[Leica] Re: Boat pictures

[r.s.taylor at comcast.net (Richard S. Taylor)]

Larry - Sounds like you've spent some time racing, too.  Another 
place for good shots in a close fleet is the weather mark.  Lots of 
boat on boat action in close quarters and, if it's really honking and 
the boats are small, lots of potential for spinnaker screw ups and 
capsizes as the 'chutes first catch the wind.

Seasickness is the worst, I know, being somewhat susceptible myself 
in certain conditions.  Can't imagine how Rosenfeld managed all those 
great shots with his stomach churning.  I hadn't known he suffered 
from it.

Leica photography costs nothing compared to boat ownership.  I'm 
surprised your wife was able to squeeze real money out of those guys 
for a painting.  Most I've known would rather redo their brightwork, 
or install refrigeration, or do almost anything for the boat, than 
eat.


>On Sep 12, 2006, at 2:21 PM, Richard wrote:
>
>>Yeah, you don't get much choice of camera position or lighting when
>>you're in a sailboat, especially when you're in a race.  It's pretty
>>much catch as catch can though for these shots I think I lucked out.
>>I like the shot you chose, too, but I'm not sure it qualifies as a
>>boat portrait because of the other boat.
>>
>>Thanks for commenting.
>
>If you are not in the race, the best spots for shooting sailboat 
>race pictures are at the start and at the end of the downwind leg. 
>At the start you get masses of sailboats, all struggling to keep out 
>of each other's way. It's hard to get a picture of an individual 
>boat but the forest of masts and sails makes for an interesting 
>horizontal composition. At the end of the downwind leg, all the 
>colorful spinnakers are flying. This is the spot where trouble 
>happens as the racers prepare to douse their sails. It's like 
>sitting near the turn of an automobile race. Morris Rosenfeld and 
>his sons, who dominated the field of boat photography, from the 
>1880s to the 1990s, favored pictures taken from the leeward fore 
>quarter from low on the water. It gave the boats a very dramatic 
>look. Rosenfeld used a modified Graflex camera and buzzed around the 
>fleet in a 24' motorboat. His sons drove while he took the pictures 
>from the stern. When he died, his family gave the collection of boat 
>photographs to the Mystic Seaport museum. It is the largest such 
>collection in the world and is a real education for anyone who 
>messes around in boats. Incidentally, Morris Rosenfeld suffered 
>terribly from seasickness.
>
>When she was much younger, my wife made a respectable living by 
>painting boat "portraits" for local yacht owners in the Tri State 
>area. I would take an ordinary picture of the boat from the angle 
>the owner thought looked best and my wife would paint a magnificent 
>portrait of the boat braving the storm. Some boat owners treat their 
>boats better than their wife and children. I know they spend more 
>money on their boats. Sort of like Leica photographers with their 
>cameras.
>
>Larry Z
>
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-- 
Regards,

Dick