Open water swimming is my escape. My freedom. My return to me.

A few weekends ago I found myself in wispy Dartmoor on a swimming adventure with some buddies. Among them were the founders of the Ruckraft, a brilliant piece of kit that opens up a new world of adventure for swimmers. We had one cheap waterproof camera between us and unsurprisingly, I was voted designated photographer.

The camera brought me back to the magic of film. No exposure settings, no controls, just good old fashioned point and shoot and hope for the best.

That simplicity seems to open up space for something special… I feel like we captured pure, real adventure. A sense of being right in it, getting splashed and thrown about by the waves, ducking under and catching a glimpse of colour underneath, then popping up above, seeing an abstracted view of the horizon through smeared goggles. And three lone Ruckcrafts bobbing along aimlessly, yet determined.

This all happened because I was part of it. I was there feeling it all with them. That’s my kind of photography. Natural, instinctive and bursting with energy. My return to me.

I’ve questioned many times whether I’m really passionate about photography. I have few photos of my holidays and I’m never seen with my camera when I’m ‘off duty’. So maybe it’s just a job to me… but I know it’s not. I’ve been drawn to it for a reason.

When I’m not cycling, I’m usually swimming, in lido’s, lakes or seas - I’m drawn to water, like a little rubber duck, if rubber ducks could cycle. Many friends have suggested I combine my passions and get into underwater photography, and it seems like a logical suggestion, that would be the dream right? But something has always stopped me.

I’ve had all the chats about the barriers that might be getting in the way - procrastination, fear of failure, not being good enough. And I’m guilty of all of them. But as I build up a rhythm in the murky lake water, gliding through the seaweed and taking mental snapshots of the trees on the horizon every time I turned my head, I know why. I’m always observing, soaking in the surroundings and taking a hundred photos in my head. I don’t always need a piece of equipment to be passionate about photography. And I don’t need physical photos as evidence of that.

So it's not that I don't enjoy my job, it's just that what draws me to it isn't necessarily what draws others to it. Photography to me is a way of bringing more observation and exploration into my life, to focus in on things that I cherish. However, observation is a gift most of us have available to us at any time, in any place, and we don't always need a camera to hone this skill. In a world where everything seems to be constantly documented and photographed, we’d do well to give our memory more credit and give more time to the simple pleasure in observation, for ourselves. And I don't think I'm doing my industry an injustice suggesting this - when you do pick up a camera, you might realise you've learnt more than you expected.

My return to me: A Swimming Adventure

Do we always need a camera to be practicing photography?

Blog Categories