Coming soon... Derventio eXcel Swimming Club


Here come the X-MEN (and X-WOMEN ;) ....



                                               


         

UWA Uniswim Club, Perth  ...view gallery


Fun in the sun with the University of Western Australia swim club... Some words about the club from Nat Benjanuvatra their Head Coach:

"The UWA-Uniswim Swimming Club has had a long and distinguished history since its formation as the Freshwater Bay swimming club in 1900. Partnership between the club and The University of Western Australia began in the early 1980's when a new swimming program was created by Jeanette and Brian Blanksby. They, along with students majoring in Human Movement, taught and coached an ever increasing number of local children to enjoy the sport of swimming.

"The heated outdoor pools provided excellent conditions for learning year round and in January 2004 Claremont Uniswim became UWA Uniswim Swimming Club to formally recognise the link with the University of Western Australia. Today, UWA Uniswim Swimming Club is a supportive and welcoming Club that caters for the whole spectrum of swimmers, from the aspiring Olympian, national, state and school swimmer and the 'just for fun' splashers."
Hobart Aquatic Club, Tasmania  ...view gallery


Visited the local swimming club when I was travelling in Tasmania last year and took some underwater shots of the local swim club.
Co Sheffield Swim Squad 2012 Calendar  ...view gallery


The COSSS calendar girls and boys are back!

All these pictures are available for sale via the club - not me.
The Beauty of Diving  ...view gallery


In April 2011 British divers competed against some of the world's best in the FINA Diving World Series held at Ponds Forge ISC; and I was there taking action and behind-the-scenes photos.

This is a huge gallery of nearly 200 photos that tries to tell the story of one day of the competition.

There are captions against many of the photos to provide some context. Apologies in advance if I've spelt a name wrong or incorrectly named a diver...


                        
City of Salford Swimming Club  ...view gallery


Another mad photo session above and below the water! This from their Head Coach, John Stout (thanks John!):

"We have a very proud history of developing International swimmers and National Champions since 1977 including 17 Internationals over the past 10 years. Our extensive success includes Olympic representatives, 2 Paralympic Gold Medallists, 4 World Record Holders in Disability Swimming, 4 GB Open Water Internationals and numerous National Champions at all levels.

"Currently Salford has 200 swimmers training for competitive swimming and our recently formed Synchronised Swimming section. We are a SWIM 21 Performance registered Swimming Club and hold a unique status in the swimming community when in the 2008-2009 season we had 7 GB Internationals all of whom learned to swim in our local Salford pools, a further GB member who joined us at 10 years old made it 8 in total for that season – a record that few can share.

"All of our swimmers made a great effort to do something different, they thoroughly enjoyed the photo shoot and we were lucky to have such a talented photographer capture some wonderful images. Many thanks to Simon for his tremendous professionalism, patience, effort and ‘focus’ – you are welcome back anytime.
Photos are now with the club."
City of Sheffield Diving Club Calendar  ...view gallery


This gallery is finished, so you can now buy the photos from the club.

Such a nice club and group of people. When I visit them I am always amazed by the skill, bravery and athletic ability of the young (and old!) divers I photograph.

The best of luck to them next year.
Vicki Hawkins, GB water polo  ...view gallery

We did this photo shoot with the GB water polo player Vicki Hawkins as a study to see how we could capture in pictures the amazing physiques athletes have. For this we used fans, flags, double sided sticky tape, old cardboard boxes from IKEA and a bit of imagination... Who says you have to have a studio set-up and very expensive photo gear?! One of these shots was used by the Mail on Sunday (17th July edition)  ...VIEW ARTICLE

Vicki is a truly amazing person. Somehow she's managed to combine training and competing as a full-time professional GB athlete with studying for I don't know how many different qualifications. Not content with this she's now doing a law degree!

I wish both her and the GB water polo teams the very best of luck for next year.


                   
City of Leicester Swimming Club  ...view gallery

Tried some new things - most of which seemed to work! We got the kids to write their name and stroke on the background paper roll and I think it worked well.

This from their coach Alex Dawson:

"City of Leicester Swimming Club is the elite performance club for Leicestershire and was founded in December 1977 with the amalgamation of several existing satellite clubs available water time. Whilst it has undergone many changes in that time the objectives remain the same, to provide professional coaching and training opportunities for swimmers within Leicestershire.

"From its initial conception the club has remained at the forefront of Regional and National swimming. This commitment to coaching excellence continues to identify talent potential and achieve podium success today.

