Photography at Sea – techniques for capturing amazing photographs afloat

by Patrick Roach and Fred Barter
Review by Tony Roddam

Patrick Roach learned his craft in the swinging sixties at the side of one of fashion photography’s greats, Terence Donovan, but quickly left behind the frills of the catwalk for the spills of maritime photography.

In his book Photography at sea – techniques for capturing amazing photographs afloat Roach offers an insight into the peculiar challenges of snapping the maritime community, from yacht racing to sleepy anchorages.

Laced with useful, common-sense advice (including wearing a lifejacket), Roach’s approach is reassuringly straightforward and encouraging: keep it simple, understand the basics, pay attention to composing the picture, and simply be there with a camera in your hand – the last being the traditional mantra of Fleet Street snappers.

Roach is strong on technical tips – I warmed to him for his aperture priority advice (read the book!), which this reviewer considers the secret to most successful photography – and the writing is clear but the dry style does not engage the reader.

His photos are the book’s great strength and weakness. Roach is a superb photographer but the notes reveal most were taken with professional lenses and cameras, rather than the everyday compact cameras talked about at the start of the book and used by the majority of his target audience.

This is the main challenge for the reader – essentially Roach has written two books: a simple everyman’s digital camera guide interwoven with a frequently sophisticated look at yacht photography. For this reviewer it was an uneasy mix.

Paperback book
Published by Adlard Coles Nautical
ISBN 9781408112021
Price: £19.99