Category: Photography

Here are my favorite photos from 2023:

March - Tulips in front of the Washington Monument.
March – Tulips in front of the Washington Monument.
June - Outer Banks, North Carolina
June – Outer Banks, North Carolina
July - Melges 15 racing at Fishing Bay Yacht Club
July – Melges 15 racing at Fishing Bay Yacht Club
August - Sunrise paddle on Queens Creek
August – Sunrise paddle on Queens Creek
Queens Creek Sunset
August – Queens Creek sunset
September - J120 sailing at the Stingray Point Distance Race
September – J120 sailing at the Stingray Point Distance Race
September - Sailing under spinnaker under the Norris Bridge
September – Sailing under spinnaker under the Norris Bridge
September - Stingray Point Regatta
September – Stingray Point Regatta
October - Fall colors on Fishing Bay
October – Fall colors on Fishing Bay
October - Fall foliage at Fishing Bay Yacht Club
October – Fall foliage at Fishing Bay Yacht Club
October - Race Committee for the FBYC ILCA Frostbite Regatta
October – Race Committee for the FBYC ILCA Frostbite Regatta
November - Antique car in front of Richmond's Main Street Station
November – Antique car in front of Richmond’s Main Street Station
December - passing the Norris Bridge on the Rappahannock River
December – passing the Norris Bridge on the Rappahannock River

See past years here.

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Allan and Jon starting an ILCA race from the signal boat.
Allan and Jon starting an ILCA race from the signal boat.

For the 2023 FBYC Frostbite Regatta we were short on RC and so I pulled the short straw to run races. Thankfully Allan, Rick and David volunteered to help. We had 10 ILCA and 5 other double handed boats out there too.

ILCA sailing downwind while Flying Scots and Melges 15 sail upwind.
ILCA sailing downwind while Flying Scots and Melges 15 sail upwind.

We didn’t have any wind when we planned on starting so we postponed about an hour. We could see it was coming out of the south and had the fleet out there and got started around 12:15. We ran two different course options and the final race included a 1mi downwind leg to the finish at the FBYC dock.

Rick and David on Marie's Mink setting the starting pin.
Rick and David on Marie’s Mink setting the starting pin.

I also go to try out Allan’s big camera with a monster lens and he tried out my mirrorless camera. It was nice to have a chance to finally photograph some sailing from the water with the Nikon Z50 I had gotten a couple months ago. The other innovation we tried out was a starting countdown timer video connected to a Bluetooth speaker telling us on the signal boat when to raise and lower flags so we didn’t have to keep time ourselves. Needs a few tweaks, but worked pretty well.

Great end to the season and while I’m disappointed I didn’t get to sail, it was nice to make it a great event for everyone and I’m looking forward to getting back out there next year.

EVENT WEBSITE | PICTURES

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Ready to jump back into a new ‘big’ camera. Having had a D70, D3000, D7000 and then a D300s – I found all of those to be big and impractical to lug around and use; I was still taking 95% of my pictures on my iPhone, so when the iPhone 12 Pro came out, I figured I could do without the big camera.

Now that I’ve got better video editing and capture equipment and am trying to do all video in 4k, I wanted something that would give me a little better control and quality. And now that the mirrorless cameras have matured – I think the Z50 is small enough to not feel like I am lugging something huge around – will take good enough pictures to match or beat the iPhone in quality in many situations, and can make use of bigger zoom lenses when I am photographing sailing and want to use the heavy stuff.

Current Camera Equipment:

  • Nikon Z50
  • Nikon Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR
  • Nikon Z DX 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3 VR
  • Nikon Mount Adapter FTZ
  • iPhone 12 Pro
  • Drift XL Pro
  • GoPro Hero 3
  • Olympus Tough TG-6
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Jess on a ILCA

We had a nice weekend with perfect wind and weather for a group of women to participate in the Women’s Sailing Clinic at Fishing Bay Yacht Club. Jess helped organize it while also sailing the ILCA. Jon helped rig Jess’s boat, took pictures on the water, launched boats, and do things behind the scenes.

PICTURES

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On the signal boat for the start of the Down The Bay Race
On the signal boat for the start of the Down The Bay Race

I am in Annapolis with some time to spare before helping with a boat delivery tomorrow so I was able to join the Race Committee for the start of the Down The Bay Race. There were at one point 38 boats signed up, but given the windy and potentially storm conditions of this afternoon – a large number of boats dropped out with only 14 making it to the start. We started out in the bay just outiside of Annapolis at a mark known as R2. Visibility was only a couple miles and the wind was 12-16 out of the south. We rolled through the starts and got the boats going and I took a few photos.

Start of the first two PHRF fleets in the Down The Bay Race.
Start of the first two PHRF fleets.

EVENT WEBSITE | PICTURES

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My latest new camera is the Drift XL Pro. I really wanted a 4k camera with long battery life and this was it with around 4 hours. I really like how easy it is to mount, and if it’s not level, you can simply rotate the lens in any direction for the right orientation. I got it this spring and have been using it for sailing either at the back of the boat on a carbon pole or on the front of my Laser looking back or forward.

Drift XL Pro mounted on the back of a sailboat using a carbon fiber pole and a pole mount.
Jon on the ILCA with the Drift XL Pro on the bow pointed forward. Photo by Paul Almany.
Jon on the ILCA with the Drift XL Pro on the bow pointed forward. Photo by Paul Almany.
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Here are my favorite photos from 2021:

ILCA Sail on a day out for practice in May
ILCA Sail on a day out for practice in May
Portland Head Light during our trip to Maine
Portland Head Light during our trip to Maine
ILCA on the lot at Norfolk Yacht & Country Club during ILCA Nationals
ILCA on the lot at Norfolk Yacht & Country Club during ILCA Nationals
A serene sunset scene on a dock at a friends house in Hampton VA
A serene sunset scene on a dock at a friends house in Hampton VA
Flying Scots sailing downwind at the FBYC 82nd Annual One Design Regatta
Flying Scots sailing downwind at the FBYC 82nd Annual One Design Regatta
ILCA on the starting line at FBYC's 82nd Annual One Design Regatta
ILCA on the starting line at FBYC’s 82nd Annual One Design Regatta
Port tack ILCA on the starting line during the 82nd Annual One Design Regatta at FBYC
Port tack ILCA on the starting line during the 82nd Annual One Design Regatta at FBYC
Sunset from our resort in Maui
Sunset from our resort in Maui
Sunset from our resort in Maui
Sunset from our resort in Maui
Sailing downwind at the 40th Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters Championship
Sailing downwind at the 40th Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters Championship
Cholla Cactus in Joshua Tree National Park
Cholla Cactus in Joshua Tree National Park

See past years here.

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I was at Fishing Bay Yacht Club’s 82nd Annual One Design Regatta to help on RC and I was able to get some good pictures. Here are some of my favorites:

ILCA start with Mr. Roberts pictured
ILCA start with Mr. Roberts pictured
Flying Scots sailing downwind
Flying Scots sailing downwind
ILCA going for the port tack start
ILCA going for the port tack start
Flying Scots beginning a downwind leg
Flying Scots beginning a downwind leg

MORE PICTURES

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