Swim stars splash through A2
Swimming is one of my favorite sports to shoot, and watch, partly because I love to swim myself, and partly because its one of those sports that can lend itself to very dramatic images of raw athleticism. Last month, America’s best swept through Ann Arbor on their now second year of the Erik Namesnik Memorial Grand Prix. AP wanted shots of Michael Phelps, so I covered the event. The above shot is from the top of the 10 meter diving platform, looking down at the warmup pool. I have to say my inspiration for this image came from Dustin Snipes, a talented sportsshooter working for Icon SMI now in LA.
My Phelps shot here was kind of a spur-of-the-moment capture. I had just climbed down from the 10 meter diving platform after taking the wide pool shot, and saw Phelps doing laps right in front of me in the closest lane. I threw my camera on top of my monopod that had been supporting a 300mm lens and just stretched the camera-on-a-stick out over the water as he swam under. Snapped a few frames with a remote trigger, prefocused and voila. The girl on the right side made this composition work out quite nicely, and I thought the shot was something not usually seen of Phelps. I called this “Ying Yang”.
(Click for full crop)
A side note from the assignment was my meeting Ryan Lochte. I recognized his name before that day and knew he was a pretty good swimmer on the US Olympic team, but I didn’t know what he looked like. So as I got to the pool and got in position on the side to get Phelps in his first event, I knelt down in front of a bunch of swimmers on the pool’s edge, trying not to block their view. Thats when one of the guys asked me what kind of lens I was using (300mm f/2.8). I chatted with him politely about the equipment, answering his curious questions, thinking that he’s a nice kid for being interested in photography—given he’s a jock swimmer. Then he invites me to sit next to him on the bench and if he could check out one of my cameras. I was hesitant, but eyeballed that we were far enough away from the edge of the pool so that he probably wouldn’t drop it in the water…. that and i was tired from kneeling. So we chatted up about taking pictures. He wanted to know about my job, what I like most about shooting, etc, all the while giggling and being awestruck playing with my 20D w/ 70-200mm lens. He clicked the shutter and startled that he took a picture, giving me this mischievous face.
By that time i was getting ready to shoot Phelp’s event soon, so i told him that, thinking i can get back to focusing on the assignment. Being an idiot, I asks him whether he swam for Florida, since he was wearing a gators cap. (Me thinking he’s some no-name college kid) Little did I know i’ve been talking to Ryan Lochte all this time—World Record holder in the 200 meter back stroke, and 2004 Olympic gold medalist. He formally introduced himself, and I instantly felt embarrassed and stupid.
So I made an ass of myself, but it was nice to have met an athlete and connected with him on a level unusual given his stature. My impression of Lochte was how much he seemed like some of the funny, laid-back goofball friends of mine, into pop-culture and hip-hop (he’s a whitty-craka) and totally not full of himself. Nice kid. Hope he does well in Beijing.