Personal Journey and Adventures of Nina

Just for a change I thought I put all of the highlights together into a short video for you! This annual meet at SOPAC Olympic Park Aquatic Centre is always a lot of fun. I saw kids from different teams hugging each other throughout the event. Despite the torturous 6 days and nights of heats and finals, the kids never tired. Although I surely did! There was also plenty of opportunity for some great action shots because we have the best in the State here at the event so technique is pretty good by now. The greatest highlight for me was watching the legend Chris Fydler swim so watch out for this post! Speedo heats next should be an altogether different challenge as the kids are aged 6 years - 13years. See you there! If you would like to see all of the highlights from the State Champs, click here . Nina Beilby is a professional photographer based in Chatswood, Sydney, Australia. You can see more of her work at  www.ninabeilby.com.au .  Social Media:   Facebook |  Twitter

 I like the Country Champs. The vibe is different. There is great team spirit as mostly the teams are there together for the most part of the day. They get into the event too, painting nails, parading mascots and some even wearing coloured wigs to brighten the mood as they cheer on their teammates. Lots of our old favourites were there including Jarrod Poort, Ryan Leonard, Meg Bailey, The Coopers, The Woolleys, The Freemans and The Gilroys. Such elite athletes are wonderful to watch but just as fun are the younger swimmers. Jarrod Poort Ryan Leonard Jenna Freeman The younger swimmers have so much energy and enthusiasm. It is lovely to watch them. The photos too are priceless. I have photos of my own swimmer from when she was doing the fly and breast at 8 years old. We giggle at them now in comparison to her more recent photos were her technique has greatly improved.  For me, the fun part is capturing the emotion. The concentration behind the bl

Personally, I just like to watch James in action. I am not a swimmer but I have to say, his technique looks pretty good to me! And don't you just love the new Arena jammers...  There were some other great swims at Metro from David McKeon , Bobby Hurley and Emma McKeon . I will post some highlights shortly.

From 7 year olds last weekend at the Summer Sprints to the "big kids" at this NSW LC Qualifying Meet. The biggest difference.....SPLASH! Bigger and stronger, these guys make a mess of the pool.  The races are tighter so I have to try to shoot through the leg splash of the swimmer in the parallel lane to the one I'm aiming for then try to focus through their arm splash! A lot of dead images but still some good ones! What is cool about these guys is their experience and style makes them so beautiful to watch. So streamlined, flexible and powerful! More images are on my website. Just click here . See you at the District Championships!

The stars of tomorrow were at this meet. It is so much fun to watch them swim. Some as young as 7 years of age swim with such style only seen with older swimmers. Some great dives and lovely strokes, all attributed to the quality coaching for certain as well as some definite natural talent. Though what I like the most about the District Meets - The SMILES!!!  You can see the rest of the images on my website. Just click here . If you would like to see more of my portrait work, just go to my here . Thanks for visiting my blog!!

This was a terrific meet. Firstly, I loved watching the littlest kids swim. Secondly, this was the first meet where I had a second photographer. It was fabulous because it was like there were two of me. He was able to get shots that I cannot possible get because I have to be positioned ready to take the action photo. He got some some terrific behind the blocks images, so close that you can see the anxiety in the swimmers face! He also has a different eye to me so he got some angles that I hadn't thought of...awesome! I had the loan of the Canon 1D X and it was phenomenal in the low light. In addition, I had rented the 300mm fixed lens. A big heavy lens but it forced me to use my monopod which my physiotherapist was delighted about! It allowed me to get really close without loosing any sharpness. It takes a while to get used to but it is worth it. Sadly, my Canon 5D Mark II stopped working...ouch! I was unable to take the presentation photos whic