I really liked the way these photo awards from the 2010 Lightning North Americans turned out. I provided on the spot printing of the awards for the top 5 Masters and Juniors and the top women. Instead of the traditional (boring) trophy, Metedeconk River Yacht Club decided to go for one of our photo awards packages. The frames were done by MRYC members Carolyn and George Francis. As a sailor, I know I would have loved to get one of these awards.
Sailing Regatta Photo Awards
Justin Chando Wallpaper Series: July 2010
Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. This is the busiest I’ve ever been. I am out shooting at events every single day, and couldn’t be happier.
Enjoy this nice image under the Bay Bridge, in Maryland as your desktop background this month. (Click the image to enlarge.)
How to Make or Break a Junior Sailor this Summer
This is a list I found of things not to do this summer when you’re out on the water. These are just some reminders of things to do to help out a junior sailor and make sure that the summer is enjoyable for all. We all want to be supportive, and make sure that everyone is having a great time. But there are always limits somewhere. This is from Bill Sandberg who is a writer from WindCheck Mag.
Instructor Don’ts
1. Don’t play favorites. It’s easy to spend time with the sailor who wins all the regattas, but it can be far more rewarding to watch a young sailor come out of his or her shell and develop a real love for the sport.
2. Don’t forget that as a role model, the kids will look up to you. If you smoke or show up hung-over, they will think that is cool.
3. Don’t overcoach. At most Opti regattas, the kids do not need to be told the mistakes they just made on the racecourse.They need a water bottle anda hug.
4. Don’t forget that this is not school. It’s meant to be fun. OK, now that I’ve beaten up on the instructors, let’s move to potentially the worst problem – overzealous parents.
Parent Don’ts
1. Don’t help your child rig or unrig their boat. This is something they need to learn themselves, and they’re probably embarrassed by your “help.”
2. Don’t berate an instructor, especially in front of the sailors. This immediately undermines their authority and thus their ability to do their
job. If you have a problem, seek out the program chair or a member of the committee. It will be far more effective.
3. Don’t go to regattas and scream and cheer when your child or your program’s child rounds a mark in a high position. How do you think this makes the kids at the end of the fleet feel? Like losers.
4. Don’t make the first question you ask your child after a regatta, “How’d you finish?” It should be, “Did you have fun?” There are some exceptions to this. If they are older and committed to (racing), it’s OK to ask how they did. These are committed racers, and winning is fun. However, don’t grill them for information. It will come out. Discuss, don’t preach.
I fully realize that the vast majority of instructors and parents are very effective in raising kids to have a lifelong love of the water, but it’s that minority that can ruin a summer for all. If it isn’t fun, then we are not helping to grow our sport.
MUCH MORE: Bill Sandberg has lived his entire life on Long Island Sound, and his sailing resume includes involvement with youth sailing and US SAILING.Bill is not all about the DON’Ts , with the balance of his report providing some of the DOs and the Junior Sailing Association of Long Island Sound http://tinyurl.com/2upz7oz
While we’re on the subject of things not to do….
As a photographer I would add this:
Never get in the way of someone who is working. All the time, somebody sets up right in front of somebody else. It’s one thing if they don’t mean to block your view, but a lot of the time they do it on purpose. There’s plenty of room for everyone. In my opinion, the boat that gets there first should have priority. Can’t we all just get along?
Have a great weekend!
JUSTINCHANDO WALLPAPER SERIES: JUNE 2010
I’m going to try and start to give away a nice free image each month for you to use for your desktop wallpaper… They really won’t be anything from my portfolio but more of the images from my personal work. An image can be made anywhere. There are at least 10 interesting pictures wherever you are right now. This happened to be at the end of my dock just the other day.
Click the image to enlarge it and save it. A gift from me to you.
IS ADVENTURE LOST?
The girl, Abby Sunderland of Thousand Oaks, California, departed alone Jan. 23 in her sailboat Wild Eyes. However you choose to look at it, it is always going to be a daunting task to solo circumnavigate the world. There has been a ton of criticism going around regarding the reason for her failed attempt, whether it is age, experience, or ability.
In regards to all of this, I say this to all of you – what have you done recently that had deserved such criticism? Do you even have the guts, ability, or experience to even dream about doing something like this? It was her decision to go out and try to do this, and as a avid supporter of the sailing and boating industry, I wouldn’t even think of saying that she shouldn’t have done this, in fact I have a ton of respect for Abby and Jessica Watson – who actually did circumnavigate the world, but isn’t being recognized as a true record holder. Both of these sailors are doing great things for our sport. One could argue that the raw sense of adventure is lost in the sport of sailing.
However, I believe that they are bringing back that sense of adventure to the sport of sailing. Together, they actually brought a worldwide level of excitement to sailing. I’m not saying to go out and sail around the world, but if these 16 year old girls have what it takes to sail around the world by themselves, then maybe now you will have the confidence to go out and conquer one of your own lifelong dreams.
Thoughts Behind the All New NEW justinchando.com
I have some really exciting news to share with you today. Today is the official launch of my new website. Over 6 months in planning and design, the new justinchando brand, and web experience is finally out into the world, and I am loving it!
Logo
Let’s start with the brand new logotype. I worked with my friends over at Brand Envy in Seattle to develop the new look. I wanted something fresh and exciting. My favorite color is and always has been blue. The new logo just looks great on everything, and it symbolizes my love for the water. I couldn’t be happier.
