Try to beat this time (1:46)

Can you beat my quick solo boat haul-out time of 1 minute 46 seconds? Here's some tips for you if you are one of those slow pokes...

Points East Cover shot, pick it up free at your local yacht club or marine store! Great free reading... This shot is of the J24 "Bad Apple" during last years MS Regatta in Portland, which was probably the windiest MS regatta ever, fun stuff. See all the pics from that day here.

Hyannis is Windy...

Ken said he came really close to flipping the Montauk here in Hyannis today, they called the races after things got a bit out of hand apparently, Ken got some great shots up until they called things off... check them out here

Lightning over Nubble Light in York Maine

I find photography is really a combination of many skills which is fun. This photo came about totally unplanned since I was driving back from Newport and hit a bunch of lightning coming into Maine. I thought to myself where can I quickly drive to (it was already like 11pm) and shoot something with lightning behind. {skill #1 gadget freak skills} I stopped and pulled up the POI memory on the GPS in the 4 Runner and realized Nubble light was only 7 miles away... so I just hit "guide" and away I went. The roads were practically flooded so I tested out the 4 runner's water fjording capability on route {skill #2 offroad driving skills}. When I got there I pulled in and somehow dug out my tripod and set up a shot. The camera was getting soaked so I backed in and flipped up the hatch for some protection {skill #3: creative use of available assets} ... the problem was I only getting the lighthouse clear when people would drive in with their headlights, so finally I got this guy in a mini cooper to shine his lights on the lighthouse for me {skill #4: being able to talk people into helping you out} ... still not a lot of luck but I was getting the time of the exposure I liked on the red light of the lighthouse itself... then I really started to get on track when I found my portable high intensity spotlight and starting "painting" the lighthouse with it during 30 second exposures {skill #5: carry all possible items at all times and know how they all work} . Luckily I also had this portable power battery I got at Wal Mart that is supposed to jump start your car or boat, but also has a cigarette lighter... so I could walk around and light things from different angles and trigger it on and off during the exposures. I think I took over 35 30 second exposures or something before I thought I had my "base" material {skill #6: understanding digital photograhy and the 40D's functions to produce sharp images at night} ... the final process involved layering the images in photoshop and basically taking what I needed out of each image to create a final piece {skill #7: knowing how to post process images creatively in photoshop} , I'm not sure the name for this but it's a few of the photoshop books I've read at Borders in Annapolis... yeah I'm still too cheap to buy them... is that skill number eight? Click the image to enlarge and don't steal it please except for your personal wallpaper... the great thing about this kind of photo is people actually think you were genius enough to walk up at the right time and just shoot a photo that came out like this, and that's the way we professionals like it cause they'll never get anything close to this with that kind of thinking, and neither will we!

NYYC Classics Weekend -Dorade

Here's all the shots posted by boat name.

Old meets New in Newport

Full Moon and Portland Head Light

Well I got locked in the park after this shoot without my phone. Since there's no coverage out there anyhow it's kind of funny that they have this sign at the gate that says "if you are locked in, call 767-3323" Luckily I had downloaded a free video on my new ipod touch that I had hardwired to my JBL in the 4 Runner, so it was like being at the movies until the cops finally came and let me out... "sir, we were told by dispatch that you refused to leave the park when requested after telling the ranger you were shooting pictures of the moonrise"... I also got bit by about 243 mosqitos, man I earned this one. Check my complete Maine Scenics geotagged collection here

Video- Melges 24's at Sail Newport Regatta: Sunday

Well I just had the video camera mounted on this bracket I wasn't even looking through any lens but at least it's halfway decent. I'll have some great photos from all the courses coming up, as I covered all the outside racing while ken was in shooting all the one designs during this fantastic day of racing in Newport... check my site for links to the outside and inside circles. All photos are now posted.