"From initial talent identification each individual swimmer has access to a maximum of 24 hours of training per week that allows for full long term athlete development.

Over the clubs thirty year history there has been many highlights including representation at junior and senior International level, British National Age, Youth and Senior Champions and British record holders."


                  
Borough of Kirklees Swimming Club  ...view gallery

We had a record breaking number of kids for this shoot - so it was a case of quantity not quality, but we still got some nice shots...
The 2011 Supercar photoshoot  ...view in progress gallery

You've got to see these cars to believe them... :)

Click the YouTube logo below to view the behind-the-scenes video and interviews with all the athletes who took part in the shoot hosted by the swimmer Katie Wyld and kindly produced by craigp media.

   
LEN Synchro Champions Cup 2011  ...view  gallery

Action shots in a bit of a random order from the team and duet finals.

You can see the video photo montage we did for the GB team ahead of the competition on YouTube. Click logo below to view...

   


               
International Disability Swim Champs 2011  ...view gallery

Action shots from the finals on Friday, 8th April.

I'm sad I didn't make it to the second day of these Champs, but I did manage to take a large number of pics on Friday. This was my first top class disability event and on Friday night I witnessed just how amazing disability swimmers are.
Sedgefield 75 Swimming Club  ...view gallery
  
Lovely club and really nice people. Something about them from their coach, John Moore:

"Sedgefield 75 Swimming Club is a club of around 80 swimmers and, as the name suggests, it was formed by Sylvia and Cyril Harris in 1975 to provide competitive swimming for people in the geographic area taking swimmers from Newton Aycliffe, Darlington, Sedgefield, Bishop Auckland and the neighbouring towns. The club trains at Aycliffe Leisure Centre and is made up of 3 squads. Sedgefield 75 Swimming Club is affiliated to the ASA North Eastern Region. The club caters for swimmers of all ages and it does well at county, district and national level and have had swimmers competing in Nationals every year since it was launched in 1975. The club is managed by a small coaching staff which is led by John Moore and the clubs has a friendly and approachable way to training which brings out the best of every swimmer.

"We aim to be a friendly club and make sure all swimmers are catered for. We have a small committee which helps the chief coach, in making the major decisions in the club. We decided to have the photo shoot as a way of making some much needed funds for the club. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the morning and the photos are fantastic."
The Great Britain diver Sarah Barrow  ...view gallery
  
A big THANK YOU to Amie from amiebfashions.co.uk in Sheffield for creating the wonderful red, white and blue GB dress for Sarah, and to Ponds Forge for once again letting me use their space - this was a real 'Made in Sheffield' photoshoot! This from Sarah:

"I am a 22 year old highboard diver competing in the 10m synchro and 10m individual events. I have won the British Champion title 9 times in synchro and individual. My career highlights to date are getting a silver medal at the World Series in 2008, a silver medal at the World Grand Prix in Madrid in 2008; and competing at the Commonwealth Games 2006 and 2010, World Cup 2008 and 2010 and European Championships 2006, 2008, 2010.

"I have the potential to be in London 2012 and am constantly working hard to make the Great Britain team for the 2012 London Olympic Games. To compete in front of a home crowd and be in contention to win a medal in front of my friends and family is my ultimate goal and dream.

"I now live and train in Leeds - a world renowned city for diving. My main focus in life is Diving but I am also a hard working student - studying sport and exercise science at Leeds Metropolitan University. I train about 26 hours a week at the John Charles Sports Centre in South Leeds."

I wish her the very best of luck...                     
Rushmoor Royals Swimming Club  ...view gallery
  
This shoot involved another trip down to the same pool in Aldershot where the GB synchro team train, so it's almost becoming my second home! We tried something different by using the rest of the club training in the other pool as the background for the photos. This meant we had to raise the floor on one side of the pool so I could stand in the middle of Lane 4! So thank you to the pool staff for making this happen.

This from Emma Collings, their head coach:

"Rushmoor Royals is affiliated to the ASA South East Region and is the leading Competitive Swimming Club in North East Hampshire covering the catchment area of Aldershot, Farnborough, Camberley and Yateley. The Club has a thriving "Teach to swim" program for 5-7 year olds, a main competitive section for 8-25 year olds and a Masters Section for the over 25's.The Club develops swimmers up to National / International level and competes in league, County, and District Championships. With a large team of coaches, teachers and poolside helpers, the emphasis is on achieving the highest competitive levels whilst maintaining a friendly and enjoyable spirit amongst the membership.

