[nono]

Hi folks,

I have been asked to take photos of a sailing regatta in two weeks. I have never done this kind of shooting so I'd like to get as ready as possible beforehand. Is there anything I should be aware of?

I will be on an inflatable boat, so presumably not too far from the action.

I am planning on using my K-5 with FA 100-300; the only other long-ish telephoto that I have is a Super Takumar 200 f/4, and I feel the 100-300 is more versatile. Plus I know the 100-300 much better.

I'm not sure if I could need anything shorter; if needed I could get my K200D with either the FA 28-70 f/4 or a 50-ish prime. I have absolutely no idea whether or not these kind of focals could be useful. If they are, maybe I could borrow a K-r instead of the K200D (the sensor in the K200D can be quite bad if the sky is cloudy), but OTOH I would rather trust the weather-sealed K200D than a K-r. Any advice on this?

[TaoMaas]

I'm not sure if I could need anything shorter; if needed I could get my K200D with either the FA 28-70 f/4 or a 50-ish prime. I have absolutely no idea whether or not these kind of focals could be useful.

I would definitely try to have a second body with a wider lens on it. Depending upon where you're allowed to position your boat, the contestants might be coming a lot closer to you than you think they will when they're tacking back and forth, waiting for the starter's gun. I've only shot a couple of regattas, but my most successful pic was shot on a 24mm lens back in the film days. What's that in APS-C terms....a 16mm? However, I was on the judges' boat so we were fairly close to the action. Also, this might be a time to use some kind of protective filter on the front of your lenses. I got a drop of lake water on my 24mm that day that I've never been able to fully remove. It hasn't really affected the performance of the lens. It's just on of those things that bugs me because I know it's there.

[nono]

Thanks for your advice. AFAIK I will be on the judges' boat too; I just have no idea how close/far from the contestants that might mean.

I could use a 18-55 on my second body; I don't have many wide angle lenses and I'm afraid the Sigma 10-20 will be too wide even at short range. But that would leave me with a huge gap between 55mm and 100mm.

Or I could steal a 16-50 and 60-250 as I don't have the money to buy them; not sure it's a good option though.

[JimJohnson]

You may not run into this problem using a non-sailing boat as your platform...

I was recently on a sailboat for the first time. I took a shot from the pilot's wheel forward through the mast to the horizon. We were leaning about 20 degrees. I thought I was shooting the horizon, well, horizontal to show the boat's lean. What I found when I got home is my mind played tricks on me. What I saw in the moment I had to compose was not reality. The horizon was still slanted as my brain wanted to insist the mast was vertical. I didn't override my brain far enough.

I was able to correct the slant in post processing, but only at the expense of some of my original composition.

[TaoMaas]

I could use a 18-55 on my second body; I don't have many wide angle lenses and I'm afraid the Sigma 10-20 will be too wide even at short range. But that would leave me with a huge gap between 55mm and 100mm.

I think the 18-55 would work fine. Good sharpness...inexpensive enough not to break your heart if something happens to it. lol

[bassek]

This depends on the regatta, are the boats small (laser radial etc. size) or huge (50+ feet yachts) ?

For big yachts you need extreme tele (far away) AND really wide when they cross the finish line. Small boats are easier.

Seb

[nono]

I know one of the boats is a 44 feet yacht, the others should be about the same.

[photoephemere]

If you are on a boat like a zodiac, hold well your equipment BY THE LENS AND THE BODY ... I had break a mount on a zodiac ... ;-)

[interested_observer]

Chances are that all the boats will then be 44 feet - probably a class regatta. A 44 foot boat would have a mast height of about 40+/- feet. Americas Cup boats are about 44 feet in length and have 120 -130 foot masts. So, going with a 40 +/- foot mast, so as to be able to get some of the shots in with the full boat.... (http://www.tawbaware.com/maxlyons/calc.htm using the Dimensional Field of View Calculator)

@100 feet away - what amount of area will the lens provide you....

50mm - 48' x 32'
100mm - 24' x 16'
200mm - 12' x 8'
300mm - 8' x 5'

@200 feet away - what amount of area will the lens provide you....

50mm - 96' x 64'
100mm - 48' x 32'
200mm - 24' x 16'
300mm - 16' x 10'

So depending on how close you get you may need a wider lens at times. I think that the 100-300 is a good choice for the distances, for a majority of the time. I also think that the 18-55 would work very well for the closer in shots. Since the race is moving quite quickly, and if you are near one of the turns, you will probably be using the telephoto 90% of the time and the 18-55 the other 10% when the boats are closer in. I would also shoot in bursts of 3 to 5 frames, which would burn through SD cards pretty quickly. I can see you coming home with easily 1000 images, maybe 2 to 3 depending upon your proximity to the "action". Ask for a layout of the course, and where the judges boat will be (at various times). I would think that your best shots would be at the race start, the end at the finish line, and if the judges boat goes to one of the turning points.

Given that you are going to be bouncing around in the boat, 2 bodies should work out very well - no lens changes.

The other thing to consider, is to get shots of the various boat crews - "at work".

[Kerrowdown]

All this good camera advice and I'm sitting here just thinking about a damned good life jacket, just in case it should all go wrong.

You can tell that I'm a "dry land" kinda photographer.

[JinDesu]

Don't stand up in the boat. Knees at highest. Don't use a monopod with a pointy bottom

[bassek]

All this good camera advice and I'm sitting here just thinking about a damned good life jacket, just in case it should all go wrong.
You can tell that I'm a "dry land" kinda photographer.

I've been boating and sailing all my life, usually I wear a sailing vest without the collar. I feel naked without any insurance. Like driving a car without safety belt.

Add a Pentax (or two) plus a tele (Bigma or a FA250-600 if you find one) and you would make a good anchor unless you have any floating device.
Then get a wide WR lens so you could take pics while sinking fast.

Seb.

[tuco]

You're worrying about the wrong things, IMHO. You got the gear you need. You should be focusing on is what makes for good shots in sailboat races. Start looking and studying pictures of them now. No amount of good gear can make up for inexperience shooting shots in this genera.

[interested_observer]

Since I have an interest, I went looking for some tips. I use to sit on the breakwater in Santa Barbara watching the races on Wednesday evening during the summer. Surprising on how close the boats get.

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[tuco]

I once owned a sailboat, raced in local events and crewed on other boats. This is a shot from the good ol' film days. This boat just punched through our wind shadow and was passing us. No weather sealing back then.