Big Air

After shooting some of these guys and seeing how much fun they are having, I think I may have to trade in my windsurfing gear for one of these babies. I'm thinking I can actually carry it with me, whereas windsurfing gear is just so bulky and I can't really leave it around on top of my car when I'm shooting races... anyone got any ideas where I can make a trade? I guess Island Windsurfing in Newport has some swap sales, they apparently don't take used stuff for cash though... This photo is pretty cool, I took part of it at the big boat series in 2006 and the other part on cape cod...

Rapid Fire in Newport Sunday July 6th

Here's my track log from Sunday, I basically shot everything and everyone that was moving and apparently having a good time. All the photos are online now at shutterfly so you can all purchase prints at reasonable prices right now.. Just Go here..

Searchable Galleries beta (self pat on the back)

Well I just posted my first database driven photo gallery while also learning Adobe Lightroom after switching to RAW format on my 40D .... I think I slept about 3.5 hours per night the last week. Since it's in "beta" I wanted to create a mirror, but my other server host kicked me out for over quota... well lets just hope my personal web server doesn't crash.... it's pretty cool though, I've always kind of hated the "add to cart" photo systems I think they just make everything really confusing. Anyhow tell me what you think... it's basicaly a "mini-site" right now, but it seems to be working! I can't believe it...mysql, php, flash, apache, to name just a few of the terms I've been throwing around! Well here it is give it a spin and cross your fingers...

And don't forget to track me this weekend, hmm.... where might I be going?

Hallucinations

This is what happens when you work too late sorting photos, they get harder and harder to ID as your eyes start getting blurry, finally you are basically hallucinating and the photos look like this and are really hard to identify! "hey I think that sail number starts with 4 and ends with a 36" Hmmmm.... now if I just look over the scratch sheet for 2 hours I should find it!

Detour on the Commute Home

It's nice to live in such a beautiful spot here in Freeport Maine. I saw this rainbow on the way home yesterday, and like any good pro photographer, I didn't have my camera with me, so I ran into the house grabbed my camera and drove down to the docks which are luckily only about a mile from my house. I played around with this a bit in photoshop then uploaded it to Panoramio and Geotagged it... check out my geotagged photos on Panoramia if you haven't seen geotagging yet, and pick a picture you'd like for you wall! I was pretty happy to see almost all my photos were selected to be viewed in google earth by google, cool!

Newport to Bermuda Race Update #1

Well it's 3am and I'm back home from a great day of aerial shooting off Newport for the BIG RACE. We also had the boat out there with two photographers shooting from the water, so we'll most certainly have the best selection of pics of any outfit, and you'll actually be able to see them online, get cropping and corrected proofs via email, choose exactly what paper you want, and order exactly what you want rather than getting a tube of really expensive aerial photos mailed to you that you don't want, then returning them only to have a collection agency after you. We had 21 knots up at 600ft. so it was probably a bit less down there, but it looked fantastic. We worked our way up and down the fleet and got some great "down the bow" shots that should be picture perfect for your wall. All the images we shot were shot in RAW format using Canon 40D's and L series lenses which means a few things, but let me just make simple and say it doesn't get any better than that... quality prints, reputable custom service, no wind vortex on your sails, and people who know sailing inside and out... the dedicated team at wavelength... and here they all are, just type your boat name in the search box...

Enroute to the Newport Bermuda Race Course

Here's a fun, non professional, video I took with my Pentax Optio W30 -- a great little waterproof camera for onboard shots too-- of us heading out to the start of the Newport to Bermuda race... what a beautiful day for a plane ride...join me for the ride!

Most Valuable Lens

This isn't sailing but it's pretty cool... Me and my nephew Jasper headed down to the Celtics Victory Parade and got some great shots with the monopod and the 900mm on the 40D and me up on the edge of one of those statues hanging on for dear life. I then made this from the best hi-res photo and put it on ebay for sale as a print... Heres the complete gallery of photos... Jasper managed to leave his backpack on the TRAIN at Harvard, but luckily the SPOT tracker was in the knapsack so we had his mom track it online, and told the MBTA that it was going up and down the line, and to have someone one grab it for us... it got returned after a wild goose chase and 2 hours spent riding around the T... another lesson learned.

