I’ve been thinking recently about the camera shots I take from the boat when out sailing. I don’t have a brilliant camera for the job and so that is one issue but only a poor workman blames his tools! I’m also such a ‘point and shoot’ merchant! It’s positively embarrassing and I must do something about it. I’d like to get much better shots of Arwen.
So......here is some advice to myself! Let’s hope I learn from it!
Firstly, if I want decent shots of Arwen – I need to get someone else to come out in another boat! Perhaps even someone who knows a thing or two about photograph although that defeats one of the objects straight away – i.e. making me a better photographer! Anyway if the photographer was on a boat which sort of stayed still and I sailed Arwen around in circles close to and further away from the static boat – that might help!
Secondly I need to get out very early morning when the light is at its best and into a quiet stretch of water. This would give me stability, clarity and thinking time.
Thirdly, many of my images come back blurred because of camera shake. So how might I eliminate or reduce this?
• Tuck my elbows in and not hold the camera at arm’s length!
• Squeeze the shutter trigger gently and not stab at it as I hand onto mainsheet and tiller with the other hand
• Reset the shutter speed manually on the camera to a faster speed before I start off on a trip
• Lean against something to increase stability – the mizzen mast; the coaming etc
• Use the gorilla tripod more frequently than I do and set it up in a designated place on the coaming before I depart the dockside. In this way I can ensure it is stable and pointing forward so that it catches part of the bow as well as the scene to one side of it. Then I can turn the boat to position it to get the view I want before I press the shutter
• Perhaps use the polarising function that I have on my camera – that might not reduce blur but it would sharpen up colour tone! I think polarising can cut out unwanted reflection off water.
I don’t give sufficient thought and attention to structure and composition within the lens viewfinder! Perhaps I could:
• Use the grid button to put a grid into the viewfinder and then use this to help position central images etc or help me compose the share of background, mid and foreground within a shot
• Eliminate noise from my shots i.e. make sure that there is nothing distracting in backgrounds that will detract from the main image
• Be original and try to find some unusual viewpoints rather than the normal just hang over the side. My best photo of Arwen to date came from me jumping over the side and taking a photograph of her looking up from the water line. It’s the photo at the top of this blog. So I need to get moving about the boat and try and combine interior detail with a sense of her movement underway!
• Zoom out a little more than I think to get a sense of space around the images which I can crop later in a an editing programme
• Think and predict forward when I decide to photograph something....where will it be in a few minutes; how do I need to position myself or Arwen relative to the subject to get the best angle of approach/view? Could I get ahead and shot an oncoming boat from bows on before niftily getting out of the way? The best shot of another boat is often from the rear leeward corner so that you can see occupants, get all the sails and rigging in and get a good leaning into the wind action shot.
• Level up the horizon in the viewfinder before I take an image – that would help straight away. So many of my photos come back at horrible angles! Ugh!
• Understand better the art of perspective. An art colleague in school did try to teach me the rudiments over coffee but I’m thick and sadly she was on a losing wicket straight away. Anyway, I think she was saying that
o Shooting straight on results in no perspective, merely a two dimensional shape
o Shooting at an angle to the subject helps set up lines within the photograph that converge in the distance at a single vanishing point and this is good!
o Getting closer to one object in the viewfinder makes other objects in the distance seem further away and this is good
o I should try overlapping forms apparently – where distant objects are partially obscured by nearer ones – um!
o Height is a good thing – try taking a photograph from standing on the deck (perhaps best not done whilst sailing!!) or as Kevin Brennan has done with a video camera – securing it to the upper yard and hoisting away (making sure that I’ve set the timer delay button for 15 seconds or so – a hit and miss approach but very definitely worth a try.
Ho hum! I would like to get some better shots of Arwen whilst sailing and I do look enviously at Steve Earley’s creative images over at ‘Log of Spartina’. I know he is a photographer by profession I think, but it would be nice just occasionally to get one or two well composed, creative and imaginative images from a day’s sailing!
