Whenever I visit the coast, West Coast or East Coast, one of my favorite things to do is to photograph fishing harbors. There is so much to see and photograph in these condensed areas! If you want to capture the essence of a coastal community, what better way than to visit and photograph their harbor. I am fortunate here in Oregon that I have a couple of fantastic fishing harbors to visit along the Oregon Coast; my favorites being Newport and then Charleston.
I recently spent a week along the Central Oregon Coast in a small town called Yachats (which happens to be where I spent my summer childhood) and also happens to be where I run an intensive photo workshop. Yachats itself doesn’t have a fishing harbor, but the town of Newport is only 25 miles away and they have one of my favorite harbors to photograph. It is home to a commercial crabbing and fishing fleet, which was featured on the Discovery show Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove. Since I’m at the coast frequently, I try to stop by this harbor at least a couple of times per year as the inspiration strikes.
Within harbors, you may find that not every dock is open to the general public. Some may be blocked by locked gates that are only open to boat owners who have moorage there. However, when you do find a harbor and dock that is open to the public, the best way to photograph fishing harbors is to get down with the boats, up close and personal. The docks in Newport are wide open to the public and you can freely walk amongst the moored boats and even interact with the crews who are typically working on the boats while in port.
Yaquina Harbor in Newport Oregon from a previous visit during winter
What Do You Photograph?
Wow, well, there is SO MUCH that can be done in a harbor. From literal documentary shots to wildly abstract shots. For me, I like to focus on textures, colors and shapes whenever I photograph a fishing harbor. There is an endless supply of compositions depending on what I feel like shooting. Each boat, especially if they are commercial boats, are typically well used and have a rich and deep story to tell, from rust to dents to peeling paint, to the rigging or piles of gear on deck.
Fish hooks in a tub waiting to go to sea
Well used floats hang on the side of a boat
Bow line-up in Yaquina Bay harbor
A wall of floats hanging in Charleston harbor
In addition to the literal objects you can find on and around fishing boats, if the water is calm, you can spend hours playing with reflections in the water. This is where I do a lot of my abstract work when I photograph fishing harbors. You do need to have the right conditions, with little to no wind, so the water is calm and provides a mirror-like reflection.
How Do You Photograph Fishing Harbors?
What Lens to use…
Of course, it depends! It depends on what you want to photograph and how you want to do it. For me, I am really focused on the details on and around the boats so I like to get as close as possible. Wide angle shots of harbors often times end up looking like postcards to me, not very artistic, so I don’t often shoot with a wide POV. Remember, most times you can’t actually get ON the boats, you can only stand on the dock next to the boats to photograph them. So, I prefer to have a long(er) zoom lens as my weapon of choice. I typically reach for my Fujinon XF100-400mm lens as my first go-to lens. If time permits, I may walk the docks a second time with a different lens, most often the Fujinon 50-140mm lens to give me a little wider perspective.
There are times when my subject is too close for the 100-400mm, so I’ll either move further away and see if I can still get a shot, or if I really want the image, then I’ll change to a different focal length lens. There are details right at your feet on the dock that you may want to photograph, so keep a lens with a closer focusing distance handy.
Camera Settings
In general, you don’t have to be too particular with your settings, so don’t get stressed out about the “right” settings. When I photograph fishing harbors, I typically have my aperture set between f/8 and f/11 to get a moderate depth of field for most of the shots I like to do. Of course, if you want to blur the background of any of your shots, then having a wider aperture will do that for you. I try to keep my ISO as low as possible at all times (though most modern cameras do well at higher ISOs). And for shutter speeds, this is something you do need to pay attention to. Why? Don’t forget that the boats are floating and are moving around all the time, sometimes visibly and sometimes very subtly. It’s important to have a high enough shutter speed to stop any motion that may be present in the boats movement.
Weather
Here’s where you don’t have any control! The ideal conditions to photograph fishing harbors is during overcast skies, or even rainy conditions. The soft diffuse light is perfect for minimizing harsh shadows and allowing you to capture the full texture and color of what you’re shooting. Doing this in bright sunlight is still possible, but you have to be more selective in your shots. There are so many details in and around fishing boats and each one has the potential to cast a distracting shadow or simply the dynamic range of the shadows to highlights is so great that you’ll end up clipping your histogram. So on sunny days, find those shots that are facing the sun and are fully illuminated, or fully hidden in shadow, so that you can have a better overall exposure across the image.
Foggy conditions made for an amazing wide angle shot in Charleston harbor
Get Creative
As I said above, when you photograph fishing harbors, there is so much to shoot and its a great time to experiment and let your creativity run free. Experiment, shoot things you wouldn’t normally try, tell a story through the textures, patterns, colors and shapes. If you need some focus or structure, you could create some themes for yourself to go after, such as “rigging”, “floats”, “reflections”, “rust” or whatever focused subject ignites your creative passion. I often just move along the docks looking for something to catch my eye, and if something does, I then stop to figure out how to photograph it in the best possible way. I don’t generally have any pre-conceived notions (nor pre-visualized) the shots I want to get when I visit a harbor. Because each visit is never the same, my visits are an opportunistic exercise, seeing what presents itself during my visit. And, the boats in harbors move around and vary from visit to visit, so I never know exactly what I will find.
Recent Trip
Here are a few shots from my recent visit to Yaquina Bay harbor in Newport Oregon. Of course, it was bright and sunny, the worst possible conditions. However, that just made me work a bit harder to come home with shots that I’m happy with.
The symmetry of circles lined up foreground and background
Faded letters and chipped paint with rust tell a unique story
Tub of fish hooks and line waiting to get to work
Orange floats backlit by the sun
The green patina on a ships bell contrasting against the red trim with the gritty anchor chain in the foreground
You can even find somewhat humorous images or ones that tell a bit of the life of a fisherman
Abstract shot of the bow of a ship
Knotted rope on the bow of a ship acting as a cushion against impacts
Conclusion
When you do find yourself along a coastline, do yourself a favor and photograph fishing harbors. It might not be your “thing”, but give it a try. Shooting different subjects helps to build and strengthen our creative muscles so that when you are photographing your favorite subjects, your creativity will be stronger. Plus, just being exposed to different subjects, textures, colors, shapes can awaken unknown areas of our creativity that we didn’t know we had. Spend a few minutes walking around the fishing vessels and enjoy the experience!
I do run several workshops along the Oregon coast which include visits to fishing harbors. Please visit my workshop page to learn more about my workshop offerings.
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