UNDATED – Racing boats speed across the Baltic Sea during the Kiel Week near Kiel in Germany. Scan © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
Here is an unusual, action-packed shot that shows a sailing race on the Baltic Sea. The handwritten comment on the back of the black and print attributes this to the Kiel Week in the 1930s from 20th June to 27th June. There were just two Kiel Weeks that actually started on the 20th of June: the ones in 1931 and 1936. There is no visual hint that it is indeed the bay of Kiel, so we simply have to believe the comment.
The racing yachts raise further questions. The field seems to consist of yachts belonging to the 6 metre class (First Rule). This class was established in 1907 but was already replaced in 1919 by the Second Rule which changed the sail layout significantly.
So, this race could have been either photographed before 1919 but the print does not look to come from that period. More likely the image was shot during a private race of old 6 meter yachts in the 1930s (probably at the 1931 Kiel Week).
The print is pretty large – 9 x 24 cm – and upon first glance of exceptional quality. This is interesting because sailing is a fast pace sport, and everything keeps moving all the time, including the location of the photographer. And so it does not come as a surprise that large parts of the image are blurred. Only the body number 86 and its sailor are sharp and focused. The photographer most likely had to use a wide open aperture to achieve a sufficiently fast speed.
But this does not affect the magic of this shot – sailors in their fast yachts try to beat their competitors on the open sea.
This is a stunning photo for sailing enthusiasts that illustrates the topic of (speed) sailing perfectly – a beautiful maritime decoration for your home or your office.
Design ideas
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | c. 1931 |
| Photographer | unknown |
| Location | Kiel, Germany |
| Image Source | 9 x 24 cm black and white print |
| Digital Image Source | EPSON Perfection 4870 Photo |
| Digital Image Source Format | TIFF, 48 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 21972 x 7608 Pixels |
| Copyright | Scan © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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