Steve
So......here is some advice to myself! Let’s hope I learn from it!
Firstly, if I want decent shots of Arwen – I need to get someone else to come out in another boat! Perhaps even someone who knows a thing or two about photograph although that defeats one of the objects straight away – i.e. making me a better photographer! Anyway if the photographer was on a boat which sort of stayed still and I sailed Arwen around in circles close to and further away from the static boat – that might help!
the classic from behind the leeward corner shot
copyright: forargyll.com
Secondly I need to get out very early morning when the light is at its best and into a quiet stretch of water. This would give me stability, clarity and thinking time.
Thirdly, many of my images come back blurred because of camera shake. So how might I eliminate or reduce this?
• Tuck my elbows in and not hold the camera at arm’s length!
• Squeeze the shutter trigger gently and not stab at it as I hand onto mainsheet and tiller with the other hand
• Reset the shutter speed manually on the camera to a faster speed before I start off on a trip
• Lean against something to increase stability – the mizzen mast; the coaming etc
• Use the gorilla tripod more frequently than I do and set it up in a designated place on the coaming before I depart the dockside. In this way I can ensure it is stable and pointing forward so that it catches part of the bow as well as the scene to one side of it. Then I can turn the boat to position it to get the view I want before I press the shutter
• Perhaps use the polarising function that I have on my camera – that might not reduce blur but it would sharpen up colour tone! I think polarising can cut out unwanted reflection off water.
a nice sense of movement, power and uncluttered background detail
copyright: heron charters.com
I don’t give sufficient thought and attention to structure and composition within the lens viewfinder! Perhaps I could:
• Use the grid button to put a grid into the viewfinder and then use this to help position central images etc or help me compose the share of background, mid and foreground within a shot
• Eliminate noise from my shots i.e. make sure that there is nothing distracting in backgrounds that will detract from the main image
• Be original and try to find some unusual viewpoints rather than the normal just hang over the side. My best photo of Arwen to date came from me jumping over the side and taking a photograph of her looking up from the water line. It’s the photo at the top of this blog. So I need to get moving about the boat and try and combine interior detail with a sense of her movement underway!
• Zoom out a little more than I think to get a sense of space around the images which I can crop later in a an editing programme
• Think and predict forward when I decide to photograph something....where will it be in a few minutes; how do I need to position myself or Arwen relative to the subject to get the best angle of approach/view? Could I get ahead and shot an oncoming boat from bows on before niftily getting out of the way? The best shot of another boat is often from the rear leeward corner so that you can see occupants, get all the sails and rigging in and get a good leaning into the wind action shot.
• Level up the horizon in the viewfinder before I take an image – that would help straight away. So many of my photos come back at horrible angles! Ugh!
• Understand better the art of perspective. An art colleague in school did try to teach me the rudiments over coffee but I’m thick and sadly she was on a losing wicket straight away. Anyway, I think she was saying that
o Shooting straight on results in no perspective, merely a two dimensional shape
o Shooting at an angle to the subject helps set up lines within the photograph that converge in the distance at a single vanishing point and this is good!
o Getting closer to one object in the viewfinder makes other objects in the distance seem further away and this is good
o I should try overlapping forms apparently – where distant objects are partially obscured by nearer ones – um!
o Height is a good thing – try taking a photograph from standing on the deck (perhaps best not done whilst sailing!!) or as Kevin Brennan has done with a video camera – securing it to the upper yard and hoisting away (making sure that I’ve set the timer delay button for 15 seconds or so – a hit and miss approach but very definitely worth a try.
using my gorilla pod and timer delay to get the unusual perspective shot?
copyright: bluegreen boats
Ho hum! I would like to get some better shots of Arwen whilst sailing and I do look enviously at Steve Earley’s creative images over at ‘Log of Spartina’. I know he is a photographer by profession I think, but it would be nice just occasionally to get one or two well composed, creative and imaginative images from a day’s sailing!
Steve
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