Action Photography on the Suffolk Coast

This summer I have found that my photography has taken a definite turn of direction and instead of spending my time creating landscape images I have become much more adventurous getting involved with on the water action photography.

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

Developing a sense of vision part 1

As we progress on our photographic journey we are constantly seeking ways to improve and refine our image making. We are persuaded by manufacturers and the media that we need the latest gear or the in vogue techniques to grow and develop our craft and these things are all valid but for me the more important element to master is learning how to develop "vision".

I meet many people through my photography and I am often asked how I captured various images. People tend to recognise the locations but often comment that their images never look the same. They then follow this up by asking me what camera I use. For the most part the difference in images between one photographer and another has little to do with equipment and much more to do with a sense of vision.

So what is vision and how should we go about mastering it?

I believe vision is the art of portraying more than just the literal image. It is about getting a message across and evoking an emotion, looking at a landscape, knowing what you want to say and communicating that using only the elements in your viewfinder. Without vision an image is just a snap, a record of a particular place and time, but with vision it becomes a much more powerful medium through which we can convey our thoughts and emotions.

Vision is unique to every one of us; a personal expression of how we see the world, how we react to our environment, what we see and our emotional response to it.

My photographic vision has been moulded by my love of the great outdoors. When I stand in front of a landscape I want to photograph I feel inspired. I am often struck by a sense of awe and wonder at natures beauty. For every image I make I try to capture something unique about that particular environment, by selecting and carefully using the elements available to me I try to give the landscape a personality which I hope then conveys my connection to it.

From a practical point of view there are several things to consider which can help us develop our sense of vision, but I will save those for another day. As 2013 stretches in front of us maybe this is the perfect time to consider our what we want to achieve photographically in the comming months. We may already have new gear to try out or new techniques to practice but whist doing all that we should think about our vision and what message we want to convey with our images. It may be this after all that makes the biggest difference to our photography.

For inspiration have a look at "Developing vision and style" which has contributions by Joe Cornish, Charlie Waite and David Ward.

My new e course "Reconnecting with our environment through photography" will be available later in the year, but please feel free to register your interest now.

Happy New Year everyone.

Inspiration and motivation

Traditionally, as December draws to a close, I like to review my photography and the journey I have taken over the last 12 months.

This year I have spent a lot of time thinking about my inspiration and motivation and the drivers which lead me to make the images I make.

For me photography is as much about interacting with the environment as it is about producing good images. As human beings our relationship with the outdoors and connection to the natural world is vital to our sense of fulfillment. We need to get outside, to breathe fresh air, take in the view and marvel at our place in this world. We need to do these things to feel alive but I also think that from a photographic point of view we need to do these things to connect and have empathy with our environment. Surely this is the only way we can capture great landscape images. How can we possibly hope to convey a landscape in all its glory if we are not fully connected with it?

For me photography provides a reason to get outside. We live in an age where our relationship with the natural world is diminishing. The fast pace of life has taken its toll and there never seems to be enough time to just be and enjoy our surroundings. Without my love of photography I would have missed so many wonderful things; beautiful sunrises, stunning sunsets, the ebb and flow of the tides and the changing of the seasons. These are all things that have enhanced my life, things that are available to everyone, but which many of us fail to take advantage of. For most these wonders of the natural world go un noticed, burried in a never ending cycle of work, stress and commitment.

I have realised over the last few months that my photography has improved the greater my connection with the environment and equally the more I photograph and observe a landscape the greater my connection to it becomes.

My inspiration has come from many locations but none more influential than Ramsholt on the River Deben, a place I shared with my family for several years. This location shaped my photography; I came to know it really well, I documented it through the seasons and watched the wildlife come and go. I grew to love the landscape, the light, the changeable weather and the flora and fauna. I noticed and observed and channelled all my feelings for this place into my image making.

I was reading a book the other day by Richard Louv which contained the following quote which sums up my attitude to photography and the outside world - "We cannot love what we do not know and we cannot know what we do not see."

Perhaps if we all examined our connection with the natural world we would find our outdoor photography improved as our knowledge of our environment grew. We may also feel a growing sense of fullfillment and a renewed fascination with the world around us and that has to be good for our photography and the future of our environment.

In 2013 I will be introducing a new e - course based on this very subject. It will cover how we see our environment, how we interact with it and how we can channel this into emotive and inspiring image making. If you are interested please contact me for more details.

Words on images - adding extra impact

We are all familiar with the old addage "a picture is worth a thousand words" which refers to the notion that a single image can convey a complex idea. Whilst it is true that a photographic image is a very powerful medium sometimes adding a little extra in the form of words can help create a greater impact. This technique is used all the time in marketing campaigns, but it is also something worth considering as a photographer especially if you are trying to add that extra punch or meaning to your images.

In May's edition of Outdoor Photography magazine Niall Benvie http://niallbenvie.photoshelter.com/ wrote a really interesting article about the subject. "Too many images, he believes, are being lost in the crowd, not because of any aesthetic or technical shortcommings but because they lack context". This is a problem Niall says can be overcome by adding a few words to a photograph and getting the image to speak to its audience.

This is a process which can easily be undertaken in Photoshop or Indesign, but it is worth paying careful attention to your choice of words and the font type, size and location - all of which are fundamental in getting your message across.


My winning entry in the Outdoor Photography words on pictures competition


This image was taken on Christmas day on the shores of Loch Reraig in Wester Ross. It was fairly early in the morning and the loch shore was deserted. I took the shot hoping to convey the peace and tranquility of this beauiful place. When it came to adding the words I used indesign and Palatino Linotype font to express the connection I felt with the outdoors at that moment in time. I hope this creates an image with just a little more impact.

Here are some other examples of my images with added words