Quite a bit of my early paddling was in races where a PFD was compulsory. I also spent a lot of time canoeing with Scouts and school children. They were required to wear a PFD and I used to wear one to set a good example. When I paddled a lot of time trials with Burley Griffin Canoe Club in Canberra, a PFD was compulsory and in any case I needed it to keep warm in the winter. So for all those reasons, wearing PFD has become automatic, which is probably a good thing because the regulations have just changed to require one if you are in a kayak more than 100 metres from shore. That distance is easily exceeded on some of our local lakes.

Having said all that, I am guilty of posting a photo of paddlers without jackets. I particularly wanted a photo of a pair of my kayaks on the water together and had just one opportunity to do so. There was only one PFD available during the photo shoot. Even though the photo was taken in knee deep water, I felt a bit uncomfortable about publishing the photo (on another forum).

I agree with you that we should set an example. I guess it isn't always obvious that some of those shots we publish, particularly "first time on the water shots" are taken in very shallow water.