Web
The new site is completely custom designed to my specs. It sports a cool water background and tons of pictures. Let me share with you some of my favorite new features that are really cool.
The New Sail Number Search
That’s right! I’m so stoked about this. All you have to do to view the images of YOU when you go to the new www.justinchando.com is just type in your sail number. When you do this, you will instantly see every image I have ever taken of you at any of the events! It is that simple. We are making it 100% easier for you to quickly find the images you want to see.
New Event Gallery
The new event gallery houses a massive 15,000 images that I’ve taken at different events. It also has the capacity to grow even more with all of the events I have coming up. There are so many things to look at, but with the new sail number search it makes it all so much easier. If you go to the event gallery you’ll find that in the top right corner you can simply type in your sail number and hit enter to see the images. It is also completely customized to stay consistent with my brand. When viewing images, you’ll find intuitive navigation, and easy ways to purchase beautiful prints, products, and digital downloads.
New Blog
Since you are reading this right now, you might have noticed that this space is completely new and redesigned. In the world we live in, there’s more ways than ever to connect and share. This blog is now the hub for all of that in my life. It’s completely integrated with my other sites, and the navigation is again, consistent. For you techies, I coded it myself, and the backend is provided by WordPress.
Portfolios
Viewing my work is even cooler than ever. The different sections are right there in your face with little descriptions of each portfolio. I have a ton of new work that no one has ever seen before like the “travels” and “winter at the beach” portfolios. Check them out, I hear there’s some pretty cool pictures in there.
iPhone/iPad site
I also have a separate site that’s made just for the iPhone and iPad devices. It utilizes the touch screen interface and looks great. Check out justinchando.com on your iPhone or iPad. It’s pretty slick.
As you can see, there was a ton of work that was involved in creating such a cool new web experience. This was all made possible by my awesome clients. I would like to thank all of you for supporting me and my work.
I’d also like to thank Nadine and the Brand Envy team, Dayle Hendrickson (designer) at liveBooks, and my friends at Photoshelter. It took a whole team to do this.
Hope you enjoy the new features!
SUMMER IS NEAR
I’m so excited for this summer. I’ve been out on my boat a bunch of times now. I thought I would share these images with you. I took these this past week. I’ve been trying to shoot more and more as the weather gets nicer.
Happy Memorial Day Weekend all. Have a great one.
justin j chando SHORT: ISLAMORADA SAILING
I’ve been sailing most of my life, and this is one of my favorite sailing moments ever. Honestly, there’s nothing better than sailing in the ocean with a great amount of wind, in a paradise land, and I’m happy to share this amazing moment with all of you.
MEGA LEGIT
If you haven’t heard of the SlouchBack, where have you been? It’s an awesome new product that literally converts your bed into a nice comfy couch.
Anyway, check out this hilarious new video that they just came out with, and then get your life together and get yourself a SlouchBack.
My friends at SlouchBack are offering all of my blog readers $5.00 off the SlouchBack AND Free Shipping if you use the promo code “JUSTINC” in the checkout.
You do want to be “mega legit” right?
Check out the SlouchBack at www.SlouchBack.com
View the Justin Chando Nautical Photography Portfolio | Contact Justin
IN THE WAKE OF A VICTORY
After 15 years without the America’s Cup in the United State’s possession, on February 14, BMW Oracle was able to bring the cup back to where it belongs. Larry Ellison’s incredible “sailboat from the future”, sporting a revolutionary vertical stiff-wing sail was able to out-pace Ernesto Bertarelli’s Alinghi.
It is absolutely proven that BMW Oracle was a much better, and faster boat. On Sunday, in merely 8 knots of wind, Oracle flew at more than 30 knots. To me, it is absolutely incredible to think that a 114 foot sailboat can go three times the speed of the wind. The trimaran is extremely light-weight and certainly revolutionary.
Basically, the “On the Wing Sail” makes the BMW Oracle exceptionally unique. As you can see the wing on this sail acts just like an airplane wing, where there is high pressure on one side, and a lower pressure on the other. There are two sections of the width of the wing. The first half, or the main wing, is stationary, and the second part, or the flap is completely controllable. You can actually “bend” the wind to thrust the boat forward. They say that because of this technology, it allows them to get those top boat speeds of about three times the speed of the wind.
Obviously, this wing is absolutely massive. You can see that it is almost double one of the wings on the A380, and it is almost the same size as the complete wingspan of the Airbus!
What was almost the most impressive was just how much they beat the catamaran Alinghi. In race 1, BMW Oracle crossed the line 15 minutes and 28 seconds before Alinghi. Oracle was simply pointing noticeably higher than Alinghi whenever they were sailing upwind They were also just sailing faster. In race 2, the final delta was 5 minutes and 25 seconds.
I was fortunate to be able to watch the races live, on the internet. It was great to see an absolutely technically driven sailboat race, where the better engineered design was the winner. You can talk all about the drama leading up to the race, but all in all it was an extremely important regatta for sailing. I hope we don’t have to wait another three years to see another America’s Cup race.
*Photos by Gilles Martin-Raget / www.bmor-photo.com*
View the Justin Chando Nautical Photography Portfolio | Contact Justin
