Speed Through Water

A swimmer slices through the water bringing up a graceful curve of water. Canon EOS 7D EF 100-400 at 210mm f/5 1/800 ISO 200

At the BC Summer Games of 2010 the triathlon events were in a small artificial lake, this made for not very interesting swimming as they went around in laps but it did make for some very good opportunities for photographers.  The light was strong but still had some interesting characteristics especially as it play over the water.  I could see that the most interesting time to take a photograph would be as the swimmer came up for a breath and her arm was reaching forward with a trailing stream of water.  I set my shutter speed high and worked on trying to get the timing right.  A long lens that I had rented for the occasion and a motor drive that would fire at 8fps both helped to catch that decisive moment when the swimmer was up for a breath, her arm was over her head and the trail of water had not yet fallen back.   It took many tries and yielded some other interesting photos but this is the best of those. 

-Russell Berg

A triathlete emerges from the water running hard before the water has even run off her body. Canon EOS 7D EF 100-400 at 100mm f/4 1/800 ISO 400

Getting a still photograph to elicit a feeling of movement and speed can be a difficult thing.  Here at the same event I allowed the water to continue to help tell the story.  The iconic image of a number written on the atheletes calf and the spray of water coming up off her gives us a lot of information in a non-traditional and interesting manner.

Muscle Memory

The panicked chaos and excitement of the start of a triathlon. Canon EOS 7D EF 70-300mm at 93mm f/4.5 1/6400 ISO 400

Arms shake and nerves jangle but the dance at the bottom of her belly begins to calm as the cold water permeates her wetsuit.  She looks around at the competition, already jockeying for position as the other swimmers move forward towards the start.  She is fast in the water, she moves through it with grace and power so finding a place among the ten people at the front means there are fewer people that she has to swim over or around.  The first eight strokes are already there, stored in the muscle memory of her shoulders and they want to go.  She hops up and down in the water, she is ready, she wants to hear the horn that will start it all… and then she does.  

My daughter races triathlon and I always enjoy photographing the races.  In a recent race I was able to get really good access to the swim as the start went past a dock.  Races take place in the early morning so the light for the start was really nice.  The sun was coming in over my shoulder and gave the drops of water a beautiful crystal shine.  Photographing sports is so often about finding ways to represent binding speed or wild action in a frozen second.  The water helps us; as the athletes move through it the movement of the water gives the eye that is viewing the photograph a cue as to the speed and motion that is involved.  A photograph of a cyclist or a runner can make him appear as though he is not moving at all.  Shutter speed is key.  In water it is helpful, as I did below, to use a very fast shutter speed to freeze the droplets of water.  On land a slower shutter speed will allow the wheels of a bike or the feet of a runner to blur giving the eye the movement cues.

-Russell Berg