"A highly committed and friendly management committee support and co-ordinate all club activities. The Club trains at the Aldershot Garrison pool, Farnborough recreation centre, Aldershot Pools complex, Camberley Arena and at the Yateley Centre pool. The photo shoot came about when ex Millfield Assistant Emma Collings, who organized Millfield's photo shoot, got offered the Head Coach position at Rushmoor in June 2010. Emma also is the GB Syncro Teams Swimming coach and has been present at his impressive photo shoots with the girls. With a website rebuild and a huge club restructure we hope to use the photos marketing potential on our website and look to build to be one of the leading clubs in the South East. Thank you Simon."
Swim Trafford Swimming Club  ...view gallery
  
My favourite photo from this shoot has the be the one to the left (with the Olympic rings). But for some reason the 'buckets of water thrown over child's head' photos proved extremely popular with the watching parents... can't think why ;)

Anyway it was great fun and the club really pulled out all the stops to make the shoot go as well as it could have done - despite me getting caught by a speed camera on the way there! Some words from the club below:

"Swim Trafford is Trafford's competitive performance swimming squad. Supported by the boroughs four development clubs and together with Trafford Community Leisure Trust, swimmers of National and International potential can be developed locally. The squad of 50 train regularly at Stretford Leisure Centre in the heart of Trafford. With Lancashire Cricket Ground and Old Trafford as neighbours - is it any wonder that they are a team of champions!"
Plymouth Leander Swimming Club  ...view gallery
  
A mad two days in Plymouth - two club photoshoots in less than 24hours!

Jon Rudd, their Head coach, said this about the club and the shoot:

"Plymouth Leander Swimming is one of the UK's most successful swimming programmes. The club have been the British National Youth Club Champions since 2008 and have matched this achievement in winning the National Arena Swimming League Cup over the last three years. Led by Great Britain National Squad Coach Jon Rudd, the PL 'blue army' place swimmers onto International teams each and every season with their most recent success being Antony James' two medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

"Plymouth Leander sport strong links with Plymouth College (11-18 years) and the University of Plymouth (18+ years) where highly sought after and attractive swimming scholarships are available. Plymouth College offer a swimming specific boarding house to allow young and ambitious swimmers to live and be educated in Plymouth whilst gaining from the PL coaching programme. Wow! And they can be seen at www.plymouthleander.co.uk and www.plymouthcollege.com

"The GBswimstars photoshoot was a great experience for all of us. The outcome proved to be amazing and we are so proud of how we all look! Great credit must go to the skills of Simon Wright behind the lens, whilst his able assistant on this occasion was Tom Daley! We were all surprised how bad Tom was at holding his breath on the underwater shots...! (sorry Tom!). So if you get the chance to do this at your club with Simon, grab the opportunity with both hands!"

Thanks Jon!
Plymouth Diving Club  ...view gallery
 
A few words about the club from their head coach, Andy Banks:

"Plymouth Diving has operated as a professional programme since 1992, its ethos being to offer the sport of Diving to all comers in a safe and fun way and at the same time offering those who demonstrate talent the opportunity to develop that talent as far as they can.

"Current senior Internationals include, Tom Daley - World Champion and double Commonwealth champion, Tonia Couch - GB's most successful female 10m diver with top 8 finishes at World and Olympic level and Brooke Graddon European junior and senior medallist. There are also a number of youngsters coming through the ranks hoping to emulate these successes helped by a team of enthusiastic coaches.

"With a brand new state of the art facility to be completed later this year, Plymouth Diving looks forward to a bright future!"
Rugby Synchronised Swimming Club  ...view gallery
  
A little something about the club from their head coach, Hannah Dudley:

"Rugby SC Synchro is a small club with big ambition and a big family environment.

"We have an amazing workforce of volunteers who help to run the club and make it what it is. Because we have a wide range of ages and abilities within the club we attempt to cater for all."
GB Synchronised Swimming Squad  ...view gallery
  
Some of the images from the photoshoot in December ahead of the LEN European Cup being held at Sheffield's Ponds Forge in May 2011. Good luck GB!

Read what happened when a group of contemporary dancers visited the GB squad in Aldershot to explore the difference between dance and synchro  ...VIEW THEIR BLOG

And here's a shot I took of the GB synchro duet Jenna Randall and Olivia Allison used by the Swimming Times in June 2011...


