Andrew James
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Fjord focus
I am taking a Norwegian fjord cruise. I use a monopod rather than a tripod; do I need to worry about ship movement? John Laidlaw That sounds like a superb trip, John – and you are absolutely right that you need to consider the ship’s vibration and movement.
I’ve spent a lot of time photographing from ships in the South Atlantic, and will be exploring the fjords of Greenland by ship this summer. It’s never easy whether the ship is moving or static. Try photographing flying birds in a gale on a ship that’s being tossed about by mountainous waves and you’ll discover what I mean, although I suspect your trip along the Norwegian fjords will be much less dramatic!
Definitely take your monopod, as that will help you keep things steady; but the key to getting sharp shots is to keep your Nikon camera’s Vibration Reduction switched on and to ensure that shutter speeds are high. This will probably mean shooting at higher ISO settings than you are used to.
Typically for landscape shots, you’ll expect to be using your lowest ISO setting; but from the ship, be prepared to shoot at ISO 400 or even ISO 800 to make sure you avoid any chance of subject blur due to the shutter speed dropping too low. For example, on your 18-55mm lens I would keep the shutter speed over 1/125 sec; and for your telephoto lens I’d suggest a minimum of 1/500 sec. If you need to drop below these benchmarks at any point, check the resulting images very closely.
Even when you are using a monopod and the ship is static, there is still a real chance of the vibration from the ship’s engine being conducted through it. You can dampen this down by putting a cushion on the deck and placing the foot of the monopod on it. Alternatively, you can even use your own foot as a rest for the monopod, just lifting your toes off the deck itself.