Sydney is known for its beautiful beaches, but this city also boasts an array of swimming pools – from small rockpools carved out of beach headlands to high tech aquatic leisure parks. Pro landscape photographer Ignacio Palacios has spent years photographing them all – and has even provided some tips for taking gorgeous ocean rockpool photos of your own! In this two part series he provides invaluable advice.
Palacios emphasizes that to take an effective pool photo, arriving early and scouting out an optimal composition before the light starts shifting is key to creating memorable photos. He suggests going at sunrise or sunset when soft light really brings out the colors in their best possible forms; finding an angle which conveys scale can also help make for stunning photographs.
As a final tip, be mindful of the water’s movement – this may produce turbulent waves which will create interesting patterns within your photograph. Furthermore, use a fast shutter speed to capture all movement without blurriness.
Artificial pools constructed to match Sydney’s unruly coastline and strong surf waves possess an intriguing beauty of their own. Found along cliff edges or even suspended off peninsula points like Narrabeen, swimming holes provide welcome respite from its forceful waves.
Apart from offering safe places to swim and convenient changing facilities, swimming pools have also become essential community hubs. They serve as places where locals can meet for socialising events or lessons on swimming – providing essential access for those without access to backyard pools or who feel intimidated swimming open waters.
Marie-Louise McDermott writes for Sydney Morning Herald that pools were first constructed by men’s and women’s swimming clubs during the 1800s as safe swimming locations without fear of big waves or sharks, providing recreational swimmers an ideal setting to practice laps without risk. As competitive swimming increased across Australia, they became even more prevalent and also helped protect its citizens against disease such as typhoid, cholera and others.
As the COVID-19 pandemic intensifies, many are left wondering whether they will still be able to use their local pool. Sidney Water Park was closed this summer due to staffing issues; Duane Gaier, director of Sidney Water Park has stated he has had difficulty recruiting lifeguards due to a variety of factors including lack of government funding, pay rates below national averages and lack of people qualified with appropriate lifeguard training and qualifications.
