Innerview

Green Day

In a tiny subset of our industry (like photography), you can count the number of successful, enduring artists on two hands.  One of the most significant contributers to that niche is California-based Sharon Green, who has now been at it for an amazing 30 years.  We finally had the time to learn a little more about Sharon, and sailing photography in general.  Enjoy.

SA:  You've got tons of life long fans among the Anarchists, but we have to be honest – you're a tiny, unassuming, quiet, and pretty girl – how did you get your start in such a testosterone-laden industry populated by so many men?
 
SG:  Well, thanks for the compliment!  I guess it all started in high school, when I thought I'd be the next Ansel Adams.  I actually studied under one of his protégés at the Banff School of Fine Arts when I was 17.  I hadn't put sailing and photography together until later that year, when I became involved in documenting Evergreen.

SA:  The Canada's Cup boat?

SG:  That's the one.  Lowell North, Peter Barrett, and Rod Davis were part of the team, and they asked me to process the B&W sail shape photos in my home dark room to help the radical Two-Tonner's development.  This led to a 4-month assignment covering the Trials and Cup.

SA:  Wasn't that back in the old IOR days?  Given their downwind “qualities” they must have been pretty exciting for a photographer.

SG:  Yup, they sure could!  The 'old days' gave us lots of color.  Kites and bloopers  made for wonderful compositions.  In fact, one of my most famous sequences ever, and one of the best parts of my book “Ultimate Sailing” was Winsome Gold surfing downwind in heavy seas off Cowes back in '79 during the Admiral's Cup.  They violently chinese-gybed and swapped ends with keel and rudder flapping out of the water.

SA:  You were just a kid at that event, - that was the infamous '79 Fastnet, too – what was that like?

SG:  Yep, and it was my first real break in the business.   It blew a gale, rained buckets, heaped up mountainous, breaking seas, and the photo boats were wet, slow, stinky things.   I had a lot of shots from these events.  For me it was truly survival at sea- soaked lenses, soaked cameras...I never remember composing the shots in a specific way, it was all about colors and shapes- a natural reaction to what I saw.  It was instinct and was something that just came naturally.  The Winsome Gold sequence was an example of that.  The amazing knockdown of sequence of Winsome Gold became famous only well after the event- when the shots were shown to the Editor of Yachting during the 1979 Newport Sailboat Show.  Yachting ended up running a 6-page pictorial of my shots, and I got paid!  That was my big break – the next month I got three magazine covers.
 
SA:  So boats are getting rolled, waves are huge, and you're trying to shoot pictures as a teenager...what's it like to shoot in those conditions with the equipment of the day?

SG:  It was really tough work!  In those days, it was all I could do to manage and  compose, focus, and reload while keeping the gear dry and safe.   This was regular old film with manual fccus, manual film, and manual F-stops.  The cameras were not automatic and the film speed was 64-ASA, which is very slow.  We had to shoot slides for magazines. We'd drop off bags and bags of film to photo labs at the end of each day with not idea what we'd just shot. Then we'd get all the slides back and break our necks looking at hundreds of them on angled light-boxes – just torturous sometimes, and certainly a world apart to the kind of technology we're spoiled with now.

SA:  You mean these poor photographers have it easy today?  You wouldn't know that talking to them - ha!

SG:  Yes, very spoiled.  You can't imagine how the sailing photography game has changed since back in the old days of film.  Back then you really had to have some skills to take a great shot.  You had to have the eye and ability to compose the shot, the knowledge and patience to anticipate when and where it might happen, and the speed and accuracy in adjusting focus, depth and field, and so forth on the fly.

SA:  So how does your photography work now?

SG:  Most of these settings are all handled automatically, or programmed before the fact to suit the photographer's style and anticipated conditions, so composition of the image in your mind and anticipation are even more critical. 

SA:  What's the key to getting “the” shot – you know, the guaranteed cover or calendar pic? there are plenty of shots, but not many "stand outs."

SG: Getting that awesome shot really boils down to anticipation, composition and quite a bit of luck, and then there's the world of post-production.  Photoshop can correct the small things that, in the old days, made the shot unusable.

SA:  What else is different between then and now?

SG: Back then, we had lots of color, bloopers, chutes, lots of reaching with powered up boats and so forth.  Today it's all white boats, white chutes and windward-leewards, so instead of having tons of colorful downwind shots, it's all about big breeze, big seas, big action and lots of spray.  I live for exhilarating days like that, but they're rare. When it's rough-and-tumble, or what I call “fresh to frightening” days like that where it is tough and rumble and tumble and chaotic are my favorite days.  It's more demanding and exhausting, and much tougher for both the photog and driver or pilot.  For me, sailing is an amazing, colorful and dramatic sport because of the constantly changing elements, sea conditions, boats, events, competitors and locations. The challenge, then and now, is to capture on film electrifying moments that take your breath away.

