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Whitewater Photography Tutorial #1: Where to start?
People want different things out of their photographs. This tutorial is
geared to people looking for more than a few snapshots from the river.
If you're planning to read this all the way through I hope you have a
passion for it, because I think it's going to turn into a rather long,
informal tutorial, however I'll be sharing what I've learned through
trial and error over the last five years, and it won't take that long
to read.
The
first thing you need to take photographs is a camera of some sort. The
largest insult you can make to a photographer is by saying "You use xxx
high end camera, no wonder you get such good photographs". This is a
terribly wrong assumption to make, the camera can help the photographer
but doesn't make him, just like the right boat can help you paddle
well, a good skill set needs to be there too.
That
said, there are different levels of cameras and I could go into a
little bit too much detail here but will try to refrain. I'll be
dealing with strictly digital equipment, because it's so friendly to
use for trial and error learning.
In short if you are serious about shooting whitewater, you'll need an
SLR because compact cameras have a few downfalls:
1) Slow shutter release mechanism, making it hard to time the shot perfectly.
2) Small sensors with high mega pixels. This results distortion from the lens and high amounts of noise.
3) A lack of external controls, and in some compacts, the inability to shoot in all manual.
4) No ability to change lenses.
Digital SLR's range from $200 used to over $8,000 new. A
lot of marketing hype goes into new cameras, but you don't need to
spend too much to get incredible photographs. Personally I consider 6mp
to be the minimum for selling photographs to clients, and this isn't a
problem since cameras from 2-3 generations ago are 6mp. Past 6mp you
don't really gain much, it's the least important detail of whatever
camera you buy or own.
The brand choice is up to you.
I settled on Nikon for a few reasons, but have no
affiliation. The first reason is that as long as there is bright light,
their cheap kit lenses can take amazing shots. The 2008 Kokatat catalog
cover was shot with the $100 18-55 kit lens. The second reason is that
Nikon has chosen to support their old lenses in newer cameras. I can
(and do) shoot old manual focus lenses on my brand new camera, because
they are light and tough. Whichever route you go, it's more important
to spend money on good lenses than camera body.
So you have your digital slr of choice and are ready to
take some great whitewater photos, but of course you need a way to take
your camera down the river safely. I recommend the Watershed Ocoee,
also no affiliation. I can get a camera body with a lens attached, and
two more lenses, into the Ocoee. Buy or make a padded liner too. I
suggest making your own as is theirs is of dubious quality.
Pelican cases are
the other option, but you'd need the 1300 to fit in a higher end SLR
and lens, and I think it's just too much extra weight and bulk.
Now you're on the river with your gear and take a bunch of shots on a
sunny day, but come home and the whitewater is washed out, the shots
are over exposed. Or it's cloudy and you come home, but the action is
blurred, what do you do? Don't worry too much, because this doesn't
seem to slow most kayaking magazines down (minus C&K), any real publication will care. And if you're at all a perfectionist you won't be happy with these results.
Next Up: What is the right exposure?
Whitewater Photography Tutorial #3: Getting the right exposure.
Whitewater Photography Tutorial #4: Low Light Action
Whitewater Photography Tutorial #5: Focus
Whitewater Photography Tutorial #6: Basic Lighting
Whitewater Photography Tutorial #7: Composition
Whitewater Photography Tutorial #8: Gear Picks
Whitewater Photography Tutorial #9: Post Processing
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