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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Girls Swimming, High School Conference Championship | |
Karr,
I only get to shoot swimming about 3 x a year, so I'm hardly a great expert. I also have the luxury of shooting outside. (There are virtually no indoor pools here in the desert.) I remember clearly the first time I shot a swim meet thinking, "How hard can this be? Everything is in a straight line. It's broad daylight. Nothing is in the way." Little did I know.) Well the water in many ways becomes the most important thing. I assume you posted for feedback so please take my remarks in the constructive way they are intended.
Something - I'm guessing it's the interaction between the flash and the reflective quality of water - has made the water, particularly the splash, take on a plasticy/crispy look. You haven't numbered your shots but looking at the first two breaststrokers the water flowing off the faces and swirling around them just doesn't look "right." If you look carefully at the splash to the right of the first swimmer you'll note that the brilliance of the water is completely blown out. In sunlight (or I'm guessing non-flash light) the spray will go to translucent, brilliant but it won't go to white blobs. It might be possible with some selective work to take these extremes down and get some of the "texture" of the water back, but that's likely to be more work than it's worth. One thing you might consider is shooting without the flash. I don't know what the ambient is like, but it would likely be worth trying at least a few with natural light.
The second issue is the swimming up hill. The tight cropped freestylers (#5) show this the most. Because the eye knows water is flat and the viewer is put off by the apparent incline. Most of your shots (particularly for breast, back, and fly) are straight on head shots and while the head is all one can see in many strokes varying how you shoot it (side, get low, play with when/where the face breaks the plane of the water can provide more interest. I also work on trying to get turns, the expression on the face when a swimmer hits the wall at finish. Starts are an incredible challenge as they are nearly always the face is down. I do get some interesting pix shooting across the lanes particularly at a start or sometimes at the finish where there are multiple swimmers hitting the wall. Jub shots, coach or team accolades, even parents/teammates shouting can provide interest.
I shoot standing, kneeling, squatting, sitting, even laying flat. I'm always sopping wet at the end of a meet. I really commiserate with your loss of information on who's in what heat. I shoot the county championships in July which have ~500 swimmers in 75+ heats. The only way I've been able to keep things straight is that I get in good with the meet director and provide the time/place recorders a spreadsheet of the events/names of the the local kids I'm supposed to be covering. All they have to do is put in a 1,2,3 and a time. Works really well and I make sure in the July heat to keep them supplied whatever cold liquid they are drinking.
I'm sure you'd agree that shooting swimming is a whole lot harder than most people realize.
Robert
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