So, Alex, Ollie and Hildi arrive on the beach in front of Al Frescos at 6.50 this morning for a photo shoot with professional photographer (and friend of Ollie's) Pete Webb. We'd been told to wear wetsuits in preparation for a longer stint in the water in search of that perfect shot, and Ollie seemed to fear overheating if the fact that his suit was well ventilated with tears and holes was anything to go by. Pete and Dale arrived with the equipment and we were told to 'ignore the camera' as Dale documented the whole process. As the lens was about 10 inches wide and it was only a couple of feet away this proved difficult. Pete was hoping to interest Zoggs in the shots so free goggles and hats were handed out. Fans of SSF will be pleased to note that club hats were worn underneath.
It was a low tide, relatively warm, with cloud cover but the promise of a bright day once dawn broke. The waves broke fairly gently along the stretch of sand and the ruins of the West Pier were sillouhetted against a beautiful blue/grey sky as we made our way to the water's edge. Instructions for Alex who was to start out holding the flash and a little practice taking shots of Hildi and Ollie standing on the groin looking out towards the Palace Pier, and then into the water. With wetsuits on it was a different experience altogether. No rush of cold, no intake of breath, no swearing. Just a new appreciation of the beauty of the winter ocean at day break which came from an awareness of the camera.
So far so good with this modeling lark. Backwards and forwards we swam. Occaisionally waves turned us over or we swam too far into the shallows (or each other), but Pete was getting something he liked. After a while Alex started to shiver. I guess we are hardy but it's still a January sea, and it's cold when you're not moving much. Swap round to the boys swimming and Hildi on techie duty. Some really nice shots here of synchronised (high - coach will be pleased) elbows. Don't forget to breathe to the camera side (I always thought it was 'make love' to the camera, but I guess I was wrong!). Pete returned to the shore to adjust something on the flash and Hildi was left with the camera so we took a few snaps without the Zoggs hats - just for the club archives you understand - and then it was back to work. Ice-cream head for Ollie so Hildi returned to swimming duty while we waited for the sun to finally peep from behind the clouds, but eventually the cold got to us and our desks were calling us....
I'm sure the shots of getting dressed will be the funniest - Pete and Ollie in matching stripy pants, Hildi unable to even get Ugg boots on due to the cold, the ubiquitous cake (yes, Herman was there). Pete beat us all getting dressed, he would be a candidate for an honorary SSF member if he hadn't been a woose and worn a dry suit. And then, almost as soon as we were clothed, the sun emerged, resplendant, from behind the low cloud, and we saw a glimpse of the money shot that so could have been!
And then our modelling debut was all over. Back to Uni for Alex, work for Ollie, school for Hildi. And off to photograph the mighty Mark Cavendish for Pete and Dale. But I'm betting that their day didn't get any better than this.
Swimmers: Hildi, Ollie, Alex
Photographers: Pete, Dale
Conditions: Gentle white water on a sandy low tide
In: 7.30
Out: 8.10
Photos - to follow!
See photos on www.petewebb.com
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