I had the privilege of attending and photographing this action-packed WCA LC Swimming Gala Champs held from the 15-18th December 2020 in Malmesbury, South-Africa. This event was organised by Western Cape Aquatics of which there were 39 Clubs/Teams/Academies and swimmers were under strict Covid regulations. The event was run like a well-oiled machine, punctual and professional. It was an absolute pleasure to photograph this swimming gala, even with the weather being so very hot.

My Client

I came upon an advert on Facebook where a photographer was required to cover a swimming gala living either in or near Malmesbury. I responded and after some discussions with my client, I was awarded the job.

The Gala Through Max’s Eyes

Western Cape Long Course Championships 2020

Venue:  Malmesbury Pool   

Date: 15 – 18 December 2020

I am Massimiliano Gerbi, 11 years old and swim for my team, Tygerberg Aquatics.

Day: 1

When we arrived at the pool, I was very nervous and excited at the same time.  I was wondering who my team would be. 

I took part in 3 events, namely Boys 13 & Under IM… now an IM stands for Individual Medley and it is comprised of 4 strokes, namely Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke & Freestyle. 

In my IM I managed to improve my time by 3.13 seconds

My second event was Boys 13 & Under 50m Backstroke where I improved my time by 0.60

Lastly, we swam the relay Boys 11 & Under 400m Free Relay in which our team got placed 2^nd and we each received a silver medal. 

I will so thrilled to win the Silver.

Day 2

I entered 3 events 100m Backstroke, 50m Breaststroke and 200m Freestyle Relay.

Our Tygers Team once again managed to place 2^nd in the relay and we received our second silver medal.  This was super exciting.  We now had 2 medals in our pocket!!

Day 3

I swam in 3 events again, 100m Breaststroke, 200m Backstroke and 50m Butterfly. It was strangely weird without any spectators or my mom cheering loudly for me from the stands.  Luckily we did still have our awesome coaches cheering for us and giving us words of encouragement.

Day 4

This was the final day of the competition and my body was starting to feel tired, but I wanted to do my best for my team.  I had 200m Freestyle, 50m Freestyle and lastly 200m Medley Relay.  Tygers Team placed 2^nd in the relay now for the 3^rd time during this gala.  So it was a very proud moment to receive the 3^rd silver medal.

I really enjoyed the gala even though it was a long four days.  But it was lots of fun and I can’t wait for the next one.

In Conclusion

Due to the nature of Covid, parents and spectators were not allowed to attend the swimming gala, as the organisers had to comply with strict government regulations. Max’s parents saw the value in having a photographer capture the events that he swam in and can treasure those moments, even although they were not allowed to be there. Prints have been ordered and will be displayed in their home and office.

I also took the opportunity to photograph other swimmers.  Some of the parents present were official timekeepers, officials and assistants on specific days had also requested me to photograph their children who were also participating. There were some wonderful artistic moments and opportunities to capture unusual sporting shots, I do have a few of my favourites which can be viewed in the gallery.

I wish to express my gratitude to the Gerbi family for the professional way business was conducted, you are fantastic clients. Everything ran super smooth, I was taken very good care of whilst doing my work, in the end we are both very satisfied with the results from the photoshoot.

Max In The Backstroke Swimming Event

Gallery

The images are of a high resolution nature and may take time to load. Click either on the advance arrow or on the image itself to view as a large single image. As I also shoot film, I jumped at the chance to shoot some expired Agfa Vista 100 film that I had stored in my fridge, along with a roll of Kodak ColorPlus 200 and two rolls of Fuji C200 on my Nikon F6. I wasnt expecting too much from the Agfa film apart from some colour shifts and it did require some post editing corrections. All of these films are budget films and were fun too shoot action with. I normally take quite long to finish a roll of film as I make each frame count. Sport obviously does not work like this, and I was very impressed with the above 95% success rates of my film shooting.

Max’s Gallery

Film Gallery

My Favourites Digital Colour Gallery

Prints

Prints and images are still available. I do have links which are divided into four days which will help narrow things down for those that wish to order.This is a link to my Facebook business page where you will find a pinned post with all the information and links to the private online galleries: LINK

Please provide me with the days on which the images were shot, it will help me to locate your required images faster, an example below. I used three different cameras on the day and each has a unique model number and file name. I don’t want to provide the wrong images in the event of any duplicates with another swimmer.

Day 1:

• 6038
• 6039
• 6040
• 6011

Enlargements can be ordered when you are ready, I make use of three preferred printing companies which can print in a variety of mediums, canvas, archival papers, metal and more, as well as in different sizes either as a single image or as a triptych in say five images if you wanted a large split image for an office or large room. The decision rests with you and I can quote accordingly. I do recommend metal prints as they are easy to clean and have a professional gallery/museum look about them.

Mockup Gallery

The online gallery images are proofs and do need editing and cropping if necessary to produce a better image. I also provide you with mockups of your images as per the gallery above, which will give you an idea of how the image can look at your office or living space walls at home.

Promo Video