The Key to Unforgettable Adventure Sports Photography
Nobody's better at adventure sports photography than master photographer Charlie Borland. In this article, we get him to reveal a few of his secrets.
Good adventure sports photography doesn't just happen. Like any art, it has to be coaxed out of an unyielding medium: in this case, a bewildering mélange of light and shadow, speed and motion, perspective and intuition. A split second too slow or a poor angle, and that perfect shot is gone forever.
Few photographers know that better than Charlie Borland, who's been photographing extreme sports like rafting, skiing, rock climbing, and surfing for decades. Not long ago, he slowed down enough to give us a few pointers on how to improve our own adventure photography.
Participant observation
Most attempts at adventure sports photography are doomed from the start, because the photographer simply doesn't get in close enough. This is critical, as there's no bigger mistake than trying to remain detached from the action. "You need to be a lot closer, maybe even be part of the action," Borland advises.
Take river rafting, for example. "If you've got a raft coming down the river and you're standing on the bank and taking pictures, that's a legitimate way to approach photographing rafting," he says.
"But think about getting into the boat where all the action is, with all the water that's splashing into the boat, where people are paddling and moving and hollering, and you're right there in front of them, taking pictures as all this is happening." That's a great way to perpetrate creative, in-your-face adventure sports photography.
Getting the angle
If you're not in the thick of things, Borland cautions, you're simply going to miss out on the angles you need to get the best shots. "I think with just about any type of photography, there's going to be the obvious angle -- and then there's going to be the angle that's not quite as obvious.
"What I try to do myself is look for angles that are different from what I've seen, like lying down in the boat to get the rafting photos much closer up." This applies to other types of adventure sports photography too, of course.
"Say you want to shoot mountain bikes. How about mounting a camera to the handlebars and photographing the face of the person who's riding the bike? Look for the angles that are a little bit less obvious, and try to get your camera into the action."
Capturing the moment
With adventure sports photography, frozen action shots are the norm. "But panning or capturing the motion in images is also a very strong way to give the viewer of the photograph a sense of what's going on, or how fast the event is happening," Borland observes.
"I love to shoot this way. One of the tricks is to set your camera on a tripod and let your subject move. In that case, you have your camera stationary, so the subject is moving by and blurring as it goes."
Another approach to adventure sports photography is to pan with your subject as they move. "Keep your camera focused on the subject," says Borland. "As they move by, you're moving with them. This gives a really great sense of motion, because what happens is that the background blurs while the subject stays in focus.
"It works really well, and it gives the viewer a sense that things were really moving. It's a powerful and dramatic way to express the action in a photograph."
Charlie Borland is highly-regarded for his extreme photography -- and for good reason. For more of his secrets to achieving stunning adventure sports photography, take a gander at our recent interview with him.