                             

City of Sheffield Swim Squad 2011 Calendar  ...view gallery

We used some metal props kindly lent to us by the famous Sheffield steel company 'Gripple Steel'. These photos will be used in the club's 2011 calendar. Click logo to see the YouTube video...

   
Satellites Swimming Club  ...view gallery

We ended up with over 100 photographs from this photo shoot and you can now watch the video gallery on YouTube! Click the logo below to view..

   


You can see the amazing calendar and other things the club did with the pictures on their website ...VIEW

These words are from the club:

"Satellites of Macclesfield is a not for profit, membership based competitive swimming club - founded in 1972, self supporting and run entirely by volunteers; as such every penny we raise is needed to maintain momentum in the club and to re-enforce its position as the leading competitive club in Cheshire East. Our current development plan is based on attaining SWIM21 Competitive development accreditation and to plan for our 40th anniversary year in 2012.

"The photoshoot with GBSwimstars was initiated by our senior swimmer LLoyd Austin -who made the initial contacts and realised the potential for the club to raise funds through marketing use of the photographic resource. We also hope to engage the imagination of the local authority in utilizing these images as large format display panels around the building. Our thanks to Simon for his time and expertise - much appreciated by all at Satellites."
Mid Beds Swim Squad  ...view gallery

The club's selling these photos as a fundraiser.

You can now watch the video of the photos from the photo shoot on YouTube! Click the logo below to view...

   

Some words from the club:

"Mid Beds Swim Squad (MBSS) was founded in 1993 and is the premier competitive swimming club in Bedfordshire. Drawing directly from two feeder clubs, Biggleswade and Flitwick, MBSS offers elite training opportunities to the best swimmers in the region. The club has swimmers ranked at regional and national level, and international disability level, including Harriet Lee, IPC World Champion and World Record holder."
City of Sheffield Swim Squad Teaspoon Gala 2010  ...view gallery

Well done to everyone who took part on Sunday at Ponds Forge ISC.
Sheffield Diving Club 2011 Calendar  ...view gallery

Yep, it's that time of the year again for the annual calendar! Here's the contact sheet - so from this the club will choose the pics they want to go in the calendar.
Lancaster City Water Polo Club  ...view gallery

A bit about the club from one of their players, Zak Sly:

"Lancaster City Swimming and Water Polo Club is the leading water polo club in Great Britain. With only having a small population of 135 000, Lancaster City is home to the top senior, junior and academy team in the country. The Lancaster seniors hold a handful of records including the most successful side ever in the history of the British Championships after securing a record breaking nine titles in the past eleven years. The senior side has also won the National title eleven times in the past fourteen years including a magnificent five consecutive years. In 2010 The Lancaster City Junior and Academy team were crowned the 2010 National Water Polo champions. The youth team is the 2010 National Water Polo champions’ runner up. The top team in the country also provides Mini Water Polo for those children who want to have fun and learn about water polo."

Good luck to them and I hope they continue to go from strength to strength.
                 
England Talent Development Synchro Squad  ...view gallery

We did this photo shoot straight after their extremely hard and intensive training week in Manchester - but despite being very tired they put absolutely everything into it, which you can see in the photos. During the photo shoot we pretended the MAC pool was a rehearsal studio in a ballet school with a big window to one side (where I put my camera lights). Then we asked the girls to imagine they were there doing ballet and they did the rest... stunning.

I'm hoping to show some of these photos at the LEN European long course champs in Budapest next month, where there will be a GBswimstars exhibition (if all goes according to plan!). Good luck to the team at the Comen Cup.
Nova Centurion Swimming Club   ...view gallery

My thanks to everyone at Nova who made me feel so welcome. I'd never of believed a year ago I'd be taking pictures of GB coach of the year Bill Furniss in a woolly football hat and swimming superstar Becky Adlington underwater with my posh camera in a giant plastic bag. But here are the pictures...

NEW! You can view the Nova photo shoot in the YouTube video below. The club is now selling the photos as a fundraiser...

   






Millfield Swimming Club  ...view gallery

Yes, this really is the GB swimmer Georgia Holderness (Breaststroke) standing in the middle of Millfield's cricket pitch - if you look closely you can see the lawn mower in the background!

