WS – You have a unique setup as a team capturing on land and in water – what are your goals and techniques for both?
SL – Obviously techniques for land and water are hugely different but the goals are the same – to get a great shot! Whenever I shoot, whether it’s windsurfing, weddings or portraits, I always aim to get my shot in camera, i.e., most importantly to expose correctly and also to compose my image in camera, as if I was still shooting on film, not relying on the fact that I’m shooting digital and can tweak or crop later on the computer. This challenges me when I’m shooting and more importantly saves me time when I’m editing images. When shooting from land, I prefer to stay as low as I possibly can to the water. This perspective in the images makes it feel like you’re closer to the action and everything seems bigger – the waves, the jumps, the moves. Depending on the location and how close to shore the action is, I sometimes use a 70-200 mm with a 2x converter. This enables me to shoot without a tripod and be more mobile and creative with my images. It gives me the option of having something other than just water in the foreground to give added interest to the shot. If the action is further out then I use a beast of a 600 mm lens! Paul shoots from the water where it’s far harder to get the shot compared to being on dry land! The results from the water can be incredible though, even on what might be considered a small day. He needs to stay in the impact zone to be able to capture the image and has to constantly be aware of where the surfers and windsurfers are, especially on windy days when sailors are both jumping and wave-riding. Needless to say, water shooting requires a great deal of stamina, knowledge of the waves and knowing how and where to position yourself to get the best angle for a shot.