Evening star., 1953-06-14
Camera Angles
Marine Shots Offer Much
Variety for Photo Fans
J Alexander ]. WeddeFbu
cvroioF Of Photography
The Smithsonian lnAfif,JRion

The SmiihsC
Any kind Of boat-frorn q
slow-moving coal barge to q
fleet sailboat scudding before
. spanking breeze will help.
give you a different slant on
photography. Sails are my
preference because of their
simple but graceful lines.
Others like the impressive dig
nifty of big liners and some
prefer to hunt their pictures
among rotting hulks along the
shoreline, but any way you
take it, some form Of boat
photography will fit in with
your camera habits.
If you like lots of noise and
action with your photography
you will find your hands full If
you concentrate on the power
boats. Taking a picture Of a
power boat making a turn at
q. marking beuy will be a real
test of your skill as a stopper
of motion. If you like your
action without the noise you
will favor the sailing boat
races.
Those who get "queasy'' at
the thought Of going out on
the water can spend many a
pleasant hour wandering along
the waterfront or following the
picturesque Canal that paral-
1els the Potomac. You will en-
Joy the quiet serenity of the
water anyway but take your
camera along for fine picture
possibilities you run across.
Action-photography follow
ers will need something faster
than a box camera. Stopping
the speeding boats will call for
O shutter speed somewhere in
the range of 1/100th Of a second
or faster. But just about every
other phase of boating activity
can be adequately handled
with any camera.
Toke Gore Of Equipment
Keep your camera suspend
ed from your neck with a carry
ing strap. It is awfully easy
to let go Of it when you grab
for a hand-hold as a boat goes
into a fast turn. It's bad
enough to drop a camera on
land, but, if it goes overheard,
it's gone forever. Other items
such as exposure meters, spare
lenses, filters, ETC.. should be
similarly protected from loss
or carried in a pocket-never
laid on the open deck where q
sudden pitch or roll could send
them over the side.
A telephoto lens, incidental
ly, is often the difference be-
tween a picture and a wasted
hlm when shooting on the open
water. Distances are so great
and ordinary lenses take in so
much area that the image size
of the boat will be very small
in relation to the amount Of
sky and water in the scene.
This means that to I'LL the
print area with the boat you
will have to make an extreme
blowup or enlargement with q
consequent loss of quality. A
telephoto lens will reach across
the water and help you I'LL the
negative with the image Of the
boat.
An orange or dark yellow
filter should be another Access
sorry. When making boat pic
lures 1t is almost inevitable
that you will take in large
areas Of sky that will be mean
ingless and blank If the ex-
poSure is made in the ordinary
way. Slip on a filter so that
the clouds will add interest.
Hond- Held Exposures
An exposure meter will per-
form its usual yeoman task Of
helping you interpret the un-
usual lighting conditions of in
tense Skylight with an added
punch from water reflections
from the sun. I don't recon-
mend the use Of a tripod, If
you are going out on a boat.
The constant pitch and roll
will give you an ever changing
horizon line unless you are