MiIllfield has to be seen to be believed - the facilities are absolutely incredible - and on arrival I thought I'd died and gone to photography heaven... A beautifully clear 50m pool to myself for practically the whole day, lit by natural light and a nice big, airy studio area next door. This time there was no hot and sticky weights room to cram into. Bliss!
Coming to a British Swimming event near you soon...!

Images from a photo shoot we did with some of the City of Sheffield's elite swimmers.

               
Photo shoot with Emma Hollis  ...view gallery

Emma is a GB swimmer and the current British record holder in: (LC) SM8 400m IM, SB7 200m Breaststroke, SB7 100m Breaststroke,SB7 50m Breaststroke, (SC) SM8 400m IM and SB7 50m Breaststroke. I don't think even Phelps has held this number of records simultaneously!

She is also incredibly photogenic...

                          
Stirling Intensive Training Centre  ...view gallery

Sometimes in photography you get lucky - and I was very lucky to have a fabulous team of make-up artists to help me with this photo shoot over the weekend. The seven ladies are studying make-up at James Watt College in Greenock and based on what I saw they have a great future ahead of them. They are: Kayleigh Sutherland, Linsey Gilhooley, Lisa Campbell, Megan Gillies, Ruth Higgins, Emma Rock and Nina Blake.

Whilst I was in Stirling (what a beautiful place) I saw something interesting... During the ITC's early Saturday morning training session the lovely make-up ladies arrived to set up and get ready for the photo shoot. Once the (mainly) guys in the pool realised they had an audience their swim speed suddenly increased (verified by the coaches standing on poolside holding the stopwatches). So I got a little taste of what effect a home crowd will have on the GB team in London. Forget sports science and all that high tech stuff, just make sure there's a big crowd in the Aquatics Centre - and maybe a few make-up ladies ;)

                

Stockport Metro ITC superstars  ...view gallery

So here it is, the photo shoot with Keri-Anne Payne, Cassie Patten, David Carry, Michael Rock and James Goddard. The idea behind this photo shoot is explained by Ben Lafferty, Stockport Metro ITC Operations Manager:

"We’re aiming to promote the whole Stockport Metro programme – complete beginners through to senior international medallists, and we also want to create a ‘home of swimming’ feel to Grand Central Pools so that people who come here immediately recognise that it’s a place where some pretty exciting stuff goes on – swimmers completing their first 10 metres on their back, or nailing a breaststroke start for the first time, or completing a 6000m session for the first time, or preparing for their first ever World Championships for example. All the preparation for the four Olympic medals that the club won over the last four Olympics took place here at Grand Central and we want to celebrate that fact with these photos."

It was a really enjoyable day and some of these pictures (and other pictures not displayed in this gallery) are going to be displayed in and around the pool - scary stuff! You can also see a 'behind the scenes' view of the photo shoot courtesy of Andrea Smith - a very talented photographer who kindly assisted me  ...VIEW PHOTOS


One of these images was subsequently used by Links of London for their Keri-Anne Payne sponsorship launch - here it is:


                           
Diving photo shoot for British Swimming  ...view gallery

This was a photo shoot of divers from the City of Sheffield Diving Club for British Swimming. The images have been used in UK diving events.
British Championships on 2nd & 3rd April  ...view gallery

My thoughts on the Brits now in the COMMENT section.

                
Zoggs Photo Shoot  ...view gallery

A photo shoot with the Triathlon star Mark Yeoman. We had the whole pool to ourselves for over two hours - meaning we could get some really great pictures for a Zoggs magazine advert.




A Bit of Fun With Multiple Exposures

The City of Sheffield Diving Club and some multiple exposure shots (i.e. many pictures on the same photograph).

    


                      
Gallica Swimming Club  ...view gallery

Another mad morning underwater and on poolside with the camera. I have to admit I never knew there were another TWO pools under the main competition pool in the Manchester Aquatics Centre, I guess you learn something new every day.

My thanks to all of the Gallica swimmers for making me feel so welcome and for their patience during the many different set-ups. I have no idea what training Louise their coach gives them or what cereal they eat for breakfast, but their physiques were incredible. Almost made me want to get back in the gym - I say ALMOST...
City of Sheffield Swim Squad  ...view gallery

Yep, more photos of my favourite club at Ponds Forge.

Good luck to them and everyone else taking part in the British Championships later this month.








