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.