boat photography

Any of you guys have any tips for taking pics from the boat? Tripods, stands, etc. When im riding i can never get someone to take a good pic of me or anyone else for that matter. the boat is a SAN if that matters.(never had to switch to the prostar

Welcome to my world...always the photographer, never the photographee. lol

The most important tool is the camera. The faster the better. I don't know what type your using, but it's usually best to have the photographer use the view finder instead of the screen to "follow" the rider. This will help keep the camera steady also.

If the camera has a delay it can be tough and you need to time it. If it is fairly fast with almost no delay then you need to release the shutter when the rider is at the top of their jump which is usually when they're about 2/3 the way accross the wake - unless it's a double up, then you'll want to take it sooner.

The best place in the boat (unless you have great zoom) is usually the back since you're closer to the rider and because of the angle. If you take the shot from a lower angle the trick can look bigger.
Wakesurf photogs try and get as close and low as possible to make the wake and trick look bigger.

well actually i just bought the camera so i dont know all about it yet...its a fujifilm finepix 7000..i guess ill just have to figure the camera out and hopefully i can get some good pics this weekend...
sorry i didnt realize there was a forum for this subject....

(Message edited by hyperlite142 on June 09, 2005)

Smoothride,

I also have the 7000. It is a very nice camera, and takes great pics, and decent video. On the downside, no interchangable lenses. I am looking at maybe changing to the Cannon, probably the 20D. I like the 7000. One thing David mentioned is the shutter delay. On the 7000, have it on continuous focus (switch on the left side). If you hold the shutter button 1/2 way down while you are following the subject, it will have much less delay when you take the pic. Otherwise, there is quite a delay. You can also put it in other modes such as shutter priority, etc. You can get some good pics with the 7000, just not quite on the same level as the 20D, etc.

Nice camera for us "regular" photographers. Have fun!

i got a Sony Mavica that'll take a 90 min Mpeg...never have to worry about missing a shot. it's a digital still camera but records everything to a mini-cd/rw so you can do stills or mpegs. http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=MVCCD500&Dept=cameras&CategoryNam e=dcc_DIDigitalCameras_CDMavicaDigitalCameras

Thanks guys....also are there any precautions that you guys take to keep the camera safe from spray while shooting?

i don't do anything special...maybe a case for the camera, a big ziplock, and a sober photographer.

Good call on the sober photographer...lol

Shoot with a shutter speed of 1000 or higher and set the ISO at 100 or lower when you can pull it off.
One thing that I've recently learned is when possible get out of the tow boat and get on shore or in a chase boat and you will get a much more interesting shot due to the angle your shooting from.

From tow boat

From chase boat.

From shore. (with bad light)

One more from shore.

Daaaaaaaam Walt great pics bro.. What are you shooting those pics with anyway.. got to be a sweet camera.
Good job..

Wow Walt, those are some sick photos and very good photoshop work...in the last pic with the boat did you actually select the boat, the rider, and the spray with a tool like a magnetic selection tool or did you just use a healing brush or clone stamp for the spray...just curious because it looks so clean

Thanks Larry. I'm using a digital Rebel with a Canon 70-200L lens.

I used the brush tool and zoomed in really tight.

Woo hoo, an opportunity to post pictures! Ok, I just got a Canon 300D. Never had a problem from splash in the boat, and with a shutter speed of 1000 or more as walt said, you should get a pretty sharp picture. If you have a manual mode you can play around with the aperature and shutter settings to get the right exposure, but that may be a little advanced. Basically what I was doing was putting it in shutter priority mode and setting my shutter speed from 1250 to 2000 depending on light conditions. Sober photographers are always a good idea, not just for the safety of the camera, but also for decent photos. If you can, get a camera that will take photos in sequence. The 300D will take 4 high res photos, which makes it nice for picking out a good shot, or stitching together a sequence. Have a bag for the camera and all of its little components if you have some.

A shot from the boat...


Also, I just got a water housing for the camera. So now the possibilities are endless. Shot from a tube:


Sequence photo...



Hope those photos work...
Later
Tiff

Walt, NIIIIIICE