Stockport Metro Intensive Training Centre  ...view gallery

As a photographer you have to be prepared for anything and everything to go wrong. You prepare for the worst and hope for the best... But I could do nothing about the one thing totally out of my control - the speed of these ITC swimmers. Sean Kelly, their coach (who by the way I awarded double Brownie points for kindly getting me a cup of tea when I arrived at the pool at a stupidly early time on Saturday morning), had warned me they would be doing a sprint session that morning. But I thought 'OK, 50m pool so lots of room and time to get in the pool for the underwater photos - frame, focus and shoot'. Ah yes - well maybe with club swimmers, but this was an ITC and these guys are the elite... Olympic athletes, World Champions, the best of the best.

So picture the scene: I jump into the pool with my underwater gear in the middle of their full-on sprint session. I'm lugging the camera and I'm wearing ankle weights to help keep me underwater, so I'm not exactly Mr Speedy Gonzales in the water. I turn to face the ITC swimmers in the nearside lane tearing down the pool towards me, I raise the camera to my eye ready to frame, focus then take the shot and... HOLY $%&*! It was like I'd jumped onto a Formula One racing track during a race. I saw each swimmer for a fleeting second then I was left for dead in their backwash. Not only were they going at an unbelievable speed but they were making no allowances for me being in their lane. They were focused on the job at hand and if I got in the way then it was tough £$%! Which I guess is fair enough if you're an elite athlete and every second of every training session counts (which it does). After a few attempts and near misses I gave up and got out the pool, so I'm sorry to say there are only a few underwater photos in the gallery. A lesson learnt.

Despite this near death experience I really enjoyed meeting some of our country's top swimmers. It was a privilege to meet athletes like Michael Rock, Keri-anne Payne and James Goddard and I was only sorry I could not have photographed more of the ITC swimmers that morning.    
Trafford Synchronised Swimming Club  ...view gallery

Wonderful club and really nice people.

GB Synchronised Swimming Team  ...view gallery

A photo shoot with the team - all except Jenna Randall - at their training pool in Aldershot.

I can't feel my legs from having to do so much 'egg beater' kick in the water as I was taking the photos... although the GB girls did give me a few polite (but not entirely truthful) compliments about my technique. Less of an egg beater, more of an egg whisker :)

I witnessed some pretty amazing and very intense training. For example, 25m butterfly immediately followed by 25m underwater swim, then the same again, and again, and again..! Now I know I'm no elite athlete, but I'm usually searching for the pool-side oxygen tank and defibrillator after just a few lengths of normal butterfly - so the thought of having to swim 25m underwater in between lengths of butterfly is terrifying... Do these girls have gills?!     
Duel In The Pool: USA versus E-Stars, Manchester 2009   ...view gallery

Some of the photos from day one, Friday, during the morning training session/warm-up and evening competition in which 5 World Records were broken.

Well done to 'Rocky' (alias Michael Rock) for beating Phelps on Saturday - an amazing effort - and to all the other GB team.  My thoughts on the event are now in the COMMENT section of the website.
   
Kingston-upon-Hull Swimming Club   ...view gallery

Kingston-upon-Hull SC as you've never seem them before...  A fun - albeit very rushed - photoshoot focusing on the 'mean and lean' look with lots of moody lighting and new race suits.  We also tried some new underwater set-ups which seemed to work well.

The words on the posters are from the swimmers.

                                  
'Snow Frills' Swimming Gala 2009  ...view gallery

The best photos of the City of Sheffield Swim Squad in action at their 'Snow Frills 2009' competition in Ponds Forge.  I was only able to attend one of the many sessions over the course of the weekend, so apologies to all the COSSS swimmers I was not able to photograph - your time will come!                       
City of Sheffield Junior Development Swim Squad  ...view gallery

Apparently the junior development squad is the second best squad in COSSS - after the Masters of course ;)

They have gone from strength to strength led by their head coach Dave Naughton and the best of luck to them in 2010.

The posters can now be seen in another gallery ...VIEW POSTERS.  The kids provided all the words and I will use one or two of them in the forthcoming GBswimstars photo exhibition in February ...VIEW DETAILS.
       
South Yorkshire Swans Synchronised Swimming Club  ...view gallery

The Swans is a small club based in Rotherham with big ambitions.  I went to photograph them in action at their new swimming pool and saw some very unusual land training not normally associated with synchronised swimming - boxing!  They told me it builds fitness and teamwork... and I'd add self-defence to this having seen how hard these girls were hitting each other!

