Marko Dimitrijevic: Yacht Photography
Getting the perfect photograph takes many things. Obviously, it takes great skill and an amazing camera. But it also takes patience, luck, and the right conditions. People who have spent thousands of hours honing their photography skills and working on getting that perfect shot can offer endless advice. One piece of advice that many may not consider, however, is location. When you talk to photographers and really ask them how they got some of their best shots, their answers may surprise you. And the most surprising answer that I often give is renting a yacht.
I’ve been photographing the natural world since I was a teenager and have always gravitated towards nature. But nature doesn’t go where we want it to go — we have to go to it. So how do you capture that amazing picture of the vast ocean and a dolphin jumping out of the water? No one has a lens that is long enough to capture that beauty up close from the land. For that reason, you need to rent a yacht and get out into the water to capture those beautiful moments.
One of the interesting things that I’ve enjoyed when photographing on a yacht is the interplay between the yacht and the water. I’ve been able to capture stunning pictures of the waves and the way the yacht creates tension in the water. I’ve also captured moments when fish have swum in the wake, or when they have come to race with the yacht.
Of course, the best use of the yacht is when you turn the motor off, let the water rest, and sit and wait for the natural action to occur. During these moments, you can capture birds, cloud formations and the interplay of various species within the water. If you have a wet suit handy, you can always dive off of the side of the yacht as well, and get face to face with the fish and wildlife under the surface of the water.
Obviously, most of us can’t afford to spend a great deal of time on a yacht. But those pictures that we capture during the hour, or day, that we’ve rented the boat can really add to your portfolio and change the perspective from which you take your photography. It’s very important to continually challenge yourself as a photographer and to force yourself to see things in a new way. When renting a yacht, or going scuba diving, or finding other unusual locations for your photography, you are opening yourself to new and exciting possibilities. And you are capturing those moments that most people don’t get to see, and bringing them to life on a photograph so that others can enjoy it as well.
And that is truly the magic of photography.
