Stewartby Lake – Powerboats in their Element

Sunshine always brings out the best of Water, reflections off the surface, ripples, when disturbed, and when really exercised – Spray, and Spume – Powerboats tear water apart, and create the drama for those who watch from the shore; armed with my camera, a long lens and a robust platform from which to capture the excitement that the performers are enjoying, I spent the afternoon trying to do justice to what the participants are enjoying in full.

I parked up at the far end as close to shade as I could find, and put together my tripod, the Benbo and gimbal head, and my 7D MkII and the Sigma 150-600mm. Wanted to get as low as possible to gain clearance between the hulls and the water when possible, which meant setting up the tripod where there was a chance of my finding a sound footing for the tripod legs and a raised bank behind to allow me to sit, so that the camera and I was as low as possible, but the foreshore is an unstable jumble of bricks, so this was not as easy as I had imagined, but in the end I found three different viewpoints that were satisfactory, though the first was marred by a very powerful odour.

Only once I was settled did I realise, I was right in front of the family I had met on my last visit, and also later their mother when she arrived was parked alongside my car! On this occasion, I did not have my spare telephoto with me, but I need not have worried as he was shooting movies on this occasion.

The reason for the differing viewpoints was also related to the lighting angle and to vary the shots as much as possible, but the available angles were still somewhat limited, by  both the distance and that the enclosure itself limited the choices, so overall coverage is limited to one corner. On this occasion due to having been before, the number of shots is fewer than before, and I was more ruthless in what I accepted.

I hope that I have captured the spirit of the afternoon, and I hope the other inhabitants of the lake; the swans, their cygnets and the grey lag goose capture the overall atmosphere of the place.