The Lowestoft Smack Race and The Clean Lens

I had arranged for a group of colleagues to photograph the Lowestoft Smack Race

from the sea with a trip on a motor cruiser.

A few days before the event in 2022 it was not going the happen but a lucky

telephone call to a rib owner and we were all set to go. On the day there was a brisk

wind and a very lumpy sea.

As soon as we were off Lowestoft ready for the race to start, we were getting

covered in heavy spray. It was difficult to keep cameras dry and no chance of

changing a lens. The only thing to do was hide your lens and camera in your

waterproof coat, our shoes and trousers were already soaked through.

It is not surprising that my images had some signs of water drops on the prints.

Having taken so much trouble to keep the lens clear I should have looked at the

magnified images before printing. But I didn’t and quite rightly when they were

judged in a competition, I lost several points.

The moral of this story is always use the image of a magnifying glass before you

print.