I sail on a NorSea 27; have formerly owned many boats including a Tayana 37, Golden Hind 31, Westsail 32, Bristol 24, etc. After 16 years of dreaming, it is time to go. I am cutting the dock lines and heading international in a couple weeks. Leaving St. Petersburg, Florida for the Keys, then the Bahamas, over to Central America hence South Pacific and beyond.
To fund this adventure, I am a wildlife photographer and plan to take photos of animals and birds at the locations I sail; my stock agency will take care of marketing and selling my work. My work can be see at www.visceralimage.com
Will be going alone and do not plan to pickup any dockrats. I am nervous but also excited. All comments and questions welcome.
Congratulations, and fair winds and following seas to you.
What is your timetable for your journeys?
Also, as a fellow photographer, what equipment do you use and how are you planning on protecting your gear on your boat?
Dan
Quote from: AdriftAtSea on October 28, 2006, 05:12:42 PM
Congratulations, and fair winds and following seas to you.
What is your timetable for your journeys?
Also, as a fellow photographer, what equipment do you use and how are you planning on protecting your gear on your boat?
Dan
timetable? I am going sailing and I do not plan to return
equipment? Canon 1DMk2n, Canon 30D, 600mm f4, 300mm f2.8, 70-200mm f2.8 etc.
protection? equipment stored in Pelican cases and strapped to the berth; transported in the dingy in pelicans and also strapped to the dingy.
Don't forget to bring a good supply of dessicant. You'll need it. Pelican cases are worth their weight in gold when it comes to protecting gear from the elements.
Quote from: castawaysailor on October 28, 2006, 04:42:43 PM
To fund this adventure, I am a wildlife photographer and plan to take photos of animals and birds at the locations I sail; my stock agency will take care of marketing and selling my work. My work can be see at www.visceralimage.com
I've been a photographer in various hats over the years, and plan to supplement my cruising with photos and writing. I'm getting ready to buy a Nikon D80 DSLR, but have not decided on a first lens yet (my wife likes the idea of the motion compensated zoom, and my sister has some older Nikor lenses that I can probably use). I hate to retire my old Olympus OM-1 (with literally 10's of thousands of frames shot on it), but it is (a) getting old and worn ** and (b) making the switch to digital. Incidentally, this OM-1 is the second I've had. I've also used the Nikon FM series cameras professionally.
I've not used the Canon's, but have read about them. I look forward to seeing some of your shots from the trip.
I'm just now researching how to get set up supplying stock shots. I think for my purposes that would be the simplest way to proceed.
** the advance gears are badly worn and are no longer available...one repainman already worked his magic to get me a few extra years out of it. It take some 'finesse' to get the film to rewind nowadays. I know longer have a darkroom, so I cannot just pull the film the brute force way.
By the way, nice web site and great shots. :)
Fair winds to ya, castaway!
Quote from: Captain Smollett on October 28, 2006, 06:39:26 PM
By the way, nice web site and great shots. :)
Fair winds to ya, castaway!
Thanks
Indeed, time to retire the OM1; I used that camera during my photojournalism days back in the early 80's; digital is now the new standard. Good luck with your journey.
D80 is great !!
I use a D70 and love it. I have used all my Nikon lens from my old Nikons . One of the great things about Nikons.
The motion comp. would be an aset on the water.
I do some p/T work with a wedding Photo guy who uses a Canon EOS- D1 Mark II. Nice, expensive, but not much better shots than my Nikon. Only a small difference. At least in this line of photos. But maybe... my skill is a little better , since he is new at it ;)
Zen;
the differences between high end camera are very slight and difficult to see; besides-the camera is only a tool, it is the vision of the photographer that is important.
Hehe true. Being an Artist & I tend to see things differently than my friend. One can learn the technical part easy, but the vision can not be taught in a simple class.
I too look forward to seeing your travel pictures.
As someone who has taught photography off and on, I always told my students that 99.5% of the photography took place before the photographer every picks up the camera...at least with the better photographers. There are quite a few photographers that believe in quantity over quality, and use the motor drive to try and supplement their weak photographic visualization skills.
Tom, one of my mentors, uses a Holga or Diana, and the photos he takes with them sell for $6000 or so on average. The cameras are plastic medium format toys that need to be taped up in order to not leak light and ruin the film.
I use a Pentax point & shoot for alot of my boat photography, as the camera is water resistant. I also use a Nikon D70s and a D100, but am selling the D100 to get either a D200 or D80. I am leaning towards the D200, since i have a fairly substantial investment in CF cards, and the D80 uses SD cards instead. :D
One of my favorite photographic trips was back in 1992, when another photographer and I chartered a 40' lobster boat to go chase tall ships around Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay. Back then I was using a Nikon F4 and a 300mm F/4 lens, which is still one of my favorites.
Um, I have a camera. It's digital, and it works. Maybe one day I'll get a better one. ;D
Castaway, sounds like you have it going on! Good boat, good plans, good timetable. Glad we got to 'meet' you before you left, and I hope that (when/how possible) you'll be in touch from time to time once you get 'out there'.
You planning on transiting the Canal traditionally, or trying one of the newish overland truckers down there? I've heard of them, but only via distant rumor at this point. Seems like a viable solution that an enterprising Panamanian could do well at. :)
You're leaving in only two weeks? Arrr! Yar! Way to go!!!
