International award winning marine photographer, Rich Page must have one of the best jobs going – you’ll find him poised behind a salty lens at one glamour-packed sailing event or another around the world.
Sailing, skiing and climbing as soon as he could toddle, Rich was set for a career in the great outdoors from an early age. Camera firmly in hand, he hit the water and started freelancing at well-respected sailing events such as the Volvo Ocean Race and the Americas Cup. The results earned him a series of subsequent high-profile commissions.
Several years on, Rich’s work has made many front pages and is often featured in leading publications, from the New York and London Times to National Geographic and Yachting World. He has an envious client list and was recently picked as official photographer for the Breitling MedCup regatta series, a Med-based event where sailing ‘rock stars’ jostled with fellow sailors the King of Spain and Norway during races, and Eva Herzigova turned up on the pontoons to claim her share of the flash-light!
Current projects include work covering the Americas Cup in Valencia, Spain, the SuperYacht Cup in Palma, and various Royal Yachting Association powerboat events around the UK.
Rich still has ambitions to achieve, however, and hopes to secure a place as on-board media person/stills camera man on the next Volvo Ocean Race, an epic event that sees crews of 10 sail some of the fastest boats in the world 39,000 miles around the globe in the toughest conditions imaginable.
You can see Rich’s stunning images, from wrecks to rock stars, on his website, www.richard-page.com. A supported NPS member, Rich works through even the harshest of environments known to a photographer with his trusted and dependable Nikon equipment.
Interview with Richard Page
Which was your most memorable shoot?
The 2002 British big boat trophy in Sydney, where I sailed onboard Sean Langman’s 66ft Grundig. The boat was simply awesome, and it was unimaginable to be on-board among a fleet of the worlds top sailing teams. Two days later on Boxing-Day, I covered my first Sydney to Hobart race, another wave- and adrenaline-charged event that sticks in my mind.
Which regatta do you like most and why?
That’s a tough question to answer, as there are so many that I love, and for such a variety of reasons!. The Super Yacht Cup in Palma is up there for the awesome sight of over £1 billion’s worth of 100, 200 and even 300-foot yachts racing each other round the buoys.
After that, it would have to be the Transpacific 52’s (TP52) Breitling MedCup; 6 regattas in 6 sunny venues dotted around the Med, each one offering an incredible selection of scenery, light and spectacle.
What is your advice when photographing in bad weather?
Wear a waterproof jacket!
What is your biggest concern regarding your equipment beyond the risk of it falling into water?
Electrical failure is always a worry when you’re counting on those split-second shots. Salt-spray is also a major concern; waterproof housing can be used for on-board work or for dunking at the marks to get underwater shots of the fleet passing, but they are clumsy and you cant use big lenses with them.
What do you like most about your work?
Spending time on and or around water and like-minded people. I like to see peoples’ reaction to my work after a shoot or to see my work published on a cover of a book or magazine. I am my own worst critic so to hear others views on my work is vital to me.
What do you think is the most difficult part of your work?
It has to be dealing with Mother Nature and all that she can throw at you.
Photographing from the yacht, is there any particular shot that is most challenging to take well?
In the main the more challenging the shot the more rewarding I find it. With yacht photography, hard work definitely pays off in the quality of the end product. Shooting from on-board a rocky yacht, often in big swells, taking any action shot is a challenge, and it’s all about timing it right. Below decks, it’s always dark, damp, and often very humid, so as soon as you go down there your kit steams up. Shooting back from the bow can be a great shot with the water crashing over you and running down the deck to the crew working away on deck, but these shots require a waterproof housing and steady legs!