Block Island Race Week update #2

What a pristine perfect clear day for the "around island race." My associate Ken Winokur was in the Cessna dogfighting the boatpix chopper. Just a quick tip: do not buy helicopter shots from boatpix or any chopper outfit unless you want to continue to have them ruin both the purity of yachting and ruining your wind with their downward vortex. I am a CFI and I know you can take great pictures out of plane. Boatpix is a helicopter school, not a marine photography business of any quality, check the anarchy topic here on them before you fill out their online form. I'm sure you saw me in the Dauntless with the 300mm getting you head on and with the cliffs and ligthhouse in the backround... should be some fantastic shots... but it's been a long day and I'm hitting the Celtics Victory Parade tomorrow with my Nephew Jasper, then driving back to Newport for the Bermuda Race... wow, went to the pre-race party thanks to SLAM and I must say, the boats in this year's race are more than amazing, like mind boggling sick crazy carbon fiber rocketships.....

Block Island Race Week update #1: whoa!

I headed out to Block Island today and rented a bike to get some lighthouse shots, since the wind wasn't so great for yachting photography, and it looked like wednesday was going to be THE day to shoot... when I got out to the lighthouse I was shooting a portrait for this lovely woman (see up in the tower?) when an R44 came flying right through the lighthouse!... the Canon 40D is amazing, it shoots like 7 frames a second so I caught this image in spectacular fashion... surprisingly when I went back to the dock and told people about what I saw, they said I had been drinking a smoothie with one hand and fell off my bike and injured my brain - (yes I did fall off when my shoe slipped off the pedal while I was holding a smoothie in one hand, and yes I did decline the helmet, but my brain is just fine!).. so just email them this! Tomorrow we will have both aerials and on the water shots taken and lets hope the lighthouse reappears in its original form so we can get some great shots with you going by it intact and in all it's glory!

Photo to Art? Your decision....

Looking at the forecast for block island right now... decisions, decisions...

Well I made this at the coffee shop yesterday, if I get enough positive comments (and not too many negative ones,) I'll make some more of this kind of stuff, so let me if you thinks it's complete rubbish or a masterpiece that should be in the MFA! (click "comments" below)

NYYC Racing Sunday : Blow it up!

Here's a nice shot from sundays race of the new open 60 called Speedboat, and this thing sure is fast... Once I saw the facial expression of the crew, -sorry guys I hope your girlfriend(s) thinks this is funny at least- I realized this would be a great example to show how much information is actually in these photos which you never see online when you are perusing the galleries. I have heard comments in the past that customers think the photos look "fuzzy" online and that when they printed them out they weren't very sharp so they weren't sure whether or not to order an enlargement. This example shows the 3 people highlighted blown up to 100% on my computer screen. What does this mean you ask? Well I'll tell you. Your computer displays 72 pixels every inch. This means if you were to need a computer to view EVERY pixel of this image which is 3888 pixels wide, your screen would need to be 54 inches wide. That's pretty big, so if you have a 51" Samsung HD, you would be viewing every pixel of this image, and if you blew it up any more the screen, or rather the software used to run it would have to "interpolate" i.e. guess what pixels to put where you have to see something - ie. you can't just leave them "blank"... this whole process works in reverse as well when you shrink a picture down so people can view it easily on the web and it doesn't take an hour to download, you simply have to cut out pixels, which imaging software does when you save an image for web viewing. So the moral of the story is, remember there is always more information in all these photos you don't see here on the web, and photos can be blown up and cropped to a very large degree; for instance if you wanted to "cut yourself out" and order a 5 by 7 of that cut out, it would be plenty sharp even you took up only a paltry 20% of the photo! Make yourself a star and blow yourself up!