Although most of us slide easily into a cool pool of water, there is a barrier our bodies need to push through before we're fully submerged. The surface tension of the water may not seem that powerful when you're diving in from just a few feet, but as bridge workers have tragically found out, the waters service can be as hard as concrete if you're descending toward it from above.
The incredible of water, even in a backyard swimming pool, is one of the reasons I love Gordon Nebeker's underwater photography. When Gordon wrote me about his work with Tim Parise, it was the underwater shots that I most looked forward to seeing. There is almost a hypnotizing quality the shots, a labyrinth of movement, light and color, never to be replicated again.
The ascension of bubble, the movement of the water and it's strong resistance to the flow of Tim's body and the white fabric. Although both appear to be seamlessly flowing immersed in the deep end, the water is actually putting up quite a fight, pushing back and resisting every move Tim makes, and every beautiful movement he makes with the fabric. The water has the power to make Tim's movements both easier, and much more difficult.
With the exception of the shot below, Tim standing at the bottom of the pool, with his reflection above, the remainder of the underwater shots were taken during last years shoot. Although things flowed nicely during last years shoot, for the second shoot, Gordon shares that the water wasn't necessarily as co-operative. Although the shot below is incredibly beautiful, for the rest of the shoot, creating a synergy between liquid, fabric, and Tim's naked body was a bit more challenging.
'Still trying to figure out why it happened, but most of my underwater shots from this year’s shoot didn’t turn out as well as I would have liked. Certainly not Tim’s fault. I think the water was too cloudy. We did our shoot the day after we got back from our cruise and the water was not as crystal clear as it usually is. I am reviewing my whole underwater shooting procedure to see if I can take it up a notch. Fortunately, we had lots of good underwater shots from last year to include. I think it was the chance to do some underwater photos that got Tim and I together in the first place.'
'I loved playing with Gordon's notorious white cloth and trying to dance with it in the water. My favorite shot, of course, was the underwater lotus, which is a position I've always been good at, and which I've never seen anyone else do in an aquatic setting. I like trying to make photo shoots as unique as possible. It took us four attempts to get that shot; I kept tipping forward (the anomalous "falling buddha" position) until I got the buoyancy right. And then we nailed it!'
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