Leica Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Cape Ann Photo Tours

Sailing with Schooners

September 19, 2018 by Kirk

Here on Cape Ann with have a schooner festival every year. It’s a grand affair and it harkens back to 1928-1939 when schooner races happened regularly. This year the schooners Columbia and Bluenose 2, both replicas, one brand new and the other recently completely refitted visited Gloucester for the occasion. I was lucky enough to ride out to greet them on the schooner Ardelle. It was an incredible experience. Both schooners are magnificent.

The schooner Columbia sails by Niles Beach in Gloucester shadowed by a small Herreschoff designed sailboat.

When photographing sailing yachts it’s helpful to keep in mind some loose rules. If the yachts are large you need to show scale or their majesty is lost.

The schooner Bluenose 2 before entering Gloucester Harbor

Try to shoot with a long lens to compress the field of view and only include a portion of the sail area. If you can see people on board it also adds scale.

Showing action also helps to give a majestic view to large sailing yachts.

Adding context to the image gives the viewer a sense of where the yacht is. I was lucky here as as the schooner entered the harbor and we were behind and to the side which gives us some context with this image.

Ardelle and Bluenose 2 — Passengers aboard the schooner Ardelle watch the Bluenose 2 sail by.

I also chose to tell a story by using a 21 mm lens and showing the passengers on the schooner I was on. Again showing context.

schooners Ardelle and Lynx — Schooner Ardelle owner Harold Burnham talks with passengers as the schooner Lynx sails by.

The 21 mm lens again pulls in another schooner going by and one in the distance all while the owner of the Ardelle Harold Burnham holds court at the bow of the Ardelle.

Mr. Boosta

July 25, 2018July 25, 2018 by Kirk

I am always looking to add a little humor to my images when I am out shooting. This morning was just such a case. The tide was just right and I was looking for an image that would tell a story of some kind. What I found was the start of a story but an image that makes you think and adds a little humor. Originally I was looking for work boat compositions but when I saw the name on this boat “Mr. Boosta” I knew that it begged for me to make a shot of it. So what’s the story? You can bet I am going to try and find out.

Slowing down the ocean

September 29, 2017September 29, 2017 by Kirk

As we move into autumn and the colors start to change I wanted to test out my ND filters which I don’t use that much. I hope to make it up to New Hampshire in October for some water falls and colored leaves. I’ll be scouting locations for workshops next year. So I headed over to my favorite place for water Halibut Point State Park. My filter system is not that varied. I use B+W three stop and 10 stop filters for my Leica lenses. For my Canon lenses I use a variable Tiffen ND filter. So off I went at zero dark thirty for the rocky shoreline at Halibut Pt. The tide was almost all the way in and coming up the flat rocks and I wanted to try out the 10 stop filter on the Leica 21mm Super Elmar.

This image was made at the Leica M-P 240’s exposure limit of one minute. Besides the huge wait time of about 45 sec. after the exposure for noise reduction processing, I found using the Leica very easy. Using the EVF was a huge benefit. I love the foggy look of the water but if I had brought my three stop filter I would have used it instead. If the ocean had been a bit more wild I think the water would have been more interesting.

The exposure here was much shorter at 20sec. and the water is still very misty looking but at 40 sec. less time the water does not show as much. Then I switched over to my Canon 5Dmk3 with the 24-70 f4 L. As much as I like this lens the bowing of the horizon is horrible. I used my Tiffen variable ND filter which I had set at the third to highest density level. At the highest and second to highest density level there is some x-ing going on. I converted the Canon shots to B&W as they looked better. The B&W images below were made using the Alpine Labs Pulse. This is a nifty little unit that is small and pretty easy to use. I need to use it more so I get used to it. At one point it stopped working and I needed to shut the camera off and then on again and also restart the unit. It controls the camera in many ways. I am disappointed that you can’t make the shot and control the camera on the same screen in the smart phone app. You have to swipe back and forth to do this. It’s a pain. The other issues had to do with it stopping to work. Not a big deal when shooting waves but imagine if it was important.