Minus great photography, creating worthwhile go-fast boating content is a tall order. Words only get you so far—and people definitely don’t read the way they used to. As someone who routinely answers reader questions that are answered in the first paragraph of any given story, I can vouch for this. It used to bother me. Now I just accept it, try to answer the question without a snarky retort and just answer the damn question.
No doubt about it, we have become a nation of headline-readers. But to riff on a time-honored cliché, you can’t fight regress. (OK, sometimes a little snark sneaks in.)
That’s why photographers such as Pete Boden and Jeff Helmkamp are so crucial to what we do every day on speedonthewater.com and—by partnership proxy—Powerboatnation.com. Boden and Helmkamp consistently deliver the kind of imagery that demands attention.
Both shooters are self-taught. They’ve been at it for years, mostly getting it right and learning from what went wrong when they don’t.
It is not a crime, for example, to freeze a boat’s propellers while the vessel is in midflight. But it’s also not the mark of a pro. Frozen props are the byproduct of shooting with a high shutter-speed, which makes keeping the camera still as you release the shutter a whole lot easier.
But it is less-than-accurate presentation of what is really happening, because as you know can’t see the individual prop as it spins at high speed.
Photography is a skill of presentation, not representation—unless you’re talking about modern art.
Though he shoots most often Speedboat magazine, Tom Leigh is another exceptional lensman we’ve published during the years. He’s simply excellent, and he’s a cool breeze to work with. That counts.
And now we have a new photographer with promise entering the game. The son of insurance and finance man Devin Wozencraft, 21-year-old Lukas Wozencraft started shooting this year and will capture a couple of Fort Myers Offshore events this season.
My advice to young Lukas? Shoot and shoot and shoot some more. Bring back more than you think you’ll ever need. Then edit them down to the best of the lot and submit. Volume doesn’t guarantee publishable results. But it does increase your odds.
One more bit of unsolicited advice to Wozencraft and any else getting into the game or trying to improve your skills? Closely study your mistakes and learn from them.
You might end up being the next Boden, Helmkamp or Leigh. But you have to work at it.