In the summer of 2003 I strolled down the dock of the
Rockland Harbour hoping to meet an owner of a Friendship Sloop. It was
the evening before the final race of the Rockland Regatta.
I
am primarily a nature photographer with a background in Fine Art Photography.
I had always loved wooden boats, especially those with an enduring history.
I had photographed a wooden dinghy in the early morning calm, and was
delighted with the image.
Now I would endeavor to capture the elements of movement, the effects
of weather and the excitement of a moment on a moving vessel.
As I watched people prepare for the race, I met John Rand the commodore
of the Friendship Sloop Society. He was quite certain that someone would
allow me to board their boat for the purpose of photographing the race.
Friday morning I was introduced to a delightful father and son team, owners
of a Sloop called Echo. They explained that their boat was small, but
I was welcomed aboard. We headed out to the breakwater for the start of
the race. The clear morning light vanished with the shifting winds.
It was a good thing I thought beyond the 50 speed film that I often used.
Fortunately, I had
packed 200 and 400 speed slide film. That way I could set my F stop to
125 and freeze motion.
The sky turned to a heavy gray. In this first picture of
the race, I framed the line up of the boats as they encircled the buoy.
Ideally the horizon line should never fall in the middle of the frame.
In this picture I placed the horizon one third from the bottom of the
frame. My F stop was F 13,
keeping all the boats in focus. Soon after this shot, the rain moved in
and I began to look for a single image picture. In this picture the boat
feels as though it is coming straight at you, since it is practically
sailing right out of the camera's frame.
For my next shot, I shifted perspective entirely by leaning over the port
side of the boat. The water rushed powerfully by as I lowered the camera
toits surface. Experience has taught me to search out new angles to give
depth to the subject. This particular angle gave the viewer an intimate
feeling of the sea's motion as the boats raced through the course.
And In Calm
The summer of 2004 brought an entirely
different experience. I was aboard a larger Sloop called Tannis. The common
thread however was the father-son, or in this instance, father-grandson
relationship. I was glad to be aboard a boat where the generations were
coming together again to enjoy this age old tradition.
Again we headed out to the breakwater where the race would begin. The
sky was clear, however, the water was calm; too calm. It certainly did
not look like much of a race; no one was going anywhere. In this picture
I looked for another story. I waited until the Sloops were gathered together
as a fleet. I wanted to capture the simple beauty of the boats as they
began the race.
The sails reflection in the water could only be seen in water this still.
As the momentum picked up I was able to frame this next shot. Relationships are fun to play with when framing a shot. Here I included the rigging of the boat I was sailing on. This way the viewer could get a sense of the proximity of the boats as they race side by side.
Part of my job as a photographer is to look for defining moments. Although
there was not a strong wind I could still look for moments of tension.
In this next picture we were all amazed how quickly this near collision
"came about". It happened so fast that I had no time to think
about horizon lines, depth of field etc. With enough experience photographing
becomes very intuitive. And moments like this one can be quickly recorded.
This last picture, although not so dramatic, still tells a story. The
sailor raised his arm to gesture, "Yeah, we won!" And indeed
they had. The summers of 2003 and 2004 both presented challenges and opportunities,
unique to their conditions.
Priscilla Harper is a professional photographer.
She graciously submitted these photos without charge.
If you would like a copy of these, or other photos, please contact her—
home: 815 455-1898 or cell: 815 245-1160
Back Yard Yacht Builders
A non-commercial association of amateur boat-builder enthusiasts.
All our wooden boats are Stevenson designs.