Fly

ponzu Thank you for your comments, Ann. Yes, it is a difficult shot to make, or rather, it is difficult to make it look good. There is a lot of HDR-like processing involved because of the backlighting, but that is the exact look I wanted, which is why I was on that end of the pool and not the opposite end where the face would have been brightly lit. As you can imagine, it would have been a very different photo -- which I probably already have somewhere, so I wanted this exact look. It is also difficult to time the swimmer just right, which is why I shoot a lot of frames, which makes going through photos so hard later. I wish there was a solution to this problem. It is also hard to get the straight head-on shot, because the starting blocks and the timers (people recording the swimmer's time) are in the way. I have seen photographers kneel right behind the starting blocks and shooting through the small opening under the blocks, but that's when they are officially authorized by the meet organizers and feel they have the right to push their way in.

Because I was shooting slightly from the right, you get this perspective distortion where left arm (camera right) is longer than the right. So giving more "room" on the right side would move the head off center, which, for this kind of a shot, I believe is necessary. Sometimes, when the arms are a distraction rather than an interesting feature, I just zero in on the face and shoulders: "Game face ON"

I think you are absolutely right in pointing that the photo is tilting to the right -- yet the swimmer's face appears to be even. I think both the swimmer and I have something to work on :) She appears to be lifting her left arm further out of the water, and I did not notice the tilt because I was looking at the face and not the wall behind. I will try straightening in to see if it looks better. Thank you again!

ponzu You will be happy to know that the photo is absolutely straight: the top edge is parallel to the wall of the pool. Yet it appears tilting to the right. Isn't that interesting? I think this illusion is created by a wave, a splash that the swimmers legs made a moment ago. The wave goes in from the left, and also in from the right. But there is more of it visible on the left either because of my angle or just my luck. And it is glistening from the sun, making it the brightest shape in the photo. So the left side of the wave is giving the whole photo a tilted look, while the right side of the wave is barley noticeable. I don't think rotating the photo to the left will improve anything. It will just have to stay like this: an illustration of the fact that a straight photos can appear tilted under certain light (and water in this case!) conditions.

Anne Wow, what a long answer :) I used to swim/practise swimming long time ago, including competitions ect, so the subject is close to me :) Ha, yes, I'm happy the photo is absolutely straight, it's one of things I try always do, and I'm so miserable when I can't straight my photo because of distortion or something ;)

ponzu Thank you, good advice! I will try shooting from a higher angle. The instinct is to get as low as possible for more of a connection with the swimmer: seeing the water and the spray from the same level as they do. In fact, 99% of the parents, even those with fancy cameras and big lenses, shoot from the eye level, stranding up. Ever since I observed the pros who wear knee pads and all but lie down on their stomach to get the shot, I started shooting low and always felt superior to the "amateurs" for doing so.

The swimmer stays lower to the water then some swimmer her age, not as low as she could. The more experienced the swimmer, the harder it is to get a "killer" shot from them -- because the stay so low and efficient. But I will keep trying.