Sorry for the Group Email

A few suggestions for those whose last surf pictures were a series of blobs on an indistinct horizon. I have enough of those pictures to last a lifetime. Here are the things I learned.

1. Get the longest lens you can.

I realise this is a bit like saying “If you want to win Le Mans, buy yourself a fast car”, but even if you’ve got a boat, you’ll never get close enough to the surf to be able to shoot surfers without something substantial attached to your camera. If you want full-frame shots of the action, you’ll need at least a 300mm lens. Ideally 400mm. Ideally with a 2x extender tube. The good news is there are plenty of camera shops that will hire out exactly this kind of pro-level equipment for relatively good rates. Compared to buying a new lens, at least.

This was a great bit of action, but a 300mm lens isn’t enough to fill the frame.

Standing in the water, though, did:

2. Get the brightest lens you can.

Most people go surfing on bright, sunny day, but even with the help of the sun you’re going to want very fast shutter speeds. If your bargain basement zoom lens (like mine) only offers f/5.6 at 300mm, you’re going to have to nudge the ISO settings through the roof to get decent shutter speeds. There are some lovely f/2.8 telephotos available for hire which will be much brighter. Bear in mind that image stabilisation won’t do you much good when you’re shooting moving objects (in some cases it will just make matters worse), so save your cash. Also, bear in mind that the best surfers are nutters, so some of the best shots can be found on days with depressing weather and big surf.

This shot was just too noisy to be any good in colour, but in black and white the noise is what we’re going to call “atmospheric”.

3. Give up some creative control.

I’d love all my shots to be taken in fully-manual mode, but when things are moving fast there isn’t time to meter for shutter speed <i>and</i> aperture. Shutter speed is the important one here. Set the shutter to at least 1/320th and let the camera set the aperture. This way you’re guaranteed a steady, blur free shot and reliable, if unspectacular, metering. You can always adjust the image curves later.

4. Get your feet wet.

This is a risky one. The closer you get to the water, the greater the chance of an unexpected wave costing you a lot of money. But even with a long lens, the closer to the action you are the more control you have over framing your shots properly. Mind the waves, and, for the terminally stupid, bear in mind that I’m not taking any responsibility for you pitching face-first into the surf and ruining all your kit.

This shot was taken knee-deep in the water. If you can find a day when the waves are breaking relatively close to the shore, the surfers will ride closer. Try not to get hit by a surfboard.

5. Take lots of shots.

Continuous shooting is your friend. So are high-capacity memory cards.

6. It’s not just surfers.

There’s plenty going on on the beach. If you get tired of hoisting your camera away from the waves, head inland for atmospheric shots.

9. Don’t get your stuff wet.

I speak from bitter experience, although I was lucky enough to be able to get my camera fixed.

Something missing?

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