Many Hands, Light Work

I tend to overestimate how formal people are at this university. When you aren't part of a group, when you're an outsider trying to get in, people seem intimidating. I think it's a New England trait, too, that we seem cold and unfriendly because we assume others are the same. What an awful cycle of behavior.

I ran into Kate on Friday, and the timing couldn't have been better – she was heading to the boathouse where the crew team was "de-rigging" the boats to load them onto a truck for their race at URI today.

Notes about the boats

I was a little apprehensive about diving right in and photographing these girls who had no idea who I was or what I was doing, but the second they saw me with a camera, it was all excited curiosity.

Little feet in a boat on the ceiling

"Take a picture of my hands!" one girl told me, holding out her calloused palm, the skin rough and broken around her knuckles. I hadn't even thought of the fact that these girls don't wear gloves while they row. What a physically brutal sport.

"De-rigging" entails unbolting the mechanisms that hold the oars to the boat

Shooting was a challenge, because I had no idea what was going on, but it turned into a really cool exercise in photography, because that's really how it works sometimes: You step into a foreign situation and have to gauge the space, the atmosphere, the energy, determine what is visually interesting and adapt to get the best shots.

My biggest challenge that day (and will continue to be, moving forward) was my machine. This is a brand new camera that I haven't spent enough time figuring out, and I'm going to have to do some serious work with it so I don't screw up these shots – you can't go back in time with sport photography. You get the shot or you don't.

Colorful handles of the oars

I couldn't believe it when Jenna told me that no one ever takes pictures of crew. She was so happy to hear about my project, because the team and sport really does slip under the radar here. Races, especially in the spring, are usually off campus, because our tidal waters make scheduling difficult.

Heavy lifting? No sweat

A handful of girls asked whether I would be coming to races and practices, sort of laughing and telling me to wear layers...the girls are on the water around 5 a.m. every morning, and race days can start at 3 a.m. How do I always manage to make so much work for myself?

From one afternoon, just a couple of hours with these girls, I already know this project is going to be so rewarding to so many, and I'm lucky that Coach Rawlinson and the rest of the team are such welcoming and inclusive people. Rock on, UNH!

Jenna secures a boat to the trailer

Coach Rawlinson helps the girls inspect a boat