A Q&A with Sharon Green about the prep work that ensures great images

by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 23 Nov 2016 The cliché stands that a photograph is worth a thousand words, yet anyone who has ever tried hoisting a camera to capture sailing’s imagery understands that these words do not write themselves.

Angles, exposure and composition all count, but only if the photographer successfully makes it out on the water and has all of his or her camera kit ready and operational at that exact second when the action starts unfurling. And anyone who has been to big regattas understands that a lot of moving pieces have to come together just right to pen that perfect 1,000 word essay.

While the sailing world is lucky to have many fantastic shooters, Sharon Green’s work has long stood out for her deep understanding of sailing and its many moods. Green has been shooting high-level regattas and events for over 30 years, and her work has appeared in almost every sailing magazine and website that matters, not to mention books and calendars (including her own line of “Ultimate Sailing” calendars), as well as custom prints, the later of which can be found in the homes of some of the biggest names in the sport.

Green might enjoy a big reputation, but this Canadian-born shooter can often be seen toting lens and camera equipment that stand almost as tall as she does (Ed. Note: Green would make a perfect bowman aboard any boat, as she is lean and athletically built, but not long on extra bone structure). While this would be problematic for plenty of wanna-be shooters (your faithful scribe included), Green has made a great career out of coming up with ingenious work-around solutions (e.g., her modified Igloo coolers) that enable her to produce truly eye-popping imagery.

I caught up with Green at the 2016 Alcatel J/70 Worlds (September 27-October 1), hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club, where we spent a day riding around on a press boat together, to learn more about the behind-the-scenes work and preparation that goes into each image that she snaps on her Canon cameras. While some of Green’s tips are specific to professional shooters (e.g., helicopter time or juggling multiple camera bodies), plenty of amateur lensmen will be well served to carefully consider Green’s advice, and to try some of her tips the next time they head out to snap images.

When you roll into a world-championship event like the 2016 J/70 Worlds, how do you start operating? What is step one?
The first thing I try to do is keep an eye on the weather ahead of time. And I try to be as organized as possible with photo boats, photo-boat drivers, and scheduling helicopters. Of course it’s all weather contingent, [and] as we know in San Francisco, [weather] can change at any time.

So it sounds like you’re doing quite a bit of behind-the-scenes work before you even arrive?
Yes, there is a lot of prep involved for a big event like this. I just came off a big event the weekend before, so it was just matter of getting cameras cleaned, making sure everything is working, making sure the [memory] cards are all working, that the camera batteries are all charged, and [that] everything is clean.

Are you at a point in your career where you’re not thinking so much about lighting and composition of individual images so much as the big-picture logistics of operating at each event?
There’s a lot of logistics involved and just one little thing can go wrong, [for example] if an engine breaks down on the [photo] boat and you miss absolutely everything that day. [Or maybe] the driver doesn’t understand sailing or [doesn’t] know where to put you [so that you’re] in the right place. It takes a lot of coordination. A really good driver is one you don’t have to say too much to, they just know where to put you at the right time. Same with [a helicopter] pilot-if you have to constantly be coaching and talking, [then] you’re [going to be] distracted from [your] shooting.

A lot things can go wrong because it can be quite hectic, [and] it can be really, really wet. [Often times,] I tape-down certain dials on some of my cameras that I accidently hit when I’m throwing my cameras into the waterproof case. And so there’s a lot planning to make sure that those little things don’t go wrong.

Tell me about the waterproof case that I understand you like to carry around.
Well, it’s kind of a stealth case. It’s a modified Igloo cooler! [Laughs.]

Why do you like to use a cooler as a case?
The shape of it, [and because] it’s got a hinged top- [it] must have a hinged top. Then I put on a special latch on it, and of course change the hinges out. It opens as a hingy top, so it’s easy to keep the [lens] on their bodies, so I’m not changing camera. I can just open lid and very quickly put the cameras in the case. I typically have three cameras going at one time, all with the lenses on them. The fewer times you ever have to change a lens, especially out in these conditions, the better.