The best of luck to them as they continue to grow and develop their club in an area not exactly overflowing with synchro resources - one of the key problems from what I was told being a lack of pool time.
City of Sheffield Mini Water Polo Club  ...view gallery

Water polo deserves more attention and recognition than it gets in this country, and you'll see in these photos just how much fun the kids (and coaches!) have.  The sport reaches out to children across the UK of all ages and ability - giving them action, teamwork, competition, friendship and fun!  Most of all Water Polo gives children in this country somewhere to go if they want to do build on what they've learnt in swimming classes or in clubs.  Every year we spend millions trying to get children into swimming and teaching them how to do it - which is great.  But what happens next?  Not all children like the high pressure world of club swimming, preferring instead team games.

Earlier this year the sport was hit by a funding crisis and the GB men's team was all but sacrificed for the women's team in the build up to the London 2012 Olympic games - there just wasn't enough money to fund both teams.  But this funding crisis comes at a time when as a country we're trying to get our kids off the sofa and computer and into sport... hmmm...

Megan Sylvester, Monique Gladding & Ben Swain  ...view gallery

Photos from the photoshoot with the GB team divers Megan Sylvester, Monique Gladding and Ben Swain.  Monique and Megan compete together in the 10m Synchro diving event and came 6th in the World Championships in Rome this year - an amazing result considering they've only recently started competing together.

Ben Swain competes with Nick Robinson-Baker in the 3m Synchro diving event and they were at the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing - coming a very credible 7th.

There are also some action shots of Megan (mainly) and a couple of Ben.  Unfortunately Monique was injured that day so I was unable to get any action shots of her.

By the way, if you look very carefully in the close-up headshots (image 33, 34 and 35) you will see a little GB flag of light in their eyes!
Putteridge Piranhas Swimming Club  ...view gallery

I couldn't believe how many young brothers and sisters swim in the club together - you'll see them in these group photos taking a rare moment away from the family fighting - which was wonderful to see.  Enthusiasm, dedication and pride oozes from everyone and they really do the ASA and British Swimming proud.

I wish them the best of luck and continued success for the future.
City of Sheffield Swim Squad Underwater  ...view gallery

Some fun underwater action with senior swimmers from the COSSS Elite squad.  Lots of experimentation and trial and error, but we came away with some interesting pictures.
Reading Royals Synchronised Swimming Club Posters  ...view gallery

Best wishes and good luck to the Reading Royals and especially their GB squad girls.

The Royals have put together this fantastic video clip using images from the GBswimstars photo shoot  ...VIEW VIDEO
 
Trafford Synchro will be the next synchronised swimming club I photograph in January next year.  I have some new ideas I want to try, involving not just their senior squad but also their 'Little Mermaids' (children) and some Masters (those like me who are just a little advanced in years!)  ...VIEW WEBSITE

 
Reading Royals Synchronised Swimming Club  ...view gallery

All the photos from the photo shoot are now in this gallery.  I did a lot of portraits because I wanted to show the people underneath those 'fixed synchro smiles'... and I also wanted to try out different lighting set-ups!  My new underwater camera gear worked well and allowed me to develop the underwater photos with some very unusual lighting effects.  Many thanks to Sian Kent for helping me out with the lights and to Kate Coupar, head coach, for her kind hospitality - the sandwiches went down a treat after about 2 hours stuck on the M1 during the journey home!
Posters from the National Championships 2009  ...view gallery

Here are the posters I've designed to date using photos from this year's Nationals.

At the end of the gallery you will also see some mock-ups of ideas for swimming club recruitment posters - rather different from the usual posters you see in swimming pools and schools.
National Youth Finals on Friday, 31st July  ...view gallery

More photos from the Nationals last month.  I also enclose a couple of poster mock-ups at the end to show what can be done with the photos; as I'm willing to make each club a poster of their favourite photo(s) for use in recruitment (e.g. put them in schools next term) or recognition ('well done XXXX').  Please contact me for more information.  Since the Nationals photos were published I've been contacted by quite a few clubs about a photo shoot with their swimmers, which is great.  So watch this space because your club could be next!
National Youth Finals on Thursday, 30th July  ...view gallery

Photos from the British Gas National Youth Championships at Ponds Forge, Sheffield (ordered from the first to the last race).  This is one of the biggest competitions of the year for GB team hopefuls and present were the very best 14 to 18 year olds in British swimming - including GB's top young multi-disability swimmers.

