Behind the shot – Richard Mille Cup, Falmouth

by Paul Gibbins Photography 8 Jun 15:55 UTC

Some more Photographs from the Richard Mille Cup Classic Yacht racing event in Falmouth recently. Paul Gibbins Photography, based in the South West, visited on Day three of racing to capture some amazing images.

If you like sailboats, you can’t help be drawn to a Classic Yacht. There’s something extremely photogenic about something so nostalgic, detailed, traditional and if you’re lucky, so large. The moving parts of sail canvas, rope, sheets, halyards and blocks are often quite obvious providing a natural interest for photos. The UK doesn’t often see these really big boats, associated with more warmer climes, but being based in Devon, I wasn’t going to miss this unusual event only a short RIB ride away.

Shooting entirely for my own interest, I got lucky with some fantastic crisp Cornish sun, light winds and calm seas. With about a dozen craft sailing gently in Falmouth Bay, the course was huge, allowing plenty of space for spectator boats and chase RIBs to follow and enjoy. By contrast to photographing bigger fleet yacht racing, where keeping out of the way is key, I could relax and get a little closer. These guys were racing, but well spaced apart, no-one had any interest to calling ‘water’ in so precious of yachts.

I normally pack a host of telephoto lens, but for simplicity i went for 300mm & 50mm primes, the latter to get everything in the frame! I enjoy getting close up shots of crew, spoilt for choice with so many required onboard here, but I was also faced with the challenge of capturing some of the ‘grandeur’; the size & scale of these yachts is incredible – a joy to photograph.

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