Surfing Shots

[Darren Bradnock]

This one i took a year or so back with my Nikon D40x with Sigma 50-500mm

These were taken last month on my trip to Australia with my 7D with 400mm+1.4x

 

[Darren Bradnock]

Here's all i got from the New Zealand round of the Womens ASP Tour this year. It was meant to run from the Wednesday through to the Sunday, so i drove up to Taranaki on the Saturday thinking i'd get some shots in the afternoon then shot the finals on Sunday. Well after driving 400km i arrived to find they had pushed through and the finals had started, so after rushing down to the beach i got to see the last 20min. Oh well could have been worse, there was talk of having to work Saturday and i was going to drive up Saturday night after work. Only really got 1 decent in water shot.

Sally Fitzgibbons

Carissa Moore

Winning celebrations

 

[Hamish Gill]

Very nice! That first one is a beauty ...
The sun looks to he in just the right position to give the water the nice glow, and spot on timing!
Is it cropped?
I've always wanted to have a go at surf photography...
I have a few mates who are into it but have never really had a chance to take any shots ... One of them recenty left the uk for a year in NZ as it goes ... He does some sort of marine biology and surfs quite a bit out there I think.

 

[Darren Bradnock]

It's cropped about 20% off the left and bottom. Thats the problem with Taranaki, lots of great surf breaks but they tend to break a bit further out hence the reason for the 400mm and 1.4x. Even thats not enough, but can't justify the cost of a 600mm or bigger. In fact not being a professional photographer i can't really justify the $13,000 i already spent, good thing i don't need to justify it to myself

 

[Hamish Gill]

That's the beauty of making a little bit of your living out of photography ...
All of a sudden you can justify all sorts of things!
I dread to think how much money I have spent in the last 5 years!!

What about a more powerful TC?

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Love the look of the Sally Fitzgibbons shot, with the light coming through the wave.

I agree, surfing photography is one of those challenges where you have to have the reach, or you just can't play.

Most breaks are far enough out to need 400mm, although a break with a pier or jetty to stand on can get you into 200-300mm territory.

Many breaks need 600mm, and some of the really big ones need 1200mm to shoot from shore.

 

[Darren Bradnock]

Yeah i was tossing up between the 5dmk11 and the 7D but basically picked the 7D because of the 1.6x factor of the APS-c sensor, every little bit helps.

 

[Andy Boardman]

Yeah i was tossing up between the 5dmk11 and the 7D but basically picked the 7D because of the 1.6x factor of the APS-c sensor, every little bit helps.

Please bear in mind though you still only have a 400mm lens & you are not 1.6 x closer !!

 

[Darren Bradnock]

Please bear in mind though you still only have a 400mm lens & you are not 1.6 x closer !!

Not quite sure what your getting at?

All i know is that if i take a photo with the 400mm on the 7D i get a tighter shot than i would on a full frame body. To get the same photo on a full frame i would either have to crop the image in post thereby reducing the resolution or i would need to use a 640mm lens.

 

[Andy Boardman]

What I mean to say is regardless of what body your lens goes on it is still a 400mm lens & the image is cropped you do not get 1.6x closer magnification, besides if you crop say a 5DmkII it will be as good as 7D anyway in the real world so I try to say to photographers that it is glass you should invest in not bodies long term.The term full frame body also annoys me a bit as all the cameras are full frame when you think about it, just different formats ! If for example you shoot 7D your mate shoots 5D then tells you yours is not full frame he is wrong I might shoot 6x4.5 which I could say is full frame not 35mm etc then somone comes along with 6x6 and the lisy goes on up to 20 x24 Polaroid HE HE , Just my 2 pennys worth.

 

[Darren Bradnock]

Yeah i understand that it's not an increase in magnification, that it's just a smaller sensor recording less of the image projected by the lens. It's just equivalent to using a lens with 1.6x the magnification on a 35mm body. And i also agree with you about spending money on glass not the body, another reason for getting the $2100 7D over the $3400 5Dmk2.
As for the term Full Frame, i get what your saying but it's just a term used to refer to 35mm equivalent DSLR's. even 35mm can be different. In a 35mm movie camera the film runs vertically not horizontally like a stills camera so the captured image is actually closer to an APSc size.

 

[Andy Boardman]

Just me being a grumpy old man LOL it does get me though that the lens is equivilent to such & such when in reality it is not,as I can crop any old image & claim all sorts of focal lengths.A 400mm is a 400m is a 400mm end of.
Saying all that I really like the shots.

 

[Hamish Gill]

you are a grumpy old man aren't you

the phrase should be "x lens gives an equivalent field of view as y lens" etc ...

 

[Peter Blake]

Very true, you have to pay to play. This was from Fistral Beach in Cornwall UK, full frame on Kodachrome 200, 800 5.6

Best shots I think are from the water.