Surf Photography

Hi, I am very interested in surf photography. I have only really tried

it properly once mainly because I am usually the one surfing. My

current equipment is a Canon Ae1-p with 28mm, 35mm, 50mm and a

75-200mm zoom. I am getting a teleconvertor to use with the zoom as my

land based lense.

However I really want to get into shooting from the water. I am going

to buy an underwater housing for the Ae1-p will this be suitible for

surf photography?

I know a digital autofocus slr with a surf housing would be best but

could I get away with manual focus and a diving housing?

Also any other considerations that I should know about?

Thanks.

Hi Hugo,

Ok, firstly so you know, I don't take surf photos, but scuba diving photos, the housing will defiantly be fine just look after it correctly, as far as manual focus goes...how quick/good are you at focusing? this is the big Q. if your not sure try using a technique divers do, that is set the focus on a "still" object the expected distance away so when the surfer comes by your set to go. You may also want to invest in some product like "RainX", a water replant for glass, so the water beads off the lens/dome fast. Good luck, Hope it helps.

Barb.

I don't do surf or in-water photography either, but it seems to me that you are going to

need to use a high aperture (f8 or higher) because the action is so fast --both you and the

surfer are moving you want to get as much of the field in focus as possible. This means

bright sunny days especially with your teleconverter--you'll lose a couple stops at least,

although you probably won't need a big zoom if you're in the water up close already.

I would also think an autowinder if it will fit in the housing because you'll likely get a lot of

bad shots.

Depending on how close you will be, I think the 50mm would be good. Otherwise you

might have to go with the zoom. I guess it depends on how well you know the surfers and

how good they are (don't get gashed, dude!).

Hi Hugo,

If you are serious about shooting surfing from the water, I would recommend getting a new camera first. While you can get by w/ manual focus shooting shorebreaks w/ a fisheye and certain situations where conditions are super consistent, autofocus is one less thing to worry about in the water. Also, many dive housings are much too heavy to be swimming around with in a lineup. If you want to stick w/ film, I would look for a Canon EOS 1N or similar. Most water shooters have now gone digital because you will also have to swim in after every roll of film, rinse off your gear and find a safe/dry place to load another roll...a 4gb card and you spend that time in the water shooting, not missing that perfect wave! My first camera/housing setup was a Canon 10D w/ 3 ports for a 15mm, 24mm, and 100mm. The wides are great for shorebreaks and tube shots, the 100 for pointbreaks. Good luck...it is a fun pursuit and watershots are much more rewarding than standing on the beach w/ 100+ other photogs getting the same shot.