Elk Lake Spring Regatta 2017
There are many possibilities in addition the the classic start line or following in a motor boat photo in rowing but the challenge is having the stick-to-itiveness and knowledge to find them. I have been involved in the sport for 20 years and generally know what is going to happen with enough time to get in position before it does and I can shoot from inside the boathouse, on the dock and even in the water and not be in the way of the rowers. A matter of feet one way or the other can mean the difference of being hit or not. When shooting from in the water this is most important as I can’t move very fast so my positioning has to be pre-planned sometimes having to ask the bow seat or cox if they are pushing off or walk the boat down the dock.
In preparation, racing and cool down a rowers routine is very repetitive. On occasion I found myself stumped as to where the next photo could be but if I kept pushing I found myself breaking into another layer of rower photograph I had not imagined before.
Stay curious, explore and don’t give in and stop shooting when you feel like you have shot everything there is to shoot.
The Canadian National team lead by 2012 Olympic Silver Medalist Will Crothers and Kai Langerfeld walk their eight onto the dock at the Victoria City Rowing Club.
I shot this while wearing a Stohlquist dry suit, neoprene hood, gloves and boots using a Ikelite underwater housing specifically designed for a Canon 5d mark 2. Shooting in water that is just about freezing was a bigger challenge that I thought it would be.
Patrick Keane sits at point one prior to his single time trial.
Junior Women’s double and Men’s senior singles line up for the start of their 1800m time trial ranking them for A and B finals later in the afternoon.
Olympian Pascal Lussier washes his single following his time trial, something he does ritually after each training session and race.
Junior quads pull into the dock following their first race.
A University of Victoria single sculler makes his way down the course not exactly the way he was hoping to after flipping in the warm up course.
Scullers from Seattle bring their boat to the dock for their double sculls race as another fellow rower collects wet clothes from his boat.
Pascal Lussier carries his boat into the boathouse following a race.
The University of Victoria Women’s Eight lifts their boat over their head prior to walking into the boathouse.
Young Victoria City Rowing Club members collect themselves around 2016 Canadian Olympic sculler Carling Zeeman prior to her single sculls final.
Josh King carries a double scull out of the boathouse and to the water as snow began to fall early Sunday.
Carling Zeeman returns to the boathouse after completing a cool down lap following her single sculls race.
The University of British Columbia Men’s Eight carry their boat to the water prior to a race vs the University of Victoria and Canadian National training Centre.
Graham Peters picks his way off the dock prior to a race in the double scull.
A rowing fan snaps a shot during a light snowfall.
A quadruple scull from Seattle leads the pack as rowers make their way to the finish line on a cold day at Elk Lake.
A Uvic rower poses for a new Facebook profile photo.
Carling Zeeman pushes off the dock for a race in a women’s quad.
Patrick Keane walks out of the Rowing Canada Boat bay following a race.
Graham Peters carries blades out of the boathouse to the dock for a race in the double scull.
Carling Zeeman looking a little chilly after a race in the quad.
Will Crothers sculls through wait looks like rain but is in fact spray from water hitting blades during a quadruple sculls race.
Andrew Todd arranges his pogies around his wrist prior to leaving the dock for a quad race.
A Great Blue Heron watches the races from a tree hanging over the waters of Elk Lake.
Kai Langerfeld carries his pair in from a race with Ben De Witt. Prior to this race in March of 2017 the previous time the two had rowed together was in the summer of 2011.
UBC rowers collapses after a second place finish in the Mens Eight.
Carling Zeeman is ready for something to eat after a long and cold day of racing on Elk Lake.