Are you creating real-time backups on a hard drive or are you just trusting the SD card for the duration of your day on the water?
I’m trusting the SD card

Is that a leap of faith?
It’s a huge leap of faith, especially when things go wrong, and that has happened.

Really? Can you tell me about it?
I had a situation not that long ago [with a camera body]. I always check the card to make sure that it’s recording and everything is looking good, and [I] look at my horizons. [I was] shooting [the] start of a race, and it was a spectacular start. I kept double-checking and all of a sudden I’m clicking away, and [the camera is] firing, firing, firing. [Then,] all of a sudden I look down and [the camera’s display is] all black. And that was a very expensive camera repair, that one.

And things can [also] go wrong with the cards, they can get corrupted easily. So I have learned my lesson by having a few complete disasters like that, so I’m very, very cautious when downloading cards and backing-up drives.

So do you swap your memory cards out repeatedly throughout the day so that you spread your media on multiple cards?
You can record on two cards simultaneously so you can always have one recording and set up the other one to [also] record. You end up with a lot of images in the end, but [if] it’s a one-time chance, it’s really good to do that. Sometimes I will do RAW on one card and JPEG on the other.

Do you have a preference for being on a press boat or up in a helicopter?
I prefer to be on the water. I like that low angle, I like the [press boats] because you’re sitting really low into the water and [I] really like that in-your-face look, [even when] it’s rough and tumble out here. The helicopter is easy, you’re high and dry and it’s just a matter of coaxing the pilot to go a little lower.

A year or two from now, do you think you’ll be up in a helicopter or will you be controlling a drone?
Hopefully, a drone.

What’s the advantage of the drone?
Well the advantage of the drone [is that] you can get a lot closer and the drone work that everybody is doing is just amazing. You can just launch [the drone], when the race [starts]. You don’t have to be sitting out at the heliport, calling in or following trackers and going, ‘Okay, it takes ten minutes to get all the way out there.’ And then if it’s a [light-air] day the last thing you want to be is in a helicopter.

Getting close to boats is always a pull and push with press-boat and helicopter drivers. What is your pulse on this aspect of the game?
We try to be as courteous as possible, especially during a world championship. Sometimes the best pictures are not created on those particular days.

I love going to practice days, or when they have a practice race, because if you do get in front of them or you’re in a position that may be a little bit hazardous, you don’t want to get the photo boat protested. It’s harder to [get that close] that during a race.

Is it sort of one of the situations where the sailors sort of hate you in that moment because you’re close to them, but they love you later that evening, when they’re looking at the photos displayed on the screen back in the clubhouse?
Typically, you know obviously on hairy days where we are getting close and the boats are on the edge of wiping out, you have to be super careful. [The sailors] wave you away so they ruin their own photos anyways, amongst other things. The best part is when you do get an incident and or you are in the way, and you come in later, and say, “I’m so sorry!” and they’re like, “Did you get [the shot], did you get it?”

That is pretty funny! Is there anything you would like to add or any other details of the life of a professional photographer that I haven’t asked you about in this interview?
I think one thing people don’t understand [about] the logistics [is] the size of the camera equipment that we tote around the world. I mean, it’s exhausting! One of my lenses is massive-it’s almost the size of me! And I have to get that on and off airplanes, in and out of cars, in and out of rental cars, up and down stairs, into hotels. It’s a lot of stuff! If I’m travelling with an assistant, and I also have an underwater housing, it’s very funny when we got off the plane, how much stuff we’re carrying. I call it the ‘Sharon Travelling Road Show’.

Quantify it, how many pounds of equipment are you carrying with you?
I know if I load up the Pelican case [it’s] about 55 pounds. That’s just that stuff, that’s not including all the battery chargers, the spare [camera] bodies. And now I have even a couple more lenses I’m toting around, trying out some different things [that are] a little lighter. I’d love to say that as technology advances that the camera equipment gets lighter, but it doesn’t. It’s really heavy!

I can imagine. So if somebody wanted to purchase some of your beautiful photography where could they find your stuff?
www.ultimatesailing.com for more images, books and the 2017 calendar from Sharon Green