• Please use real names.

    Greetings to all who have registered to OPF and those guests taking a look around. Please use real names. Registrations with fictitious names will not be processed. REAL NAMES ONLY will be processed

    Firstname Lastname

    Register

    We are a courteous and supportive community. No need to hide behind an alia. If you have a genuine need for privacy/secrecy then let me know!
  • Welcome to the new site. Here's a thread about the update where you can post your feedback, ask questions or spot those nasty bugs!

Backlit Sailboat

John Harper

New member
Hi There

In the hunt for more boat shots 1 more again shot from the IOW ferry this one of a yacht heading back to the Island and passing in front of the evening sunlight.

It looks like a B&W shot, but it is shot in colour, i just think the colours have washed out because of the extreme backlighting and exposing for the highlights.

I don't know if adjusting the white balance to give a warmer glow to the whole picture would be an improvement, perhaps people could let me know their thoughts.

EOS 300D 70-200 F2.8L IS @ 70mm ISO 400 1/4000 @ F11

John

yacht.jpg
 

nicolas claris

OPF Co-founder/Administrator
Hi John
It seems you live onboard the ferry!

Colors are there, they are hidden in the shadows. Of course if you expose for the highlight you get a lot of dark shadows but if you shoot raw you may adjust to taste easier than from a Jpeg.

Below is awful bur for demonstration only...

yacht_NC.jpg


No trick in PS, just opening up the shadows, some more work on saturation, a bit of sharpen and voilà…
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I hate "Wow!" posts, but here I go!

Wow!

I am so happy to see these boat pictures! This is such fun! I like your renditon of John's backlit shot! Great recovery. Even more, I'm so happy to see more of your great sail boat pictures to boot!

Could you explain a little about the tpye of craft they are? Are they all custom, or do some get built as a series from standard commercial builders?

Asher
 

nicolas claris

OPF Co-founder/Administrator
I hate "thanks for the kind words" posts, but here I go!-)

Thanks!

The rendition is IMHO awful, it just help the demonstration that colors (if needed!) are there.
This also prove that RAW shooting is the only way to go. This is one of the great advantage of digital over film shooting. Post process to your taste and vision!

The boats you've seen up there are all custom built to the owner's architect specification. They are the modern castles of the sea.

This entire serie have been shot during 2 sessions of ragattas that are held in the Saint-Tropez area the first week of October, each year.

A week that I've never missed for years…

Regattas though seriously sailed are friendly (well, almost!). At night owners and their crews have fun in the bars and restaurant. Some mornings are more difficult than others!

This one is not backlit, but illustrates the story:

91AU4834.jpg
 

John Harper

New member
Hi John
It seems you live onboard the ferry!

Colors are there, they are hidden in the shadows. Of course if you expose for the highlight you get a lot of dark shadows but if you shoot raw you may adjust to taste easier than from a Jpeg.

Below is awful bur for demonstration only...

No trick in PS, just opening up the shadows, some more work on saturation, a bit of sharpen and voilà…

Nicolas

Thanks for the advice, this was shot in my early days when i just used JPG and didn't really understand about RAW. Still you live and learn. They have the round the Island race in 3 weeks time, so i will try and get some shots and post them.

I should have about 1500 yachts to choose from so even I should be able to get something :)

And in answer to your question about living on the ferry, my girlfriend of the time lived on the IOW so i was over every weekend, just most often the weather was bad and i generally took the catamaran which is 3 times faster but you can't shoot from :(


John
 

Kathy Rappaport

pro member
Loving the Nautical threads...

Being a sailor (of the Cruising variety - I just go where they steer the ship), I love these boat photos. I have a number of shots taken from on deck. We are leaving for a cruise from Istanbul to Greece in a couple weeks. I hope sailing from that area is as good as sailing from Monte Carlo and from Dover....
 

nicolas claris

OPF Co-founder/Administrator
Oh Kathy!
you will love the light! and the countries, so friendly people! when on shore get away from the group and walk in the street on your own, use short lens not to appear as a pro photog, and enjoy, enjoy. You will enter in another planet, forget for sometimes about western countries, be prepared and ready for a new journey.

for you! arriving in Istanbul, theese Mosquées are on the western part of the bosphor:

_G8A1942.jpg


_G8A1972.jpg


and now the bosphore at night. You have no right tp miss this!
Looking to the East side of the Bosphor:

_G8A2057.jpg


_G8A2088.jpg


This image can be enhanced with HDR technic, this is a batch from a slideshow for preselection...
 

Kathy Rappaport

pro member
Thanks, Nicolas

Thank you for another view. I am getting very excited about the cruise - we won it in a charity drawing.

I was thinking of using my old 50 2.5 or the 20-35 while in Istanbul or even my s80 digicam, which is a pretty decent camera.
 

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Thank you for another view. I am getting very excited about the cruise - we won it in a charity drawing.

I was thinking of using my old 50 2.5 or the 20-35 while in Istanbul or even my s80 digicam, which is a pretty decent camera.
Hi Kathy,

You may not know it, but I was born and raised in Istanbul. So in case you need any info, do not hesitate to ask :). And take your 5D with you, otherwise you will definitely regret it.

Nicolas, those are very nice pictures. I have loads of similar and unsimilar pictures of the city, as you can imagine, since Istanbul is the city where I have become addicted to photography, the cityscape and its people. Unfortunately, all my pictures were made in the analog era, so I cannot share them very easily here with you. I'd then have to dig into big, bottomless boxes looking for century old negatives ;-).

I'll see if I can find some readily accessible ones...

Cheers,
 

Kathy Rappaport

pro member
Thank you!

We spent lunch today planning our two days in Istanbul. We fly there and then will meet our ship. We will have about 1/2 the day and the evening free for touring the first day and we booked an all day tour the 2nd day. I thought I would bring the 5d and carry in ready to shoot in a plain canvas bag but also have the s80 in my pocket ready to fire too. My husband shoots with the 20d and only uses his 24-70 or has a kit lens as well (he is welcome to use my lenses, but is wary of doing so - he likes what is familiar). I love to photograph in the public markets and the Grand Bazaar is beckoning me and my camera.

Sorry to hijack the thread, but, I promise I will have several boat pictures and more for posting. I have one photo to locate and put up from Monte Carlo that will probably make you all smile. But I am at the office and it is at home.
 
Top