Powerboat Shot - A Homage to N Claris

Hi there

Drifting away from my usual shots of wildlife and aircraft, i thought i would post this shot of a Fairline Powerboat messing about in the Solent.

I know Nicolas is the expert on these sort of pictures and has stunning shots of gorgeous boats and models in some exotic location in the Caribbean, but alas for the rest of us mere mortals we are left with a more modest setting!!

So to shatter the illusion of a glamorous photoshoot. The shot was taken from the deck of the Isle of Wight Car Ferry on its way from Southampton to Cowes.

He had slowed down to pass behind the ferry i believe.

Still if you close your eyes and ignore the fine figure of a pot bellied Englishman behind the wheel, you could almost believe it was shot from a helicopter somewhere in the south of france!

My thanks to Nicolas for his inspirational shots.... which keep me clicking away.

Now all i need is a J class.... maybe Velsheda,,,, oh and a helicopter... Still its good to dream.


John

Thanks John fo rthe nice words, but thanks for posting your image.
The overall image is nice, nice framing including the waves and trail, it brings a nice and elegant movement.
Shooting from a ferry is one of the most difficult thing as you can't ask the captain to move in such or such direction and that you couldn't brief the yacht crew before!.

The down things, beside the "pot bellied Englishman" (oh! BTW, I love that wording;-):
the fenders should be stored in a safe and hidden place
the hull should have been cleaned before the shoot
the bimini should have been took off...
and the female model, should be seenable...
all things that we have to care many days before leaving Bordeaux for the right location...

Now PS can help a little... just 10 minutes try:



Some saturation, shadow/light, selective sharpening and... cloning!

I hope yopu don't mind me reposting your image.

Without the pilot...

The model, I think Nicolas, should be posed on water skis, with a guy in a helicopter coiffing her hair!

The shot would be taken by Benjamin with a new Pentax 645 handheld resting on a gyro stabilizer. A team of 20 lighting technicians of 4 other chase-boats and 5 heiicopters light the water and model with new Profoto Stobes!

Shortlly, the crew from the San Diego water theme park will release Shamu, a black and white killer whale to complete the picture! Voila, Colors of Bennington, more awards and Pentax is saved!!!

Asher

Asher Kelman said:

The model, I think Nicolas, should be posed on water skis, with a guy in a helicopter coiffing her hair!

The shot would be taken by Benjamin with a new Pentax 645 handheld resting on a gyro stabilizer. A team of 20 lighting technicians of 4 other chase-boats and 5 heiicopters light the water and model with new Profoto Stobes!

Shortlly, the crew from the San Diego water theme park will release Shamu, a black and white killer whale to complete the picture! Voila, Colors of Bennington, more awards and Pentax is saved!!!

Asher

Click to expand...

Dear Asher,

Rolling on the floor, laughing out loud and slapping my knees...

Nobody can say that you don't have a sense of humour anymore, if there was any doubt to start with at all ;-). I am your official fan <huge grin>.

Cheers,

Nicolas Claris said:

Thanks John fo rthe nice words, but thanks for posting your image.
The overall image is nice, nice framing including the waves and trail, it brings a nice and elegant movement.
Shooting from a ferry is one of the most difficult thing as you can't ask the captain to move in such or such direction and that you couldn't brief the yacht crew before!.

The down things, beside the "pot bellied Englishman" (oh! BTW, I love that wording;-):
the fenders should be stored in a safe and hidden place
the hull should have been cleaned before the shoot
the bimini should have been took off...
and the female model, should be seenable...
all things that we have to care many days before leaving Bordeaux for the right location...

Now PS can help a little... just 10 minutes try:

Some saturation, shadow/light, selective sharpening and... cloning!

I hope yopu don't mind me reposting your image.

Click to expand...

Hi Nicolas

I don't mind you reposting my image at all, and thank you for the comments and trouble you went too.

I would like to do some more yacht photography along the lines of "Beken" (i assume you have heard of them?) on the IOW. I looked into hiring a RIB and a skipper for the day during Cowes week and chasing the yachts in the round the Island race, but it worked out quite expensive to do just for fun. But who knows one day i may take the plunge so to speak.

I post below one other shot taken on the ferry journey back home, again just a grab shot as another boat sped by.

John

John,

I like your pictures of the boats carving through the water. Nicolas is a great resource for OPF, in fact the largest treasure! I hope we have much more interest in boat photography. We started to get new people then it dies down. I hope you will continue to post to help the lurkers get to post their work too.

Asher

Beken of Cowes!
Of course I know them, I even have posted earlier in OPF (here) about Frank Beken (the grand father)

and his son Keith

our masters!

His shots of the big J Class are still so modern! so simple! (so hard to take...) look at that! (scroll down to see pics)

Your 2nd pic is not bad, the late light brings a lot of deatail on the sea, but the 2 guys in black and the transom are too difficult to clone! I guess, but it's not your fault, the shot is IMHO 30 minutes too late (for the light). Definitively need some light in the interior to avoid that big black square...

