Charnwood Arts presents the latest exhibition of contemporary photographs as part of their Pixel and Grain programme at Loughborough Town Hall. The exhibition features a stunning series of images of the Loughborough University elite women's swimming team by Loughborough resident Angela Edwards. The exhibition is the second in the Passion for Performance project, a four year peoples' photography based initiative leading up to the 2012 London Olympics. Angela Edward's black and white photographs really explore the outer edges of fast film photography capturing the grace, power and movement of the swimmers above and below water. Two of the elite team are now in Beijing competing for Olympic gold.
Angela said:
"To many of us sport is more than a mere diversion. It is a way of life, a passion and a faith. It provides us with a sense of identity, a feeling of self worth and fulfilment both as a participant and a spectator. Bill Shankley once said of football, "Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that". Surely the same can be said of all sports ........ including swimming?
It is the intention of the photographer in this series of photographs to demonstrate the passion and grace of these swimmers for their sport. The elegance of their movements and the freedom of expression is evidenced in the rhythmical poise and beauty of their actions. But there is also a sense of power, strength and energy shown here....... a sense of urgency....... to swim harder, faster, stronger.
The venue for these photographs was the Olympic pool at Loughborough University and the subjects were members of the University's elite women's swimming squad. Access was gained to both poolside and the underwater viewing galleries thus allowing the photographer to gain different perspectives on this activity. No flash was allowed and so a total reliance on the excellent metering system of the Nikon F80, the versatility of the films used and the available ambient light. The photographs in fact were taken in varied light conditions i.e. bright sunshine with strong shafts of light on the water from the skylights for the first part of the session, but then the external conditions became overcast giving a much duller, flatter light inside the facility. This contrast was reflected in the films used. An HP 5, ISO 400 film was used in the brighter conditions - a fine quality B/W film which has given very crisp, high definition photographs. When the light conditions deteriorated an Ilford Delta ISO 3200 film was used giving a much grainier effect. The excellent metering system in the Nikon together with high quality films - and some luck! - resulted in these most balletic yet powerful photographs. A feature of interest is the texture of the water - captured through a very fast shutter speed.
The World Championships and the Olympic Games are the pinnacles of success for many elite sportsmen and women. Just to compete is an amazing achievement. These young swimmers have much to look forward to in their training as much is at stake - a place in the GB team!
'A Passion For Swimming' is a personal compilation of a series and it is hoped that the photographs capture the ultimate in grace, freedom of expression, power and elegance of top class sportswomen."