Summer Games: Swimming

[Rita]

And the last one for now is some swimming. This I found quit difficult to get the timing right. I won't mention how many images I got of just splashes in the water. These are just a few of the best that I got in this sport.

Again C&C is most welcomed.

1.


2.


3.


4.


5.


6.

[dje]

Good action shots Rita. I particularly like number 3.

Dave

[IzzieK]

No 1 is very nice, good exposure, nice colours, good amount of spray...excellent.
#2 hmm...I guess a floater is an interesting addition.
#3, 4, 5 and 6 are excellent action shots. 'Don't have room to complain (as if I will...)...they are all nicely exposed and good timing on those...I am still worried about #2...I sincerely think it is a funny shot -- I hate backstroking, I ingest quite a belly full of water...

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[Mike Buckley]

The combination of light, dynamic action (mouth fully open, arms extended to the rear, head extended forward) and color make the last one my favorite.

You mentioned that it was difficult to get the timing right. Did you use the shutter mode that allows you to hold the shutter release down, allowing the shutter to be automatically released multiple times per second? I ask because that would seem to eliminate the need for timing.

Did you use a polarizer?

[Rita]

Thank you Dave, Izzie, and John.

Izzie, I kick myself because when I posted #2 I intended to explain the image but for what ever reason I didn't. There was a special olymics division in some of the sports. This young man was one of the special olympians. The only stroke he could do was a very awkward version of some kind of stroke. It was resembling a breast stroke but done on his back. He was really slow, advancing only about a foot with each stroke. When the other racers were finished their race they all waited for this young
man to finish, cheering him on all the way. The theme of the games was "Rise Above, Reach Beyond". In myself I felt that he represented the theme. Sorry I didn't explain this before.

[Mike Buckley]

What a great story!

[Shanghai Steve]

I'm jealous of those swimmers. Shanghai has been extremely hot these last few days. I'd give a month's rent to be teleported to a clean loch for 3 hours!
Good shots. Strong colours, good Tv and focus. Clean and straightforward.
I assume you took these in multishot mode or equiv?
I had a hell of a time catching F1 cars, but swimmers aren't that fast. 😊

[Donald]

Just noticed this thread. Again, Rita, a really high quality set of images. As Mike stated in the 'Baseball' thread, to have produced images like this at your first time of shooting sports, is mightily impressive. There are many who've been doing this as amateurs for many years who would love to produce a set of images like this.

Don't feel that what you think of as the high failure rate is somehow and indication of you not being good enough. That why manufacturers make cameras with high burst rates, to help people get 'the decisive moment'. I'll bet that if you were to photograph 3 or 4 swim meets, by the 5th one your delete rate would be far, far lower. It's all about understanding the sport so well that you can then anticipate what's going to happen next and be ready for it.

[Rita]

Mike, yes I did shoot with burst mode. The challenge with the swimmers was getting the timing right so the swimmers head was out of the water. It boggled me how difficult this was for me to do. Nearing the end of the swimming things kicked in and my timing worked better As for the polarizer....I seem to have a mental block when it comes to this, always think of it after the fact. Sometimes I think that I should just put it on my lens and leave it there then I will have no excuse for not using it.

[Rita]

Thanks Steve. See my reply to Mike.

[Rita]

Donald, so true what you are saying. The ability to predict what is going to happen is a real advantage. It was interesting throughout the weekend seeing how each sport had it's own set of challenges. I think that a lot of the fun was finding the solution to the challenges.

[Mike Buckley]

When shooting outdoors, always ask yourself why you would not use a polarizer. That's because there will almost always be a lot fewer answers to that question than to the question about why you would use it.

[Rita]

Mike, I will work on getting into the habit of using it. The sad part is that it is always in my camera bag so I really have no excuse for not using it.

[bnnrcn]

Super set Rita, my fav is the last one

[Rita]

Thanks Binnur. On this set it is my fav too.

[IzzieK]

Rita, it is called backstroke. I thought I mentioned it in my post. One the requirements of passing my PE in high school was taking up swimming or ROTC or some kind of athletics. I chose swimming and I almost failed in backstroke at the finals. I had ingested that much water five feet near the wall and sank. Even the lifeguard couldn't believe I was drowning at 5' -- I got an A minus on PE. and an incident I will not forget in my entire life.

Thank you Dave, Izzie, and John.


Izzie, I kick myself because when I posted #2 I intended to explain the image but for what ever reason I didn't. There was a special olymics division in some of the sports. This young man was one of the special olympians. The only stroke he could do was a very awkward version of some kind of stroke. It was resembling a breast stroke but done on his back. He was really slow, advancing only about a foot with each stroke. When the other racers were finished their race they all waited for this young
man to finish, cheering him on all the way. The theme of the games was "Rise Above, Reach Beyond". In myself I felt that he represented the theme. Sorry I didn't explain this before.