Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/01/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]thomas boehm wrote: > > so what to think & worry about, when i do photography on a sailboat? Thomas, Having just returned from 10 days sailing from San Diego to Santa Catalina Island (where we spent the Millennium eve in a quiet cove alone) and having spent much time on boats I would worry most about: - --Staying warm. - --Not getting seasick. - --Getting enough sleep. - --Having the right people with you (the biggest boat is really, really small!!) - --Having good books to read. - --Having a good water filtration system (tank water can taste worse than Hypo). - --Having a star map. - --Having a big anchor and lots of chain (you'll sleep better at night). If you get around to photography, it helps to have wide angle lenses if you shoot on board. Flash fill is nice too, especially below (add a Rosco or Lee Tunsten filter to the strobe to match the electric or oil lamps) or for people in front of sunsets. Get the crew to launch you into the dingly and sail around you. But make sure you are nice to everyone so they don't sail off without you! Wide angle from the bow pulpit is always dramatic. Or get up on the spreaders and shoot down. The biggest problem is just getting around the heaving deck without banging things or dropping stuff. The old saying is "one hand for yourself, one hand for the boat." So how do you change lenses, let along take pictures??? Wrap your legs around lifeline stantions or the mast or whatever. If it is wet, wear your foul weather jacket and keep camera tucked inside. Leave your camera bag inside, otherwise it will get stepped on, wet, and get in the way. On a race boat I crew on, there are canvas bags for lines and stuff around the main hatch. Perfect place for lenses and even camera. Be careful with exposure. White boats make underexposure almost inevitable with in-camera meters. Bring an incident meter if possible, otherwise meter off sky, hand, sea, whatever, but not the boat, and use manual settings. Try to think way into the future. Things happen and you have to be ready. Coming back from Catalina the sun rose from the sea straight ahead and when it was about half way out of the water a modern tuna trawler went right in front of it and the 300mm was in a bag down below. The funny thing is that exactly the same thing happened on the last trip. Exactly... maybe even same boat. Damn! Slow learner. Underexpose water and it turns black, especially with Velvia. Shoot backlight, expose for shadows and water will come to life. Three weeks ago I shot power boats on Lake Mead near Las Vegas with the new E100 VS and results were stunning. Deep blue, luminous water, holds detail in white highlights nearly as well as Velvia and excellent skin tones on models. Art Director (and printer) very happy, too, about lower contrast compared to Velvia. Watch out for dirty waterlines and faces that go dark under the brim of hats and make people take off their sunglasses for a while so you can see their eyes. Have fun, donal - -- __________ Donal Philby San Diego www.donalphilby.com