Dennis Murray Photography - Atlanta, Georgia » Swimming

Finding Artistry in the Pool

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 22:18:00 +0000

In my second outing for swimming this year, I wanted to find some of the beauty of the sport.

In this example, I used the 300mm lens. At the right distance, it compresses items and makes them appear closer together – in this case, making the lane dividers appear stacked.

Swimmers in lanes 1 and 2 are close enough to touch – or in the case of a longer lens, isolate on the face.

Slightly different distance and viewpoint again with a 300mm lens. This time the swimmers in the background create a repetition of the first swimmer’s arm.

I used a longer exposure time – 1/30 of a second instead of 1/400 second – to allow some of the swimmer’s motion to blur as well as create the flowing water effect. The shot is a low percentage outcome – between the motion of the swimmer, and the risk of the camera shaking in your hands, there is a lot of chance to miss the shot. I’ve used these shutter speeds regularly for motorsports, so it’s a technique I’ve honed over time.

Wait for the Reaction

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 02:00:22 +0000

In some events where the action makes for less than compelling photos – like 50 meter freestyle swimming heats – the reaction shots are better than the action.

Four Looks for Swim

admin — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:53:11 +0000

Swimming is a challenging sport to cover. Held indoors under usually dim lighting, with the added difficulty of constant splashing, the photographer is challenged to find the swimmer’s face and freeze the motion. The photographer needs to think more conceptually in some cases to find the best images. The techniques can vary based on stroke.

Backstroke: Waiting for the start

Backstroke actually has an advantage in the pool – the swimmer is face up, with light falling directly on their face and usually swimming at a slower pace. However, a great photograph can be found at the start – with the swimmers anticipating the start. There’s great repetition that helps frame and isolate my subject.

Butterfly: In Full Flight

The strongest swimmers of the butterfly project themselves fully out of the water – and in that moment they pause perfectly. Time your shot well and you get them clear of the water with very little splashing.

Breast Stroke: Pop Up Photo

Like butterfly, the strongest swimmers in the breast stroke pop up well clear of the surface of the water for a big breath. The strength of the swimmers changes a lot between junior high and high school so this image is stronger in high school.

Freestyle and Relays: On the Block

Shorter distance freestyle races (and relays) mean a lot of splashing. Depending on the swimmer, especially at lower levels, they may be biased towards breathing only to one side. This severely limits the ability to get a clean photograph. Waiting on the block is usually the cleanest photograph you can get – and you get a lot of intensity in the eyes and face.

From the Cold to the Sauna: Swim and Dive

admin — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 22:03:52 +0000

After spending several cold and wet nights in the rain at GAC Football games, I switched gears to cover the Varsity swimming and diving team. GAC’s great Aquatic Center is my favorite current venue on the campus (although it will surely be eclipsed by the Long Forum when it opens next year.)

Swimming and diving is a good change of pace from most team sports I regularly cover. There’s a lot of athletes to cover, there is constant action, and there are opportunities to go different directions.

Something Different: Swimming and Diving

admin — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 23:21:47 +0000

Since I’ve started blogging, I’ve primarily been covering football. That’s part of the nature of living in the Atlanta area, and more generally the south – high school and college football is the king of sports here.

With the seasons changing, winter sports are starting. Among those is Swimming and Diving. Greater Atlanta Christian has a beautiful swim center that opened last winter for one meet. This year, it will host several. Among the best features of this building is the light. It has some daylight (although not today due to the time of day) but also excellent artificial lights that have a nice soft, diffused output (bounced off the inside of the roof) with a nice consistent color temperature throughout the building. And a rarity in high school structures – it has enough light to shoot natural light at good shutter speeds. It really gives color a great punch.

One more note on lighting – it generally is not accepted to use flash or strobes at swimming. One of the signals for the start is strobe flash.

Diving is a difficult sport to shoot. At this event, only the 1 meter springboard was used, which means most of the divers’ didn’t achieve enough height to clear the background. Some did – which greatly improved the results.

Some strokes photograph better than others. Breast stroke is great to shoot. The key is getting the swimmer with the head fully out of the water and mouth opening to breathe. You can shoot from head on or the side.

Butterfly also photographs well – but only from the front. The best swimmers get high out of the water. You have to be careful not to clip hands and arms.

Swimming also gives a lot of time for off-action shots – like waiting on the start. I liked the repetition here with the second swimmer in the background.

There’s also a lot of downtime for the swimmers – which is a great opportunity for candids as they interact with teammates. I’ll often use my 300/2.8 for candids – it keeps me out of the interaction but allows for tight framing.