Wakeboard Extreme
Backlit wakeboarding.
Backlit wakeboarding.
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Jul, 2014Views
2100
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Awards
Action Award
Contest Finalist in Capture Light Colors Photo Contest
Lucky 3 Award
Winner in Sunset splash Photo Challenge
Winner in Best sports picture! Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Virtuoso
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This one was taken on Buckhorn lake, north of the city of Peterborough, Ontario.Time
This was gorgeous sunset light.Lighting
We set up the run so that it went from being mostly into the light on the way out and behind on the way back. That way in one direction I had the athlete bathed in perfect golden sunset light without harsh shadow because it was flat but stunning. On the return they would have a gorgeous sunset sky behind them. I knew there was no way to expose for any facial detail without losing the background so I shot for the background and let the subject become a silhouette. The fast shutter speed as a result of that froze the backlit water drops.Equipment
It was taken quite a few years ago so it would have been a Nikon D200 with a Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 HSM. I was in a boat so it was hand held. When I have lots of light like this I try not to shoot wide open at 2.8 because a lens is always sharper a couple of stops down, plus it gives you more depth of field at the same time. With this kind of action a shutter speed of 1/1000th or higher is ideal to be able to stop the action. The priorities for me in this situation are 1. shutter speed. without getting high enough shutter speed to stop the action you are dead in the water. Without at least 1/250 sec your chances of success are low. 2. ISO. I cannot afford $5,000 camera bodies that give great results at iso 25,600 so I need to keep my iso as low as possible if I want to get a quality image. 3. aperture. I am willing to shoot wide open at 2.8 until I get both a shutter speed and iso I can live with. If both of those are under control and I still have room to adjust I will then stop down my aperture.Inspiration
I had been shooting this group of skiers/boarders for a couple of days and they were good people. We were lucky to get great light when we were ready to take advantage of it. The inspiration for shooting stop-action is in seeing the work of others and thinking "how did they do that?" followed by how can I add my own spin on it?Editing
Using photoshop it was cropped, resized, curves adjustment and saturation adjustment, as well as sharpening.In my camera bag
Usually two Nikon dslr bodies, my Nikon 70-200mm 2.8 VRII, Tamron 28-75 2.8, Nikon 2x teleconverter for wildlife, macro tubes, one or two speedlights and triggers, backup batteries, backup memory cards, business cards.Feedback
Most of my tips are in my previous comments. High shutter speed, low iso. Using continuous auto-focus at your highest frame rate, anticipate the peak of the action and start shooting just before and keep hammering until stunt if landed. This type of photography is somewhat similar to photographing bands in that the lighting is difficult and beyond your control, the subjects are generally people doing this for their passion and are not making money from it. (so you will be working for free a lot and need to get shooting the best of your local talent.) Make friends. Have fun. Stay safe.