Quote from: CapnK on October 29, 2006, 08:18:19 PM
You planning on transiting the Canal traditionally, or trying one of the newish overland truckers down there?
in the water; cruising boats belong in the water, not on the back of a truck (unless it is your own truck and your trailer)
Quote from: AdriftAtSea on October 29, 2006, 08:27:30 PM
LOL... well said... don't forget you'll need some fairly long dock lines for the canal transit, and four line handlers...
Indeed, the dock lines can be rented at the yacht club and the line handlers can be hired (talk to the local taxi driver or get a few backpackers); that hard part will be having the extras on a singlehanded boat, all that cooking, all those extra bodies, ugg
and where do you let them sleep??? Your boat is space limited, as are most on this site. :D
Quote from: AdriftAtSea on October 29, 2006, 08:36:33 PM
and where do you let them sleep??? Your boat is space limited, as are most on this site. :D
well, that is a problem, can do two in the rear cabin (but one of those bunks is mine), on in the vee, maybe a couple on decks; if they are uncomfortable-maybe they will not want to stay :D
If I ever do a Panama Canal passage in the Pretty Gee, I'll have two sleep in the cockpit, and one sleep on each ama. :D That should work fairly well... and I get the cabin to myself. :D
thinking of the cost and problems with the canal makes me want to do the horn instead
Besides, do you really want four strangers on your beloved boat...
Quote from: AdriftAtSea on October 29, 2006, 09:01:22 PM
Besides, do you really want four strangers on your beloved boat...
nyet
Oh, that is russian for "no"
no, I'm not russian, just been there 5 times to do photography
da.. :)
Mr Drifty and I agree on a great many things, it seems...Nikon cameras are another one. Tried Cannon for a while, kept stealing my then girlfriend's Nikon to actually use....Eventually dumped the cannon and bought a Nikon before she scalped me in my sleep.
We used all kinds of supercheap medium format cameras to tie onto weather balloons with timer shutter releases...ah the joys of art school.
Hassleblads are nowadays over-rated...basically they were amazing COMPARED TO EVERYTHING ELSE OUT THERE ...but then most everything else caught up in terms of quality and precision. I would now say you would be hard pressed to find a quality difference between Olympus and Hassleblad...that is pretty telling.
As a rule for buying cameras...I tend to avoid the ones made by non camera companies...like Sony, Panasonic and such. We all know that EVERY company's cameras are built in the same five factories in china...but the comapnaies that are known for being photgraphic equipment firms actually seem to check and compare quality and useability before putting their brand name on them and rushing them to market.
Alex.
Quote from: Fortis on October 31, 2006, 12:26:50 AM
As a rule for buying cameras...I tend to avoid the ones made by non camera companies...like Sony, Panasonic and such.
I'll second that and put in a specific anti-plug for HP digital cameras. I've had two, and they both turned out to be pieces of ka-ka.
The second one is particularly aggravating. We bought it for my aging mother to use to take pictures of her grandchildren; paid a pretty penny for it and it SEEMED like a decently made camera IN THE STORE. The thing lasted 7 months, and HP's customer service recommendation was "here, we'll give you a coupon for your next HP purchase, but you'll have to replace that camera as it will cost more to fix it than to replace it." My reply to that notion was "not thanks, don't need your coupon; I'll never buy HP again."
They make poop. And for some reason, we the consumers keep buying it.
Honestly the best camera option when buying for the non-tech savvy and such...well...you just hold your nose and buy a Kodak digital. They are point and shoot in the extreme, they hold up pretty well, and they have the hands down easiest download photo proceedure of anything.
Alex
Actually, Sony makes a pretty decent digital camera, and the picture quality off of them is excellent. They're also quite easy to use....I've given three of them to family and friends as gifts. For the more advanced enthusiast, you're definitely better off going with a DSLR from either Nikon or Canon. The one real objection I have to the Canon equipment is the durability of their consumer end equipment.
I've been a photographer for over 20 years, and have used the Canon EOS, Nikon Fx, Leica, Hasselblad, Mamiya, Pentax, Sinar and Horseman equipment.
The Hasselblad equipment is beautiful, but way overpriced for what you're getting IMHO.
The consumer Canon stuff is junk—you can actually flex the camera body enough to see the twist—but their pro stuff is good.
The Nikon stuff is excellent—for years they were playing catchup to Canon in the high-end digital market, but the D80 and D200 have fixed that for the most part.
I love the Mamiya medium format gear, but it's way to big and heavy for a boat. Same with Sinar and Horseman—large format isn't really an option on a boat. :D
Leica makes beautiful gear, but also overpriced IMHO. My only Leica is an ancient M3 that I got at a yard sale for $100. :D Getting lenses for it has been very painful.
One camera I'd love to get my hands on is a Nikonos RS, but they're very expensive and fairly rare at this point.
Alex-
I don't think she would have scalped you in your sleep...if she scalped you, you could still mooch her Nikon from her... she'd probably cut off your hands or stab you in the heart...depending on how much she liked you....and whether she wanted to keep you around for other things. ;)
I will probably have to downsize my camera collection before I cut the docklines. They aren't very happy about just sitting in storage, and I have enough that bringing them all on a boat isn't an option. :(
Quote from: castawaysailor on October 29, 2006, 08:59:45 PM
thinking of the cost and problems with the canal makes me want to do the horn instead
LOL, castaway. :)
Aren't you fast approaching your departure date? Do you have all of your 'ducks in a row'? Are you at all nervous?
He's probably busy packing and loading up the boat... :D