The woman behind the lens

Sharon Green

Sharon Green consistently presents the world of racing’s eye-catching moments from spectacular vantages on the water or high above in a helicopter. Ross Tibbits checks in with the woman behind the lens for Latitude 38 magazine:

Years ago when I first started working at Latitude 38, I was instructed, when out on the water, to take lots of “splashy” and exciting racing pictures (Thank you, LaDonna). Sounded simple enough, but real-world experience taught me to truly respect those who are able to capture the sport’s most vivid and dramatic moments.

If conditions are good and there’s lots of wind, be prepared to get tossed about the photoboat with reckless abandon (on the bow), spend lots of time cleaning saltwater off your lenses, and keep the camera on the subject matter, focused and ideally composed (try doing this while driving a small dinghy yourself!). At the end of the day, the joy of sifting through 600+ images awaits you so that you can find just a few that meet your editorial needs. It’s challenging work in the best of times.

One of the world’s top sailing photographers, with whom many of Latitude’s readers are familiar, is Sharon Green. Sharon consistently presents the world of racing’s eye-catching moments from spectacular vantages on the water or high above in a helicopter. But who is Sharon, and how did she get to where she is today? As it turns out, her personal life and her professional career are deeply intertwined.

“I grew up in Canada just outside of Toronto,” Sharon says. And, just as casually, she mentions that her father, Donald M. Green, at age 18 was the sole Canadian aboard Irving and Electra Johnson’s brigantine Yankee on one of their around-the-world voyages. “He had seen Irving Johnson speak at one of his lectures in town, and he applied for a position to sail on the boat — that experience around the world really shaped his life — he kind of passed that down to me.” In fact, he’d kept detailed, typed journals of the whole experience as well as handwritten letters to his mother and father — material that was the basis of White Wings Around the World, published in 1953 with co-author Jessie L. Beattie. – Full story

Editor’s note: The demise of Key West Race Week ended our annual pilgrimage to hang out with Sharon, toting her gear in roller igloo coolers, watching this five-foot nothing manhandle the long lens, and listening to this brilliant tactician guide her driver to the perfect angle. Thanks Sharon!