Picture it: You're barreling through a person-sized tube with your swimsuit on and a ton of water whooshing along, until all of a sudden… WHEEE! You're spit out like a rag doll before plunging into a chlorinated pool. Krista Long has spent many a warm afternoon capturing that action in a series she's called "I Love Summer," and hey—she makes a strong case.
The idea came to her while visiting a water park with her daughters last year, but it took learning a few post-production tricks before she could perfect the pics. "There was an annoying brick building in the background," she told me via email. "So over the winter, I worked on Photoshop skills and finally figured out how to drop in a black background in but still retain the detail in the water droplets."
This blank slate behind the flailing figures actually made for a more dramatic effect, and focus attention on the willy nilly bodies and goofy faces. "That's what I found so interesting—when people are frozen in that instant before splashdown."
She can usually capture each image in a single frame—burst is too slow on her camera—and it takes about an hour per shot to get the background just right. Good times. Check out more from the collection on Long's Flickr page.