This week the assignment to take some photos of underwater hockey came up in our diary meeting. As a budding photographer I ‘dived’ at the chance to get my feet wet and put my skills to the test.
This week the assignment to take some photos of underwater hockey came up in our diary meeting. As a budding photographer I ‘dived’ at the chance to get my feet wet and put my skills to the test.
For all those Durbanites who get annoyed by the ‘Vaalies’ in December, taking up the space on the beach, and ‘swimming’ when they are knee-deep or running away from the waves, I must profess – that is me!
Capetonians, you don’t need to worry, that side of the ocean is far too cold to even think about dipping my ankles in.
I do have a splash pool in Joburg, where (1.5m) of me can (almost) stand in the deep end.
My swimming experience amounts to sipping cocktails on the steps in summer.
Let’s just say If I met Chad le Clos out one night, all prospects of impressing the gold medal winner would go out the door with any kind of suggestion of “Let’s take a dip in the pool”.
To be fair, I can swim, just not very well, so basically I know how to ‘not drown’.
Anyway, trusting the waterproof plastic casing would protect my camera soon became the least of my worries. I climbed into the DSG pool with the underwater hockey team who are practising for the National Championships next weekend and tried to follow them around taking photographs.
The first 20 or so snaps were of the bottom of the swimming pool. Admittedly my mind was on ‘not drowning’ more than what I was doing with my camera.
After the first half hour of trying to stay afloat and getting twice the work-out any gym session could have offered me, I sought dry land, towelled off and handed my camera to my digsmate.
She originally came to keep me company, and may not be a photographer but at least she can swim (properly).
Not only that, but she managed to get some fantastic photographs and now wants to try the sport out.
As for me; send me back to the City of Gold where the swimming pools are shallow, the photography is dry and if I need to impress a sports star, it’s a tennis player.
