How to get great picture of your boat while sailing!

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
Jon Hansen, the nonchalance of the guy on the rail, cool, calm, explains that 'ride' you mentioned. Everybody is at ease in that photo, as if they could go forever. I can hear the sizzle of the wake.

Of course, it's not a good safety photo. :)
 
  • Like
Likes: jon hansen
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
The best places for shooting races are at the marks. Place the photo boat depending on background, lens used, wind, and what you envision the image to be..
In particular, LEEWARD marks with spin boats. Every crew-member is in action. Sail changes. A time and distance game. Its a contest to see who can leave the kite up longer and still round the mark cleanly. Our club photographer routinely hangs out there.

DSC_2656-XL.jpg
 
Last edited:
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Speaking of lighting, notice the sun is in front of the camera in Jackdaw’s example. I photographed my H23 on the trailer and another guy chastised me for not having the sun behind me “so the picture will look good.” I took the picture just to appease him. Which do y’all prefer?
I think lighting is what you make of it. Exposure controls can give you control of your shot, and sometimes the backlight works creatively. This shot is severely backlit, but it totally works.

20161106_143623-crop.jpg
 
Sep 20, 2006
2,912
Hunter 33 Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada
I think lighting is what you make of it. Exposure controls can give you control of your shot, and sometimes the backlight works creatively. This shot is severely backlit, but it totally works.

View attachment 162395

What a great shot. Of course you have to be a sailor to understand it, but you can just feel the speed.
 
  • Like
Likes: Jackdaw

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
I like this shot and leveled the horizon. That comes at a cost in image size.


Because of the small file size, the bright area fell apart trying to adjust the highlights.

Jac's leveled.jpg


Here it is a few steps before that happened in Lightroom.

Jac's leveled 2.jpg


I love backlit photos. On your boat, you can often diffuse the bright sun by putting something between it and the lens to diffuse it. Sails are a soft diffuser. You can use something more opaque but small like this flag shot.

Sunrise flag Seal Cove (1 of 1).jpg


Another diffuser, this hatch: Putting the setting sun behind it let the rest of the softer light make the exposure.

Eggemoggin sunset Tommy bow 646 (1 of 1).jpg
 
Last edited:
Oct 22, 2014
20,992
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
I like the last photo. Was that Lightroom or more the construction of the image?
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
I like this shot and leveled the horizon. That comes at a cost in image size.
Because of the small file size, the bright area fell apart trying to adjust the highlights.
The small image size was a function of another great tip we have not talked about much, image cropping. Both to zoom and removed distracting elements, a good crop can make a good photo great. Here is the original image, as taken from the boat we ran down. It can also allow you to level the horizon BEFORE cropping, saving image size. But in this case not as much due to the subject being against the hard edge, so I left it un-leveled to save the full subject. But in hindsight Tom's version looks better!

20161106_143623.jpg
 

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
I like the last photo. Was that Lightroom or more the construction of the image?
That image is almost original. The unique sunset was the result of a low cloud mass that trapped the low setting sunlight between it and the water. I’m not on my computer now to post. However, without placing the sun behind the hatch, image would have been just white sun wash out
 
  • Like
Likes: jssailem
Oct 22, 2014
20,992
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Being at the right place and time is often a key to photo excellence. Sometimes it happens by design, but I think it often happens due to serendipity. And a person with an eye for the image developing before them.
 

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
The old photography adage: “F8 and be there”, still holds true with digital.
F8 being analogous to your camera on Auto Exposure
 
  • Like
Likes: Kermit
Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
The old photography adage: “F8 and be there”, still holds true with digital.
F8 being analogous to your camera on Auto Exposure
My digital Nikon is so sophisticated. I don't think I'll ever use its full capabilities. Aperture-preferred. Shutter-preferred. Auto. Then all of the other adjustments, corrections and compensations. Not at all like my old Canon FtB.
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
The old photography adage: “F8 and be there”, still holds true with digital.
F8 being analogous to your camera on Auto Exposure
Does the 'F8' refer to the min working aperture of most AF systems vs a big F4 tele with a 2x tel-extender on it?
 

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
Does the 'F8' refer to the min working aperture of most AF systems vs a big F4 tele with a 2x tel-extender on it?
In the old adage, before auto exposure on film cameras, you’d set your aperture to the middle setting leaving you the best chance at a good exposure of some spur of the moment event that required a snap exposure.
But I think it also means being there is the most important setting on the camera.
 
Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
Being at the right place and time is often a key to photo excellence. Sometimes it happens by design, but I think it often happens due to serendipity. And a person with an eye for the image developing before them.
For me, being in the right place at the right time is what it's all about. The camera is always hanging on the helm grab rail. Most shots are with a Canon T6i with a 55 to 250 zoom, it stays on auto. Sometimes, I don't even look through the lens, I just point the camera in the general direction of the shot while I'm steering. These photos are from races this winter on Galveston Bay.
IMG_1077.JPG
IMG_1873.jpg
 
Jun 4, 2004
88
- -First 310 -
My old First 310. Springfield paper was doing a story about sailing on Lake Stockton, MO. No comments about sail trim. It was really blowing that day and there were just the 2 of us on board. Photographer was Bob Linder.
Magic 1.jpg
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
My old First 310. Springfield paper was doing a story about sailing on Lake Stockton, MO. No comments about sail trim. It was really blowing that day and there were just the 2 of us on board. Photographer was Bob Linder.View attachment 162459
I see nothing to complain about at all. Both sails twisted off, genoa cars back, leech profiles match, vang on, backstay on, and the reef looks tight enough. Carry on.
 
  • Like
Likes: Will Gilmore

Kermit

.
Jul 31, 2010
5,657
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
I like this shot and leveled the horizon. That comes at a cost in image size.


Because of the small file size, the bright area fell apart trying to adjust the highlights.

View attachment 162443

Here it is a few steps before that happened in Lightroom.

View attachment 162445
‘Scuse me while I greatly prefer the version without the highlights adjusted. Tom, you know how much I admire your work. But dang those highlights looked better before you worked on the image. Ok, I’ll say it. They look muddy. I do prefer the straight horizon, though.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,992
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Nice picture Chip... So you travel from boat to boat to share an adult beverage with your neighbor on the other side of the circle. Did anyone try to race?