Filed under: Danise Cavallaro, flash photography, Michael Bagley, Michael Bagley Photography, New Jersey, Uncategorized | Tags: Danise Cavallaro, Michael Bagley, Michael Bagley Photography, New Jersey, Photography, Photography tips
Spent a day last week at a workshop led by Joe McNally, one of the modern masters of lighting. Joe is particularly skilled at using small flashes (he shoots Nikon, so the SB900 is the current weapon of choice) and simple tools (like reflectors, bed sheets, and white walls) to create stunning, dramatic photographs. He demonstrated several of his techniques during the day, including making corporate portraits and sports/athletic images. If you’re interested in lighting and ever have the chance to learn from Joe, don’t miss the opportunity!
A few days later we met up with a couple of friends who were kind enough to spend time in front of the lens as the sun faded in the sky. We followed some of Joe’s advice and used one SB900 off camera to create these images. Many thanks to Mary, David and Danise for their willingness to stand in the cold while hungry!
David and Mary
David at Sunset
Danise
Mary
Mary in the Hood
Filed under: Danise Cavallaro, flash photography, Michael Bagley, Michael Bagley Photography, Photography tips, Sailors, tom bol photography | Tags: Danise Cavallaro, Michael Bagley, Michael Bagley Photography, Photography, Photography tips, Sailors
Most of our shooting takes advantage of natural light – bright sun overhead, sparkling water below, and big white sails that act as giant reflectors. Last evening we took the opportunity to head to the beach and experiment using a combination of natural light at twilight and a Nikon SB600 flash unit.
Danise donned her bright red foul weather pants to add color to the shot, picked up a surf fishing pole, and was ready to go. We placed our sole SB600 on a light stand and set it for wireless shooting. Our first few test shots were decent, but we wanted the light to be a little warmer. Solution: we dialed up the White Balance to around 8300K and, voila, instant warmth! The sun had set so we had limited time to shoot. Danise made cast after cast (taking great care not to hook Mike as she did!), and we captured a few shots we liked.
Next time: start earlier, hope for more clouds, experiment with an umbrella or softbox, and add an additional flash unit for some other effects.
Our inspiration for shots like these come from Tom Bol. Check out tombolphoto.com and be sure to visit his blog to see some terrific recent work with flash.
Filed under: Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, Danise Cavallaro, fisheye, Lensbaby, Michael Bagley, Michael Bagley Photography, nautical photography, New Jersey, Photography tips, Windsurfing | Tags: barnegat bay, Danise Cavallaro, fisheye, Lensbaby, marine photography, Michael Bagley, Michael Bagley Photography, nautical photography, New Jersey, new jersey photography, new jersey sailing, Photography, Photography tips
There’s an old adage in photography – “What’s the best way to capture great photographs? f8 and be there.” In other words, if you’re not out there you can’t possibly shoot great photographs.
Now that the sailing season in the Northeast is coming to an end, we decided to heed those words of wisdom and flex our shutters. With no particular destination or subject matter in mind, we set out with cameras, lenses, tripods and our brains to see what we could see. And shoot.
It was great exercise, both for our shutters and our creative minds. We used all of our lenses – telephoto, wide angle, Lensbaby, fisheye – to show the same scene through radically different views. We wandered through fields of wildflowers as the 20 mph winds swirled about. How could we freeze that motion? How could we use that motion to our advantage? We found moving water and experimented with using shutter speeds and apertures to make the same water look different in every shot. And we happened upon a group of windsurfers which provided the familiar opportunity to shoot some sails.
Here are a few of our 300+ shots from our safari. They may not win any awards or make it into National Geographic, but that’s not the point. The point is that we learned a lot and had fun. If you have a camera, get out there and have some fun of your own.
Brave grass
Catching air
Split rail, tall grass
Water bubble
Rippin'
What're you looking at?
Lakehouse, Lensbabied
Filed under: Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, Boston Whaler, Danise Cavallaro, Lightning Atlantic Coast Championship 2009, Lightning Championships, Michael Bagley, Michael Bagley Photography, nautical photography, New Jersey, Photography tips, Sailboats, Sailing, Sailors, Toms River Yacht Club
We spent yesterday bouncing around the Bay, chasing the Lightnings at the Lightning Atlantic Coast Championship, hosted by the Toms River Yacht Club. The wind was stiff, hovering around 15 knots out of the south. While certainly it was refreshing on a hot humid day, it stirred up the water out on Barnegat Bay, giving the sailors (and us!) some, well, interesting conditions to work with. We were impressed with the skills and abilities of all of the crews as they screamed around the buoys reaching speeds of five and six knots into the weather, and taking bona fide sleigh rides once they flew their spinnakers. It seemed as though there were one hundred boats in the fleet, and with that many boats sailing in those conditions it was a testament to the talent on the water that there were no major incidents. Even the best sailors, though, can get caught out by a rogue puff of breeze here and there, and we consider witnessing several sailboats capsize as the events that will be remembered as the most exciting of the day (especially when we can caught them with our cameras!).
Lightnings are small, 19-foot centerboard sloops, and were once considered a high tech racing sailboat. Designed in 1938 by Sparkman and Stephens, they are hard chined hulls with large sail areas for their size. Though other more modern designs gain popularity in certain locales, Lightnings have never lost their appeal, and there are racing fleets, both junior and adult, all over the United States. Barnegat Bay has a 50-year tradition of Lightning races, and there currently exist about a dozen clubs in the area. We have no doubts that there were some locals among the excellent competition out on the water, and we hope their familiarity with Barnegat Bay gave them an edge.
