Wet And Wild With Nikon

That title probably conjures up a number of images for Western Australians - not the least of which the name of a water theme park up in the hills East of Perth. It may still exist - years ago I remember it had an enormous tube water slide as a main feature. You jumped into the top end on a rubber mat and were digested in all positions for about thirty seconds before being debouched at the bottom of it into a pool of other people. It was a bonus when you were not shot into someone's backside.


It occurred to me again last Saturday while doing a wedding in Doubleview.  Small memorial park, medium size crowd, bride in white satin and groom in cream linen - the usual nuptial thing. Fortunately the day was clear and bright and there were no trees or gazebos to confuse the camera or dapple the complexions. Kept the white balance on sunny, fired in a bit of fill and just kept tracking the bride. ( Note to new wedding photographers - lose your camera bag, your car keys, your trousers if you must - but never lose your bride. The groom makes a nice optional image somewhere in the day, but ALWAYS know where the bride is and what she is doing.)

All went swimmingly through the ceremony, the kissy line, and the big group shot...then the automatic timing mechanism that the council had set for the in-ground sprinklers cut in - at 4:00 in the afternoon. It only caught half of the guests...and they were pretty fast movers...and it was a warm day so they dried out.

My D300 cameras and lenses were safe - I parked them well away from the lawn and well above the tide line. But I think I will get myself a little Nikon 100AW waterproof camera and keep it tucked into my top pocket for the next occasion. Provided the council does not plan to water the gardens deeper than 10 metres I should be fine.

On a serious note - the 100AW is a very good idea for summer - shock, water, and sand-proof. 5X zoom lens and full HD video. Small and neat so you can pack it everywhere. Casing in discrete professional black or funky colours - that you can find underwater when you are dumped on Scarborough beach. Or a park in Doubleview.