Cycling the Golden Gate, sailing the Chesapeake

I'm headed cycling in late September and then sailing in early October on the Chesapeake Bay with my dad. Since I'm "starting over" with Canon after the loss of my Minolta (did I say "good riddance" a little too loudly?), I've got a limited selection of lenses. OK, limited to one lens: the 24-105mm f/4L IS that's impatiently waiting in my bag for the arrival of my 1D Mark III. I've rented a 16-35 f/2.8 and a 70-200 f/2.8 IS, as these are two lenses I figure are "next on my list". I might add a nifty fifty to my collection between now and then.

Any other lenses I might want to rent? I was considering the 100-400L and the 24 f/1.4L, but sorta thought the 100-400 might not be needed much (and be hard to learn), and the 24 might not be necessary with the low-light performance of the 1D3. Thoughts?

I know absolutely nothing about what to take on a cycling trip!

However, I teach sailing in the UK. My photography afloat has to take second place to my job, so it's usually very much a spur of the moment shot rather than a pre-planned one. For that reason, the only lens I ever take is my 70-200 f/2.8 L USM as it allows me to reach out and grab from further away. An IS lens would certainly help.

As you well know, stowage on most boats is minimal, so I'd always recommend keeping your kit as small as possible. For me that means one body with one lens only, wrapped VERY carefully and stowed in with my spare cloths, where hopefully it's protected against being thrown around.

I find it best to assume a similar position to that used when taking sights with a sextant (it's a dying art - I know). Bracing my ample waist against something solid, allowing the upper body to compensate for wave movements.

Richard

Appreciate the response. Do you think a 100-400 would be somewhat useless on the boat? At least three of the folks on the boat will have photography knowledge, so it may become a case of "pass the camera around" to whomever wants to photograph. I don't mind talking them through lens changes, and with a crew of 4 on a 35' boat I'm not too concerned about space.

pjtemplin wrote in post #3784427
Appreciate the response. Do you think a 100-400 would be somewhat useless on the boat? At least three of the folks on the boat will have photography knowledge, so it may become a case of "pass the camera around" to whomever wants to photograph. I don't mind talking them through lens changes, and with a crew of 4 on a 35' boat I'm not too concerned about space.

Pretty much completely useless. Imagine looking through it at 400mm while the boat pitches. Can you say "feed the fishes?" (i.e. seasick).

I shoot a lot of sailing. I too use a 70-200 but I like the f/4 IS for its size. You usually have lots of light so that isn't a problem.

The other lens that I like (I'm shooting with a 5D) is the 24-105. Shooting on boats is mostly about wide angles on the boat and it seems (for me) 70-135 or so when shooting off the boat. Those two lenses make the best sailing kit. If crop body, then it is 17-40 and 70-200.

J

Where will you be sailing from in the Chesapeake Bay?

Having spent many days sailing the Bay, I can say the 24-105 will get the most use. The points on using a long lense in a rocking and pitching boat by JonJ are right on. I'd also like to add to keep in mind anything not secured in a locker can go flying on the next tack, and it can be expensive (from experience!) So always keep the gear secured, even at the expense of making it easily accessable!

For the Golden Gate part, maybe up to 200mm would be useful - the Marin Headlands are beautiful; in the fall (lived out there in the '80s). You proabalby won't want to be encumbered with tripods, etc for longer lenses.

You definitely picked the best time of year for both trips! Enjoy!!!

tcrank wrote in post #3793740
Having spent many days sailing the Bay, I can say the 24-105 will get the most use. The points on using a long lense in a rocking and pitching boat by JonJ are right on. I'd also like to add to keep in mind anything not secured in a locker can go flying on the next tack, and it can be expensive (from experience!) So always keep the gear secured, even at the expense of making it easily accessable!

For the Golden Gate part, maybe up to 200mm would be useful - the Marin Headlands are beautiful; in the fall (lived out there in the '80s). You proabalby won't want to be encumbered with tripods, etc for longer lenses.