SA:  We are lucky to get so many great shots from great photographers, but never really appreciated the science and technology behind it - how much of a difference does it make to have good photography equipment? What do you use, and what works best?

SG: Almost from the beginning, I've used Canon's top-of-the-line cameras and lenses because of their stellar reputation for support and reliable equipment amongst professional photographers.  I currently use several of their 1DS Mark II and 1DS Mark III camera bodies-- those alone are the value of a new J/80 or Melges 24 – and the lenses nearly double that budget!  I use a range of lenses, including wide angle 16-35mm, 70-200mm F2.8, 300mm F2.8, 500mm F4 and so forth- about 1/2 dozen in all.  They're all super-fast F-stop lenses with autofocus and image stabilization.

SA: Do you use the same gear for every regatta?

SG:  No, for each event I have to pick a range of lenses that I think will work for the boats, wind and wave conditions and lighting.  Most importantly, my choices will depend on just how close I can get to the boats, and this depends on whether there is an enforced perimeter, and how good my driver is. 

SA: What's the difference between these super-fast lenses and an ordinary consumer lens?

SG: The lower F-stop number means a wider aperture that allows more light into the picture; that means you can set a faster shutter speed to "stop" or "freeze" the action.  Combine this with the new image stabilizing lenses (that's why 21 mega-pixel cameras are important for sharpness)  and super-fast shutter speeds of 3,000th of a second and you can understand why I can get such sharp shots like the one you see on the cover of my 2009 Ultimate Sailing Calendar- it's the Italian Farr 40 Joe Fly leaping off a wave during this past year's Miami Grand Prix.  The glass optics inside the lenses are very critical to getting crystal clear, razor sharp photos.  The larger diameter optics permit more light to hit the image sensors, thus faster shutter speeds in less light- that's really important to get stunning photos in all kinds of challenging wind and sea conditions.  All is not perfect yet in the digital world, though. The motordrives can now "overdrive" the digital image processors, so after a 10 -15 frame burst, it stops to process the images and I have to wait about 15 seconds for the processing to finish--- I've lost many incredible shots because of that problem!  For instance, the Joe Fly shot could've been even better- a few seconds before that shot, their keel was fully exposed on another wave – we thought the boat was going to break – but the camera had STOPPED to process the images leading up to it.  Stu J. who was driving for me at the time was seriously pissed -  you can't imagine how hard he worked to get the positioning just to get that shot!

SA:  These are some big, heavy pieces of equipment.  How does a petite girl like you handle the big cannons...sorry...Canons?

SG:  Ha, ha.  I haven't had any problem handling anything that Canon has thrown at me for lenses – not yet, anyway.

SA: The Anarchists are passionate sailors as well as the ultimate consumers and critics of your photography, and we constantly see comments on our forums that you and some of the other great photographers make it look so easy.  How easy is it, and what do you think when people say things like, “Anyone can get images like that with a few hours and the right equipment?”

SG:  OMG, seriously?  My guess is that those people don't appreciate the incredibly hard work it takes to produce these shots!   The job requires a lot of tenacity, perserverance and lots of patience.  As you know sailing is a "hurry up and wait" sport.  I can't tell you how many times I have sat out on the water under relentless sun or extreme conditions waiting for something to happen.  There is a lot of prep time to organize photo boats, drivers, helicopter and, of course, waiting for the wind and sun.  Take for example the recent Melges 32 Gold Cup in Fort Lauderdale- it took 3-4 hours of shooting on the water and another 5-6 hours of post-production (it's usually at 2 to 3:1 ratio).  If you've ever wondered why people don't see me off the water at these events,  it's because I am up to my elbows going through nearly 2,000 images per day, selecting the best compositions, best lighting, best people or boat shots, cropping, adjusting exposure and contrast and making sure your SA audience and my Ultimate Sailing fans get the best shots possible.  These days the demand is "now and immediately,”  not the next day.  Aside from the actual production work, the logistics will kill you. And equally as important as the photographer is the driver and the platform.  You simply MUST have the right boat, and someone who can get you exactly where you need to be.  For example, my fianceé [and Anarchist -ed] Stu Johnstone, has to be one of the world's best photoboat drivers- he gets me where I need to be anytime, anywhere on the race course.  His anticipation is incredible, as it should be as a World, National and European Sailing Champion and College Sailor of the Year! 

SA: Has there been a scary experience, or experiences, while shooting?

