WILD AND WET PHOTOGRAPHY
12th January 2026
There was a good turnout for what had unexpectedly become the first meeting of the year in person in the hall. Dave Stewart was making his first visit to us since 2018 when he had given his earlier version of his talk on ‘Wet and Wild Photography’
Dave told a tale of how coincidence can totally change your life. He has been obsessed with photography for the greater part of his life, and having some time on his hands, he had gone along to the local lake with his camera. He was taking photos of jet skiers and they asked him what he was doing. They had never had a pro photographer taking shots of them before and asked him to let them see his results. Of course, back then it was film, so it required a trip to get his rolls processed on express so he could oblige.
The jet ski club members were so impressed that they asked Dave to become their official photographer. He was astonished to think that they wanted his images, but readily agreed and started selling them. The members in turn stuck them up all over their club house, where they were seen by the editor of ‘Jet Ski’ magazine who needed a new photographer. Dave was even more astonished when she asked him if he wanted the job. He could hardly believe his luck that he could make a living from his beloved hobby. Life events meant he was in a position to change career and this set him off on the path of being a professional freelance sports photographer.
Dave found himself photographing all sorts of events on water. Sometimes he was standing up to his neck in the water with his camera in a waterproof housing, sometimes he was lying on a pontoon, in a boat or speed boat or on the bank. It was a varied and exciting life. Before long, the editor asked him to step in for the retiring copy writer and this boosted his income. Throughout Dave gave details of the lens lengths and settings he used for different sports and situations.
He diversified into various other sports and we saw a lot of images of wake boarding. Some were of competitive events and others from portfolios shot for the people involved. Some he had photographed from junior competitors through their entire careers to retirement.
In their off season many of the water sportsmen took part in motorsport events and Dave found himself getting invitations to photograph them. He covered speedway, motocross, off roading and every other variety of sport. The unifying theme seemed to be wet – either water based, beach or rain and mud. More magazine work followed along with invitations to attend some prestigious events in different parts of the world.
Dave had learned to specialise in capturing the water as screens of spray full of sharply focussed droplets or splatters of mud and everything in between. He had also become an expert at panning and holding his camera steady enough to capture everything bitingly sharp. It is no coincidence that his work made its way onto magazine covers and into adverts for sponsors. It seemed obvious that the text in the sponsorship graphics should be as sharp as on a billboard, but surely few could achieve this with a fast moving subject and potentially doing so from a moving vehicle.
Dave’s images were all of such quality and his delivery so self-deprecating and laconic that it would have been easy to take for granted the skill and hours of effort that had gone into capturing such impressively detailed images. He said his goal was to always select settings that captured the scene in a way that showed the movement of the subject. He certainly succeeded and his work must surely have provided inspiration to any aspiring sports photographers in the room.
We have more internal competitions in store and a variety of different speakers to come. Next week we will welcome Ian Pinn, an old friend of the club who specialises in prints and monochrome. He is bringing an updated presentation and should provide us with another great night. We hope to see everyone then and maybe a few new faces as well. Club nights continue until 20th April, and guests are always welcome.
Full details of the club and programme are on the: http://www.retford-photographic.co.uk/
Meetings are weekly on Mondays at 7.30pm in St Joseph’s Hall, Babworth Road.
Dave told a tale of how coincidence can totally change your life. He has been obsessed with photography for the greater part of his life, and having some time on his hands, he had gone along to the local lake with his camera. He was taking photos of jet skiers and they asked him what he was doing. They had never had a pro photographer taking shots of them before and asked him to let them see his results. Of course, back then it was film, so it required a trip to get his rolls processed on express so he could oblige.
The jet ski club members were so impressed that they asked Dave to become their official photographer. He was astonished to think that they wanted his images, but readily agreed and started selling them. The members in turn stuck them up all over their club house, where they were seen by the editor of ‘Jet Ski’ magazine who needed a new photographer. Dave was even more astonished when she asked him if he wanted the job. He could hardly believe his luck that he could make a living from his beloved hobby. Life events meant he was in a position to change career and this set him off on the path of being a professional freelance sports photographer.
Dave found himself photographing all sorts of events on water. Sometimes he was standing up to his neck in the water with his camera in a waterproof housing, sometimes he was lying on a pontoon, in a boat or speed boat or on the bank. It was a varied and exciting life. Before long, the editor asked him to step in for the retiring copy writer and this boosted his income. Throughout Dave gave details of the lens lengths and settings he used for different sports and situations.
He diversified into various other sports and we saw a lot of images of wake boarding. Some were of competitive events and others from portfolios shot for the people involved. Some he had photographed from junior competitors through their entire careers to retirement.
In their off season many of the water sportsmen took part in motorsport events and Dave found himself getting invitations to photograph them. He covered speedway, motocross, off roading and every other variety of sport. The unifying theme seemed to be wet – either water based, beach or rain and mud. More magazine work followed along with invitations to attend some prestigious events in different parts of the world.
Dave had learned to specialise in capturing the water as screens of spray full of sharply focussed droplets or splatters of mud and everything in between. He had also become an expert at panning and holding his camera steady enough to capture everything bitingly sharp. It is no coincidence that his work made its way onto magazine covers and into adverts for sponsors. It seemed obvious that the text in the sponsorship graphics should be as sharp as on a billboard, but surely few could achieve this with a fast moving subject and potentially doing so from a moving vehicle.
Dave’s images were all of such quality and his delivery so self-deprecating and laconic that it would have been easy to take for granted the skill and hours of effort that had gone into capturing such impressively detailed images. He said his goal was to always select settings that captured the scene in a way that showed the movement of the subject. He certainly succeeded and his work must surely have provided inspiration to any aspiring sports photographers in the room.
We have more internal competitions in store and a variety of different speakers to come. Next week we will welcome Ian Pinn, an old friend of the club who specialises in prints and monochrome. He is bringing an updated presentation and should provide us with another great night. We hope to see everyone then and maybe a few new faces as well. Club nights continue until 20th April, and guests are always welcome.
Full details of the club and programme are on the: http://www.retford-photographic.co.uk/
Meetings are weekly on Mondays at 7.30pm in St Joseph’s Hall, Babworth Road.