Our post about Top 5 Photography Tips (see below) addressed the challenge of shooting a moving object from a moving object. The key to success on a day with choppy seas and three or four foot waves is timing. I was reminded how frustrating it can be to try to juggle the movement of your boat and the movement of your subject and get the shot you want. Last week I worked on getting a good feel for how our sturdy Viewfinder moves when floating idly or running slowly in the water. Being mindful of the movement of our boat through the waves, and training my brain to predict when we would be cresting or coming down from a swell, helped me this weekend when the conditions were less predictable. We were happy to come away with more than 400 usable images from our afternoon shoot. This zen-like focus, however, did not save Mike nor myself from the occasional dousing of both human and camera. It is fair to say that the cameras dealt with it better than the humans.
Our photos are available for purchase at michaelbagleyphoto.shutterbugstorefront.com. We hope you will take a look to see the action from Saturday.
~Danise
Filed under: Michael Bagley, Michael Bagley Photography, nautical photography, Photography tips, Sailboats, Sailing, Sailors, stock photography | Tags: marine photography, Michael Bagley, Michael Bagley Photography, nautical photography, new jersey photography, Photography, sailing photography
We are asked the question often: “How do you do that?” The truth is that nautical photography is not altogether tricky. Perhaps the hardest part for most people is access – finding a boat and a race and good weather all at the same time. But if you can put those things together the rest is fairly straightforward.
Today’s cameras are amazing. Whether you’re using the latest and greatest DSLR with an equally pricey lens or the family point-and-shoot camera, you are ready to take great pictures on the water. The light meters in use today are incredible, and even less expensive models can make well-exposed images. Plus, with sunshine, reflective water, white sails, and bright decks, the light on the water is often excellent for photography. Autofocus has come a long way in the last decade, and even small units will have the ability to discern focal areas and make your photos sharp. Obviously, the higher end DSLRs will enable you to change lenses appropriate to your circumstances, shoot faster in repetition, and take advantage of numerous other advanced features. But if you have the eye and the desire, any camera will do.
So you have the boat (and hopefully a good and safe driver!), the wind is blowing, the regatta is starting…what are the Top 5 things to think about while making images on the water? Here are our suggestions:
1. Keep your horizon straight. – It’s easy to stay focused on the subject (a boat, a sailor, etc.) and lose track of the way your own boat is rolling. Practice keeping an eye on the shoreline or horizon while you click away. It gets easier and easier with time. And if you get a great shot with a boat going slightly downhill? Fear not – a little work in a photo editing program and you can usually fix the problem.
Ooops! A little tilt on the horizon.
Nothing a little work with the mouse can't fix!
2. Shoot with fast shutter speeds – Pointing a camera at a moving boat while standing on a moving boat increases the chances of making a fuzzy picture. If you’re using a DSLR you can shoot in Shutter Priority mode and keep your speeds above 1/500 second. On rougher days crank it up to 1/1000 or higher. Most of our images were shot between 1/1250 and 1/3000. Again, regattas are often in great light, so dialing in a fast shutter speed does not require taking the ISO too high to affect image quality. Even if you’re using a point-and-shoot, many of them now will offer either a Shutter Priority option where you can choose your speed, or an “Action” setting where the camera will set the shutter speed for you.
3. Know what the boats are going to do. Great wildlife photographers are often very good animal behaviorists as well. They know the habits of their subjects and can use that knowledge to make outstanding photographs. So it is with boat photography. Odds are that if you are interested in marine photography you have spent some time on boats before. Knowing how a sailboat uses the wind, tacks and jibes, and some of the limitations of a sailboat can help you capture better images. If you don’t have any racing experience and want to shoot regattas, getting on board a boat as crew can help you learn the way a competition works. Often the sponsoring yacht club of an event will post a Notice of Race (NOR) online that will include start times, start sequences, course information, and other useful details about a regatta. Check out all you can before things start and you’ll be better prepared to shoot.
4. Look around alot. – It’s very easy to get locked in to the scene in the viewfinder or to the cluster of lead boats. But there is action everywhere on a race course. Every so often take a good look around and see what’s happening – you may find the shot of the day. Last week we didn’t follow this advice and just missed seeing an A Cat lose her mast in a strong wind. Today we were out and caught a great sequence of an E Scow going over because we kept a good watch. Look around!
This is one of a sequence of five images we grabbed because we looked around!
5. Don’t affect the race! – Hopefully, this goes without saying, but…we know it need be said. As photographers we want to capture all of the action, and often there are opportunities to get close to it in order to make strong images. We want to make certain, however, that whatever we do does not in any way influence the way the racers do their thing. Watch your wake, and don’t make waves that could slow down a sailboat. Don’t become an obstruction. If you’re in a medium or large boat, don’t get between the wind and a racer. Don’t get so close that you become a distraction for the skipper or crew. Use common sense and good manners. Most of the time sailors are happy to have photographers making images, as they will enjoy seeing themselves later on. We all have an obligation to help maintain that sentiment.
Have tips of your own? We’d love to hear those things that have helped you make great nautical images.