This was my first time at the Nationals and it was a privilege to watch these athletes compete.  You could see the 100% total commitment and determination to win oozing from the swimmers, and I tried to capture this by getting some pictures of the swimmers psyching themselves up just before they walked up to the starting blocks.  I hope these photos provide a glimpse of what must have been going through their mind as they prepared to race in the finals.
National Age Groups Heats & Finals on Sunday, 26th July  ...view gallery

I was there to take pictures of the incredible 14 year old wonder-boy Matthew Johnson winning his 10th gold medal.  I also took action shots of swimmers from clubs including; City of Sheffield, Plymouth, Nova, Ipswich, Dartes, Millfield and Stockport Metro - plus some others I couldn't identify in all the excitement.  I witnessed some amazing swims and many of these kids really are the GB swim stars of tomorrow... and for a few of them maybe the stars of London 2012..?!  Where possible in the gallery I've tried to group the photos by club. 
Doncaster Dartes Posters & Portraits  ...view gallery

Posters and portraits of the Doncaster Dartes senior swimmers and the club's coaching and management team.  A Podcast recording of an interview we did after the photo shoot is coming soon.  I've started putting together a number of different ideas for recruitment posters aimed primarily at boys.
Doncaster Dartes Underwater & in Action  ...view gallery

Here are the underwater and action photos we took of the Doncaster Dartes.
GB Water Polo Team in Action at the LEN Women's European Nations Trophy in the presence of HRH Prince William  ...view gallery

These photos show the GB girls in action against Slovakia and the VIP guests who attended the match.  They won the match 17-5 and went on to win the championship.  Congratulations to all of them and the coaching team!

You'll see; the VIP guests arriving and meeting HRH Prince William, then the girls lining up to exchange gifts with the Slovakian team, then the match (including the half-time synchronised swimming entertainment), and finally the VIP reception afterwards. 

Present were some of the great and the good from swimming, including Dave Sparkes, Laszlo Szakadati and James Hickman.  The very lucky lady seen next to Prince William is not his latest girlfriend, but the World Class Performance Manager for water polo, Joanna Wray.
City of Sheffield Swim Squad National Qualifiers Posters   ...view gallery

So far the City of Sheffield have had a great year - one of the highlights being Ellie Faulkner winning the Open Water gold medal at the Junior Europeans in July.  These posters were presented to the juniors who were successful in getting their national times this year and maybe some of them are the GB swim stars of tomorrow...

The photo shoot was great fun but it didn't go to their heads, because 5.30am the morning after we took these photos these young swimmers were back in the pool doing a gruelling 10 x 800m training set (swim 800m then have a quick rest, swim another 800m, another rest etc.)  Now that's got to hurt!
Sheffield Diving Club Juniors Posters   ...view gallery

These are the posters we made for the junior diving team ahead of the British Elite Junior Championships at Ponds Forge in May 2009.
GB Women Water Polo Team Portraits   ...view gallery

Individual portraits of the GB women's squad taken over two sessions. The 'wet and wild' photos were done with a very high tech set up - a bucket of water poured over the head in the shower...!  I wanted to get a really natural pose - and not the sort of thing you see so often in sports/swimwear ads - so I grabbed them as they got out of the pool after morning training and took these photos.  The fashion look photos with the black dresses were done during the BBC 1 Sport filming day in Manchester Aquatics Centre.
GB Women Water Polo Team in Action   ...view gallery

The GB women in action at the Manchester Aquatics Centre.  Thanks to Joanna Wray from British Water Polo for helping me out by holding the camera flashes on the poolside (and getting very wet in the process!).
GB Men Water Polo Team Portraits   ...view gallery

Here are the photos from the BBC photo shoot I did in April in the Manchester Aquatics Centre. I sprayed the polo balls we used silver to try and get a different effect (and polo balls are a nightmare to photograph because they are so brightly coloured!). I think it worked well.

I wish the GB men the very best of luck and look forward to seeing them at London 2012.
City of Sheffield Swim Squad Star Swimmers   ...view gallery

Some of the rising stars at the City of Sheffield:

James Kirton (200m Breaststroke ) - GB team Podium level swimmer; with Rebecca Turner (Freestyle), Jack Dunn (Freestyle) and Max Partridge (Breaststroke) - who are all GB Development level swimmers.

Also two junior swimmers, Ellie Faulkner (Free) and Braxston Timm (Fly).  Both qualified for the Junior Europeans this summer.