For sure it is expensive to rent chase boat and skipper, maybe you could get friend with some guy in one of the so British pub of the Isle of wight...

Cem Usakligil said:

Dear Asher,

Rolling on the floor, laughing out loud and slapping my knees...

Click to expand...

Yes, laughing here too.....excellent!

Too bad I am in the office. I have my nautical photography to post from the last week. i will have to add it to the post later tonight.

Asher Kelman said:

The model, I think Nicolas, should be posed on water skis, with a guy in a helicopter coiffing her hair!

The shot would be taken by Benjamin with a new Pentax 645 handheld resting on a gyro stabilizer. A team of 20 lighting technicians of 4 other chase-boats and 5 heiicopters light the water and model with new Profoto Stobes!

Shortlly, the crew from the San Diego water theme park will release Shamu, a black and white killer whale to complete the picture! Voila, Colors of Bennington, more awards and Pentax is saved!!!

Asher

Click to expand...

Dear Asher
It's amazing how many people you do put around there in your script as I have cloned off all on the pic!
2 different versions I guess!

BTW, I just wonder where you place me...;-°!

Boats and more boats....

I just went though some of my photos and I cannot believe how many boats there are in my catalog. Nicolas, do not fear. We cannot make any money at this. Actually, I have paid handsomely just to take these shots. How many boats are in this one?



Taken from my stateroom verandah on the s/s Amsterdam May 14th. There is the ship, it's tender and the pilot retrieving it's pilot and the pilot off to the next ocean liner needing steering out of the Port of Los Angeles

I don't understand the idea of a power boat the same way I don't of SUV's. They are basically non removable energy resources global warming producing power things that only show how much more money you have to feed your ego.

I know I sound biter and radical, and it took me a few seconds to decide to say what came to my mind when I saw the first image, but this is an Open Forum after all, and It is just an opinion. My brother in law distributes marine engines and has one of these --much smaller and humble-- and he fills the tank with $500 and then sits on it until the gas is all burnt and the fumes well distributed in the atmosphere. He also likes to spend the time killing life forms for fun. I never understood why he feels so much pleasure in beating to death a poor animal in front of his small children, but he probably -- and probably most people reading this -- believes that I'm the strange and incomprehensible character in the plot.

Now, go on as you where. I just had to say it and I did.

sorry

Leonardo Barreto

Hi Leonardo,

Some people waste their life playing golf, or football, - none so queer as folk. I have some designs for a small rc submarine, if you are interested? I think a cheap battery operated power drill may suffice.

Best wishes,

Ray

golf is fine, as long as they don't dump a ton of chemicals to keep the course "gorgeous". My perfect way to have fun is probably the worst waste of time for the guy next to me. That I understand, but if your idea of fun contributes to the end of the world as we know it, then at least we should be conscious of what we are doing.

On the other side, I think that rowing in a small boat as the sun sets and have nothing between nature and you -- including the sound of a diesel engine -- is much more fun. And keeps you healthy too. Because the other side of the power boat is that is no different that siting on you car while commuting to work -- only that you are spending the diesel of several school buses-- while you hold your drink.

Ray, I like the idea of the submergible with power drill motor. I'm having fun thinking about it already.

leonardobarreto.com said:

golf is fine, as long as they don't dump a ton of chemicals to keep the course "gorgeous". My perfect way to have fun is probably the worst waste of time for the guy next to me. That I understand, but if your idea of fun contributes to the end of the world as we know it, then at least we should be conscious of what we are doing.

Click to expand...

This draining into the rivers ends up causing algae bloom and killing fish. The weed killers and persticides damage the fish and us.

leonardobarreto.com said:

On the other side, I think that rowing in a small boat as the sun sets and have nothing between nature and you -- including the sound of a diesel engine -- is much more fun. And keeps you healthy too.

Click to expand...

Artie, my late father-in-law had floats in the water and knew the birds. He'd row us out to his favorite spots and fish. He did have a small motor to get us back if there was trouble! We'd lie to the captains of the passing slick boats and say "No fish all day!!

leonardobarreto.com said:

Because the other side of the power boat is that is no different that siting on you car while commuting to work -- only that you are spending the diesel of several school buses-- while you hold your drink.

Click to expand...

The power boats are thrilling to ride at high speed there is an exilleration of somehow having miraculous power, just for the moment, over the massive endless water. It is also ideal for socializing. The finer the boat, the greater the prestige!

Artie had a twin-engined Chris Craft and I remember these words, "This is the motor vessel Aloma, Whisky Zulu Quebec 3559, calling the Tampa Marine operator, come in please" It was a modest and hard working little boat and we caught a lot of fish over the years! The pellicans had a great time when we were cleaning them by the dock!

The demise of the fishing came as a result of "red tide", an algae bloom that sucks the oxygen out of the water and kills the fish! The effluent of the Edison power plants finally did it's work! Then, only then, did my Artie believe me!

Asher