Like I said in my previous post, I enjoy the challenge that comes with newspaper photojournalism. There is something different to shoot every day and I am obligated to make it visually appealing.
Earlier this week, I was given the task to photograph two high school swimmers that made it to the state finals. The reporter was meeting them at the beginning of their swim practice. I think he was under the impression that I would come and take a standard environmental portrait.
I decided to try something a little different.
When I was thinking about an environmental portrait, I came to the conclusion that their environment was in the pool, not at the pool. I wanted to take an underwater portrait.
I can’t afford an underwater housing for my camera so I had to improvise. One 10-gallon aquarium later, I was ready to go.
I set the camera longways in the aquarium with a 24-70mm lens attached and set at 24mm. The camera was triggered by a Pocket Wizard which in turn fired my 550EX Speedlight flash.
Because I was uncertain how the water would scatter my light, I wanted to do my best to directionalize my flash. I attached a Gary Fong PowerSnoot which turned my flash into a high-powered spotlight.
After a little experimentation, I got a shot I was satisfied with.
![Aimee Haddix and Hannah Espiritu underwater portrait New Castle swimmers Aimee Haddix, left, and Hannah Espiritu pose for an underwater photo at Parkview Pool. The two swimmers are competing in today's state final. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010](https://i0.wp.com/www.gershphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/swimportrait.jpg?resize=700%2C467&ssl=1)
New Castle swimmers Aimee Haddix, left, and Hannah Espiritu pose for an underwater photo at Parkview Pool. The two swimmers are competing in today’s state final. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010
Is this perfect? Not by a long shot.
The biggest problem is just what I expected. The lighting. I feel that I probably needed at least one more light. It would also have been preferable to have those lights underwater somehow. That would require making a much more complex rig but might be something I try in the future.
The least of my worries was having my camera go underwater. The aquarium was so buoyant that it was actually a little difficult to keep submerged to the top of the lens. I had the writer that was with me apply a decent bit of pressure to keep it down.
I will consider this first attempt at an underwater portrait a success but I can’t wait to try again and put some new ideas to the test.
So that was one situation this week where I tried something a little different. The other is a little more practical.
The paper is doing a story on the St. Anne Catholic Church. A few years ago, an arsonist burned the church down. It has taken three years to rebuild. I was granted a sneak peak and I wanted to show everyone what the inside looked like.
It would have been easy enough to go up on the balcony and take a wide angle photo and squeeze as much in to the photograph as I could.
![st-anne A view of the new St. Anne Catholic Church from the balcony. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010](https://i0.wp.com/www.gershphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/st-anne.jpg?resize=700%2C467&ssl=1)
A view of the new St. Anne Catholic Church from the balcony. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010
Even in this image shot at 24mm, there is so much of the church that is unseen.
I went out to my car and got my tripod. From the back row of pews, I started panning and tilting, taking incremental photos – 24 total.
I took those 24 separate photos and stitched them into a panorama that covered more than 180 degrees laterally.
![St. Anne Catholic Church panorama The interior of the new St. Anne Catholic Church is seen in this photo illustration showing approximately a 180-degree view. The image was composed from 24 separate photos. (C-T photo illustration Max Gersh) ©2010](https://i0.wp.com/www.gershphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/st-anne-pano.jpg?resize=700%2C226&ssl=1)
The interior of the new St. Anne Catholic Church is seen in this photo illustration showing approximately a 180-degree view. The image was composed from 24 separate photos. (C-T photo illustration Max Gersh) ©2010
This photo will be running six columns across the page on today’s paper.
In an effort to maintain journalistic credibility, I do list this image as a photo illustration. Since this isn’t a capture of one moment in time, it has to be that way. Otherwise I risk compromising my ethics by misrepresenting a scene.
Part of my job as a photojournalist is to show you something you might not ordinarily see. That might be changing angles or getting somewhere you can’t. I think both of these images do that.
Let’s hope I don’t run out of fresh ideas. Any suggestions for what to try next?
[…] On Sunday, I was sent to photograph a service at the St. Anne Catholic Church. I had a few pictures of the church in a post not too long […]
[…] sports portraits that I tried to coin the phrase “sportrait.” (Don’t forget my underwater portrait of the two swimmers or the group shot of […]