October 2015, Ely

An early start with the Light Blue squad for one of their usual morning sessions. Tasked with capturing the Cambridge athletes as they trained, I was fortunate enough to find myself out in the fresh autumn air following numerous crews as they laid the groundwork for the season ahead. I joined the coaches on their launches for the duration of my visit, a privileged position to get rare access to the crews in a much more relaxed atmosphere on their home water just out of town.

I spent most of the morning getting what I needed to satisfy my brief for the client but then once done I used the rest of my time focusing on different elements and alternative angles as we accompanied the boats through the cool morning air. Although the light or conditions weren’t particularly dramatic that day there was hardly any wind resulting in wonderfully flat water, a bonus for the athletes as much as it was for me as they honed their skills and precision. Keeping up with one crew I noticed perfect ripples being created with the rhythmic cadence of the rowing. I watched as the bow sliced through the calm surface, small repeating waves bounced back along the hull with the reflections strangely distorted as the boat passed over them. I used the extra reach of the lens I was working with at the time to focus right in on this small detail, an oar flashed in and out of the frame so I timed my shot with the point it entered the water, a necessary disruption to gentle waves in order to propel the boat on.