Fotoboat...No more

I spent over a decade fighting with magazine art directors who came from the other side of this particular fence. They'd look at a pic of a boat perfectly trimmed and ditch it in favour of one where the boat was heeled too far or poorly trimmed, and therefore more artistic.  

I've never had the chance to check, but I strongly suspect that magazine sales started to dip when better quality paper stock became available.  That lead to the balance tilting away from magazines that were full of interesting stuff to read and soft black and white pics of interesting boats, towards mags that were full of lovely pics that you would flick past in a second and copy so brief that you'd finish reading it before you got to the checkout.

Thanks for starting this thread and for all the kind words about Fotoboat. This gives me an opportunity to share a few thoughts about Fotoboat and to record some well-deserved thanks.  I was already in my late 50s when I first had the idea of launching a third “career”, after 25 years in the Army and 12 as a management consultant.  It was just going to be me at first, but after I invited Alan Henderson to come on board, the team grew very quickly until, at its peak, we had 16 photographers based all over GB and Ireland.  My “Andy Warhol” moment of transient fame came in 2007 when I was the subject of a “Day in the Life” feature in Y&Y.  Of all the naff questions posed by them only one has given me any cause for regret – “By the time I’m 70 I would like to have…” and I answered:  “photographed a Team GBR boat winning an Olympic gold medal.  If I manage to do that at Weymouth, I will have made it with three years to spare.”  Well, I did photograph one of our boats sailing with the crew wearing bronze medal bibs, but sadly they didn’t hold onto that place.  Also, I was photographing as a tourist, from the Stone Pier at Weymouth. But at the same time, Fotoboat “partner” Tom Gruitt, with full media accreditation, was on his way to completing what, IMHO, was the best photo portfolio of the 2012 Olympic sailing event.  I am very happy that Fotoboat has given so many photographers the opportunity to have their work seen and, in Tom’s case, to establish a career as a full-time professional.

When it comes to thanks, I have to start with RIB drivers, without whom I would have been nowhere near the action.  At the start I did weigh up the pros and cons of having my own RIB, but decided against it.  Although I do have a power boat ticket, it was more as insurance in case I ever had to take over in an emergency.  I definitely would not be confident to drive and shoot in anything more than very calm conditions, which kind of defeats the object.  I know that keeping a RIB in one place, pointing the same way when you are just upwind of the weather mark in a good blow with waves takes a lot of skill and I will be eternally grateful to the drivers who have done that for me.  

I am also grateful to the many clubs around the country who have made me welcome.  My own club, Exe SC, will always be a special place for me but if I had to name three others they would be Lyme Regis, Looe and Porthpean, as much for the superb quality of sailing on offer as the warmth of the welcome.

Finally, thanks to all the sailors out there who have bought pictures from Fotoboat!

I think most of us suffer from that - perhaps that's the difference between specialist sailing photographers and everyone else. Certainly non-sailor press photographers, in my experience, press the button when the boat is heeled or whatever because it looks more dynamic or 'interesting' to the uninitiated. Pros seem to have a more sympathetic eye - or perhaps it's just that they know what sells.

On a different point, i acquired waterproof point-and-shoot camera because I wanted lots of pics of club-racing (mixed fleets, things not being done right etc etc) and could not find any (well except for from the Isle of Man but they would not reply to my licensing enquiries so I could not use them). I now have tons of pics on my website that I give away (sorry Tom, but they are just snaps, far from pro standard). Last week's showed that someone's mast was inverting slightly which gave an avenue to explore in why he thought his speed was down.