You definitely picked the best time of year for both trips! Enjoy!!!

My rule with camera gear on a boat is "On your face or in its case."

For the GG bridge, since it can get pretty choppy out there, you probably also want to consider some sort of protection from spray and solid water. I use the Aquatech stuff. it is expensive, but not so bad when you consider that one shot of salt water is going to destroy your gear. Use also UV filter to complete the weathersealing on your lenses too.

J.

Hmmm...might have lumped too much into one question/description.

The cycling trip is a 3.5 day trip to Sonoma CA that includes a lazy day or optional ride, a riding day that's 80 miles from San Francisco to Sonoma, and a group dinner outing (150-200 people on this trip). I volunteered to capture as much as possible on digifilm. That includes shots taken while on the bike - see http://photos.templin.​org/gallery/2007PADms1​50 for samples of what I tend to capture. No way am I taking more than one lens with me while on the bike. The cycling trip is (officially) a Thursday to Sunday.

Monday to Thursday is a four-day sailing trip on the Chesapeake from Rock Hall MD. I think it'll be a RH-Baltimore-Wharton Creek-St. Michaels-RH loop, as we'll have a fourth crewmember Mon/Tues and a different fourth crewmember Wed/Thur (Wharton Creek is relatively close to Rock Hall). The Chesapeake isn't too windy too often; I've seen the power of salt spray but expect it to be reasonably predictable. We're not racing, we're not regular sailors, so the boat will be relatively upright. See http://photos.templin.​org/gallery/sail200604 for samples from a previous trip where I was photographing other sailboats (the Volvo Ocean Race). No seasickness while shooting sailboats from aboard a sailboat going nearly 0 knots and tossing about. Moderate ISO (200-400 IIRC), aperture-priority to wide open for fast shutter speed.

Sunday is, obviously, a potentially brutal travel day. Oh well.

Not enjoying life without a camera, I surrendered today and picked up a Rebel XTi as my backup (but temporarily my ONLY) body. This could become my on-bike "beater" camera, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. The 1.6 crop could be a nice offset to the 1.3 crop of my 1D3, etc.

pjtemplin wrote in post #3796313
Hmmm...might have lumped too much into one question/description.

Monday to Thursday is a four-day sailing trip on the Chesapeake from Rock Hall MD. I think it'll be a RH-Baltimore-Wharton Creek-St. Michaels-RH loop, as we'll have a fourth crewmember Mon/Tues and a different fourth crewmember Wed/Thur (Wharton Creek is relatively close to Rock Hall). The Chesapeake isn't too windy too often; I've seen the power of salt spray but expect it to be reasonably predictable. We're not racing, we're not regular sailors, so the boat will be relatively upright. See http://photos.templin.​org/gallery/sail200604 for samples from a previous trip where I was photographing other sailboats (the Volvo Ocean Race). No seasickness while shooting sailboats from aboard a sailboat going nearly 0 knots and tossing about. Moderate ISO (200-400 IIRC), aperture-priority to wide open for fast shutter speed.

I sail competitvely, I own a boat to race and I've done a lot of lake racing and blue water sailing (competitive and cruising).

Don't think for a minutes that just because it is calm you can't get a big splash on board. It isn't the size of the wave, it is how you (the boat) hit it. In point of fact, that is much more likely for a non experienced helmsman (driver) to do that the other way around. It can come from the wake of another boat, for example. Heck, when we were cruising the boat between offshore races, we'd always try and find a wave to douse the rest of the crew sunning themselves on the deck - it was a game. A low probability of a happening, but disaster (and expensive) if it does.

Get some kind of protection for your camera even if it is rubber bands and garbage bags. Also, put your camera in Aloksaks (http://www.watchfuleye​designs.com ….cfm?do=list&ca​tegoryid=1) and then put that bag in your camera bag. If you do hit a storm or rough weather your gear will be safe. Most boats have numerous leaks along thru deck hardware that can make the inside of a boat get pretty damp and soggy in a storm or blow.


J