SG:  I certainly have had a lot of those kinds of experiences - last year I was shooting in a helicopter for the TransPac finish, and as you can imagine, I thought the pilot knew what he was doing.  Turns out he didn't have a clue, and didn't know that  when a chopper  rotates into the breeze and the tail rotor gets hit by its own backwash upwind that you can literally drop the chopper right into the drink.  Well, he managed to do just that -  we lost 500 feet in altitude in seconds and came within a few feet of crashing on the water,  salt spray was coming into the cockpit!  I literally thought I was done for.  That experience scared me to death and simply made me even more cautious about selection of chopper pilots.  In another case I was on a Boston Whaler in 15 foot breaking seas, and the driver got us abeam to the seas while shooting a reaching leg. Next thing you know, we violently capsized and overturned the boat completely with all of us swimming in the water!  To say I was mad would be an understatement -  I lost all my camera equipment that day!! 

SA:  What was your best moment shooting?

SG:  Hmmm, those are almost too numerous to mention - that's what I love about the sport.  So many great shots, so many great places.  I look for those stunning, epic conditions that produce breaking waves, lots of wind, exciting boats to shoot.  But, it also means the artistic side, too.  Great sun, soft lighting, lots of colorful spinnakers with boats planing also helps.  Certainly the smashing and crashing of the 12-meters off Perth was pretty awesome.  J/105s blasting along with their colorful a-sails with the fog and Golden Gate Bridge in the background is great stock photography.  The Melges 32s flying downwind off Key West getting buried underwater makes for some pretty spectacular shots.  Leaping TP52s off breaking seas in the Med or Farr 40's blasting off waves off Miami make for some breathtaking photos.  It's hard to please everyone.  But, we really look for a balance of the "take your breath away, aha moment" photos to the beautiful artistic racing shots you wouldn't normally see at your local regatta.  My favorite places to shoot have been Hawaii, Sydney, Freemantle, Miami, Needles, Sardinia and Key West-- anytime you get that magic combination of light, wind, and waves.

SA: You've seen it all in sailing, the great times, the bad times since you started in 1978.  All the leaders of the sport, all the changes.  You've done an amazing job chronicling the Maxi's, the J/Boats, the Admiral's Cups, the America's Cup and high performance sailing in general since 1978.  We noticed, sadly, that you passed on the AC in Valencia 2007-- many of us I think cried in our cheap Estrella Damm NZ beers.  You also haven't been on the European scene in years – are you winding down now that you've been at it for three decades? 

SG:  A confluence of personal events from 2001 to 2003 (like kids and divorce) led to those decisions.  The time commitment and dislocation of my kids is just too great for me to be doing the full regatta circuit, and the money isn't great either. I also had an epiphany several years ago -  I recognized that I didn't need to spend so much time on the road to produce the Ultimate Sailing Calendar.  After 25 years of shooting and producing it,  I decided to not kill myself traveling unless it was pretty much guaranteed good conditions and decent photo contracts.  I re-positioned the calendar as an annual portfolio of my work and my colleagues, who bring a variety of global content and unique photographic styles to the calendar.  I call upon Carlo Borlenghi, KOS, Thierry Martinez, Gilles Martin-Raget to be featured in the annual calendar. 

SA:  When did you have that brilliant flash of insight to start the Ultimate Sailing Calendar itself? (commercial plug!)

SG:  Back in 1982, I went skiing on a soul-searching mission in Snowbird, Utah.  I didn't know what I was doing with my life or career.  I didn't want to be a freelancer where you never know when or where the next job will be.   It really was very tough work, it was taking a toll on my life in general and I wanted to think through what my future might look like.  That's why I went to Snowbird- great skiing, just miles of great powder and cool trails to help me clear my thoughts and get perspective on life.   One day, after brainstorming with some fellow skiers, the epiphany hit me that I could produce a calendar of my photos with all the material that I'd shot already.  That afternoon, I contacted a printer to find out what it would cost to produce 5,000 calendars--- the rest is history.  I produced my first Ultimate Sailing Calendar in the spring of 1982 and sold them through retailers/distributors in the USA and Canada.

SA: Well, we really thank your for your time, Sharon, and look forward to you taking part in our community for years to come.  Any last comments for your passionate (admittedly some rabid) and supportive fans here at SA?

SG:  I really want to thank the SA members who support me and recognize the long-term contribution I've tried to make to the sport of sailing.  It's never been easy.  In fact, it has cost me a lot of blood, sweat and tears over the years.  Some of you I know understand and can appreciate such sacrifices.  Others of you may belittle me or mock my contributions to the sport, particularly as a woman, but my hope is that  most of you in the sailing community and the SA world appreciate such efforts and continue to not only support me, but support others who are just beginning to start their photography careers, working to bring spectacular sailing images to all of you. 

And thanks to you Scot, for the opportunity to share some thoughts on the world of sailing photography.  I'm always happy to give any of your budding SA'er photographers advice if they need it.

SA:  Thanks to you, and keep up the great work.