As we write this, the sun is shining and the forecast is full of yellow symbols, the farmers are out cutting hay and the pollen count is through the roof. All signs that a great summer is on its way!

Summer has far longer hours of daylight and unless you’re a complete cynic, some fantastic weather. People get outside and engage with The Great Outdoors, so why don’t you join in and document what you see with your camera?

So we spoke to a great Pro, who’s capturing some amaaazing images around the coast of the UK. Baxter Bradford, a winner in Landscape Photographer of the Year, specialises in outdoor and coastal photography. Here, Baxter gives us his top tips on shooting some of his favourite summer sports and activities:

Cycling

It’s a hugely popular activity that has become more so in recent years. A small camera easily fits in a pocket when you’re out for a spin and provides a great excuse to stop & use whilst you regain your breath at the top of a climb! Madcap descents look superb recorded on an action cam such as Go Pro too.

More serious cyclists often compete and train at either end of the day when the roads are less busy. The main benefit for us photographers is that the light is lovely and warm with the low angle enhancing them riding their masterpieces of carbon-fibre craftsmanship.

Scout around to find a complementary backdrop and think about pre-focusing on a given spot. Long lenses are useful to magnify the rider from afar and their shallower depth of field enhances the chosen point of focus. Using flash freezes the action and if you like, darken the background to further emphasise the rider. Consider colour temperature and use of a warming gel over the flash. Please do consider the safety aspects of using flash, which may startle any cyclists not expecting it. Alternatively panning with a longer shutter speed can make impressive images.

Swimming

Whether swimming in the sea, lakes or rivers, the backdrop is almost certainly more scenic than the local indoor pool. ‘Wild swimming’ is becoming more popular as well as the swim element in Triathlons frequently being in a natural water course.

A low viewpoint works well as does shooting into the light. For the adventurous, it’s often possible to get in the water with your normal camera with waders or a wetsuit, once you have cautiously checked where you’ll be standing without your camera! A waterproof compact camera or waterproof housing enables immersion and you to experiment with being really close to the surface with confidence. Shooting into the light makes the water droplets glow, combining this with a slow shutter speed gives lovely arced traces.

Sailing

Yachts can be incredibly picturesque with so many ways to shoot them. Headlands and jetties make superb vantage points to get closer to the action and if you are able to get on the water, lucky you – even more options! Be selective & decide what you want in the picture. Often intentionally excluding part of the sails or scenery strengthens the image.

The compression from long telephoto lenses can be very effective in making racing yachts look closer together than they really are; if you’re near to the action, going wide can emphasise the many curved shapes.

Take a large absorbent cloth to wipe off any splashes and frequently check your lens is clean, unless you want a more abstract image. Look to utilise spray to add drama, slight blurring is often more effective than everything frozen static, try a range of shutter speeds. If you get the chance, zoom in on preview to inform you how to change.

Surfing

Every wave is unique. This presents a wonderful challenge to find key moments in the interaction between surfer and wave face. Anticipation helps you compose and time shutter release. Watch waves and surfers without your camera to enhance your understanding of the moves before launching into picture making mode.

Think about shutter speed and keeping your camera steady if using a long lens. A polariser can control glint off the water in some lighting conditions as well as enhance colour of the water and sky. A tripod with a loose setting on the head provides stability yet enables movement to track the surfer, just remember not to completely let go of your camera! Getting into the water with a waterproof camera provides many more opportunities to find great angles. Surf magazines favour shots made with a very wide lens and being very close to the action. However, you need to know where to swim to avoid the twin dangers created by surfboard and breaking wave.

Kitesurfing and Windsurfing

Both of these water sports provide fast and frequently colourful action with riders jumping and rotating in a myriad of impressive ways. Often the turns are close to the shore so you are able to get some strong frame-filling pictures. Foil-boarding is surging in popularity this year. A hydrofoil lifts board and rider out of the water to ride above the waves. It looks very graceful, yet the wipe-outs can be spectacular!

Because of the length of the kite lines, it can be tricky to get both the kite and rider in the frame whilst making it a compelling image. Generally the kiter provides the more interesting subject matter. Think about your viewpoint to get the angle of light, backlit sheets of spray look wonderful. With windsurfing, the rider, board and sail are much more compact, so work with the different angles to get some dynamism into you shot. Be bold and eschew that level horizon!

Taking in the scene

If you’re an aficionado of ‘street’ photography, then a busy beach will provide you with a constantly changing range of possibilities as people enjoy their free time engaging with The Great Outdoors.

Think about using wider lenses, a low viewpoint, possibly even camera movement with a slow shutter speed. It may be that an opposite approach works best for where you are. Are the colours working for you, or might Black and White create stronger pictures? Compose accordingly.

An alternative challenge is to choose a specific picture format such as square and composing and working solely in this. Then consider a different aspect ratio and shoot to it. It’s amazing how it improves your compositional skills by moving around the zones of importance in the frame.

An alternative challenge is to choose a single lens – a 50mm prime is often a popular choice.

So there we have it – Baxter’s top tips for capturing great images this summer.  Enjoy and be safe everyone – and take some great pictures!

Don’t forget we love to see your images, so do feel free to share them on our Facebook page.  And don’t forget to enter ‘The Great Outdoors’ Digital Splash Award – via our FB page in July. There’s £50 of Wilki vouchers for the winner as well as winning images to be showcased in the exhibition at our Digital Splash event in November.

Baxter Bradford is a professional photographer who loves to be active in, on or near the water. With a background in Engineering and Teaching, he has a huge enthusiasm for sharing knowledge and improving understanding. He also has a well stocked ‘toy’ cupboard of camera and watersports equipment!

Baxter Bradford – www.baxterbradford.com

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