Wednesday Nov. 24, 2010 Guangzhou, China

Risa Asada of Japan competes during the women's 1-meter springboard diving finals at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2010. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

Diving is always a charm to shoot.

I love watching how gracefully these athletes fall into the water.

I remember my first time shooting Diving was at the Laos S.E.A. Games and my was I a little shell shocked.

You always watch it on Tele and everything's in slow motion.

But in actuality, everything moves really quick. You're safer with a slightly shorter lens unless you wait for them to pop into your frame on a longer zoom.

There are no hard and fast rules and it's really what you want to achieve in the end.

This time round, I was tasked to shoot the final of the 1-meter springboard diving events for men and women.

1-meter?!?!?!?!? What am I gonna shoot? it's really quick and the action's shit.

I remember telling myself that.

But as we have no choice and are trained professionals (yeah trained to whip stuff out from where the sun does not shine) - where we're expected to make art out of shit situations (just like plumbers) you just really grit your teeth, pray hard and make the best out of the situation.

It was good to see mates like Adam Pretty there, whom I spent time with, shooting from the roof of the diving competition venue.

I tried the first round of finals (the women's) from the ground level, but it's really difficult because most times, these women face inward, or they don't do many twists, in fact they just do 3-3.5 tucks which means i have less of a chance to see their faces.

Adam hanging off the edge of the catwalk

Mojtaba Vali Pour of Irian competes in the men's 1-meter springboard diving finals at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2010. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

Going up the catwalk (a narrow ladder like walkway structure in the roof, where lighting is hung from, is another ordeal.

Actually, I back to differ.

This venue had great catwalk safety structures. We also had safety harnesses strapped to our bodies and cameras.

Shooting from top down made a whole lot of difference. It gave me variety in my shots and most importantly, clean background and funny expressions from the boys as well.

It was however, very very still up there, hardly any oxygen or ventilation and me and pretty were falling asleep most of the time.

Falling asleep up there felt funky. I had vertigo. You felt like you were going to fall off, in that semi-conscious state.

So anyway, the thing is, there really are no rules. Quick action, quick shutter, quick action, slow shutter, quick action, no shutter... it's up to you really. Make the best out of your situation out there.

And there's no point getting angry really at organizers etc. If you be a little bit patient and smile, things will normally work out for you.

Being a photographer doesn't make you God. And no one really has to give you way.

Be patient and most times, things will work out right.

I cannot highlight this any further but working with great company around you makes the time tick a little quicker.

Having a laugh or two, whether it was making fun of the medal hostesses and their wrong underwear or male athletes having bodies like women, will just help the whole process and long days seem to go by quicker.

Enjoy the snaps.

Pictures shot on : Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, Canon EF 300mm F 2.8 and 70-200mm USM IS lens