Greig Clifford

I have always enjoyed photographing people who like jumping from height into the sea! From flamboyant somersaults and swan dives to flailing limbs or tucked knees, I like how the jumps are often a reflection of the individual's personality. I also like the simple adrenaline fueled joy of it all... there's no technology, just the thrill of the drop. On this occasion, as I watched these harbour wall jumpers gleefully launching themselves into the water I heard a distant sound of helicopters grow louder. I remember feeling the buzz of excitement for a chance to perhaps catch something unusual, perhaps even slightly surreal, as the helicopters got closer to entering the frame. This image is from the first (and best) of three that showed them. Unfortunately, as the seconds passed, bystanders quickly moved to the railings for a better view of the fly-by and I became less interested in the scene. In hindsight, I could have been more artistically mindful in the moment. Although I was generally pleased with the image in camera I ultimately felt it needed editing... cropping to level a tilted horizon, and to exclude all people but the jumpers. The crop also meant I lost a ladder on the harbour wall that the jumpers were using to climb back up but I felt it worth sacrificing for a less cluttered more artful image. By honing this way the image began to speak to me in other ways beyond the purely visual too. I see these helicopters, symbolic of war, contrasting with the innocence of youth. I see a repeating cycle of jumping, then climbing up, and jumping again, and like war, the cycle never seems to truly end. Despite the slightly more equal times we live in I still traditionally associate war with men fighting and I felt the lack of males in the image added an extra dimension to think about too... But anyway, as always I ramble on, and overthink things. Thank you for reading. #leica #leicacamera #throughmyleica #leicagram #theleicalook #leicaworld #leicasociety #myleicablog #bnw #monochromephotography #storyinmonochrome #bwgrammer #igers _bnw #bnw _life #bnw _epic #framesmag #decisivemoment #friendsinbnw #thepictoriallist #art _camera #photoobserve #bw _curators #chinook