This new direction began on a blustery June day with the Pin Mill Smack race and progressed to dinghy sailing at Alton Water over the summer where I employed a more event type approach to document the children s sailing sessions. The experience has been really enjoyable and I have learnt a huge amount about action photography and my abilities as a photographer.
Below are my top 5 tips for water based action photography:
1. After a lot of experimentation from the shore and from a chase boat I have concluded that it is imperative to be able to get out on the water. Having access to a chase boat to use as a photography platform makes a massive difference to the quality of the images you are likely to achieve. Even with a good zoom, shooting from the shore has limitations. Being able to successfully convey all the action from a scene can come down to simple shooting angles and from a boat you will have many more options. Some of my favourite shots from this summer have come from head on situations which I have only managed to capture by being in among the action.
The first image below was taken from the shore whilst the second was taken from a chase boat allowing a much more interesting angle of view.
2. To freeze motion use a fast shutter speed to ensure that all images are sharp and in focus. To achieve this I shot most of my images at ISO 400 and tried to aim for shutter speeds in excess of 1/300th sec. Although the ISO may seem high I have found that the Nikon D700 which I use is more that capable of producing good sharp images and graining is not a problem.
Many of my shots were produced with a Nikkor 70 - 300mm f4-5.6 lens fitted with a polariser for bright sunny days. This in itself cuts down the amount of light hence the high ISO required. A faster lens and removal of the polarising filter would mean that lower ISO's could be used to achieve the same shutter speeds.
3. Try to mix up your shooting style. Experiment with slower shutter speeds combined with panning the camera to follow the action. This approach results in freezing the moving object whilst blurring the background, giving a good impression of speed.
Remember digital files cost nothing so to ensure success shoot as many images as possible. I often capture 900 plus images in a full day on the water,which I can then whittle down to a few select, good images.
4. When shooting dinghies or windsurfers where the person is the important element in the image use a wide aperture F8 or wider to blur the background and isolate the subject.
5. As with all photography it is important to look after your camera kit especially when out on the water. When weather conditions are blustery and rough I would suggest getting a waterproof case to protect your camera, especially if you are heading out to sea on a rib. Salt water can play havoc with your equipment, so protection is the best policy. Aquapac make a good solution which fits many smaller SLR's http://store.aquapac.net/
There are many inspirational sailing photographers out there but one of my favourites has to be Kos Evans who's book "Walking on Water" details her dare devil approach to photography afloat. Not something I could ever emulate but inspiring never the less!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1408178443/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
