
Is it possible to get a good photo from land with the camera I have?
What are the best settings to use to get the best Quality image?
Any other tips??

Thank so much!!
-Duckie

[wulf]

How about asking how often they go out and where they go? You could see if it would be feasible to visit a session with your camera and see what you can do informally without making it a high pressure situation.

Wulf