I love my life. I love my work. And, I love the unique perspective I have on the world through my camera lens. I understand what it is like to be led by passion, every day, and I am incredibly fortunate to have amazing clients just as passionate about what they do. I would like to introduce you to some of the people who put their trust in me to tell their visual story. This, the second in a series of blogs spotlights a client and friend who has wild water in her veins…
Heather swimming at dawn at Olney near Milton Keynes. I love the sunlight on the water and how the deep green of the water contrasts so nicely with her hair.
Meet Pool2Lake
Product/service: Heather is an open-water swimming coach and started her business four years ago. She has a wonderful tribe of enthusiastic humans she has converted to swimming in the wild.
Who’s Heather and how did we meet? I seem to remember we met because we are both South African and our children attended the same primary school. Is that right Heather? But we really connected when I embarked on my crazy birthday idea to do 50 open-water swims during the year I turned 50. You can check out my blog here. Heather, and sometimes her family, joined me on loads of my swims and, in addition to being a very competent swimmer, she always looks out for people in the water - to make sure they are happy and safe.
This is the first swimming head shot I did of Heather. I edited it in a retro/vintage style, which I think goes very well with the reflected tiles in the water. I’m really proud of this image and Heather still uses it on some of her profiles, which is a great compliment to me.
I love how my narrow field of focus on the water blurs the swimmer in this shot. I think it works because of the bright sunshine and the water brokeh, giving a little bit of a magical feel.
Heather at the waters-edge before a swim, soaking up the beauty nature has put on show.
Family portrait at the lavender fields near Hitchin - I loved Heather’s red shoes.
What I do for Pool2Lake: Heather is both a commercial client and a private client. In addition to the open-water and pool photographs I’ve taken for her website and social media platforms, I’ve also photographed her dog Minnie, and done a couple of family shoots.
How I see her brand: Zest for life. Laughter. Fun. Safety.
How I style and shoot her photographs: I insist on shooting close to sunrise or sunset to get the best light on the water. Then I watch Heather. Because she knows exactly how amazing it feels to glide through water with the sky above you and nature all around. It’s the best feeling in the world, and I try and capture her joy of the experience.
The challenge: Heather is a powerful swimmer, and fast. The challenge is to get the focus on her face crisp and freeze the movement of her arms and the water. I also take multiple images at a time to capture the right positions of her head and limbs in a fluid movement.
I love the energy of movement in this photograph and the fantastic texture and reflections in the water!
The wow bit: I adore photographing swimmers in water - it’s creative and technical at the same time. The water is never the same colour or texture, particularly when shooting wild swimming, so every time I’m out is an inspirational experience. And, I get to have a cheeky swim too.
Dawn at Derwentwater. So far, this is my favourite-ever swim shot. I love the time before the sun comes up over the horizon. Nichola Jackson agreed to model for me for this capture. I think it reflects the peace of swimming in nature perfectly.
What I like most about working for Heather? She does exactly what I tell her lol!
I’ve done some pool shots for Heather too - this one was taken at night using a speed light and I love the effect I’ve achieved - it was completely by accident of course!
Heather is her brand. She is full of life, crazy about swimming and always up for an adventure!
If swimming is a love in your life, and you’d like a beautiful wild swimming photograph of yourself for keeps, get in touch for a chat!