Vancouver Polar Bear Swim

After the Polar Bear Swim, when all of the commotion has subsided, there are often a few people who have a more personal approach to this tradition. Instead of running in with the rambunctious crowd, they go in on their own terms. For me, as a photographer, these are my favourite moments of the event. There is a certain peacefulness and serenity to it. For many people, this ritual of going in the water and coming back out again is symbolic of washing away last year’s burdens, leaving them there, and coming out fresh and renewed. It often leaves me a bit emotional seeing this, as I can easily relate. I watched this gentleman make his way down to the water. He stripped down to his swimming trunks, neatly folded his clothes and waded into the water. He came out smiling. He was in his own world. No one was cheering, and he did it alone. I don’t know what his story was, but I really admired him. Shot with my vintage Hasselblad 500C and 80mm lens. I shot this on some lovely expired Kodak Tri-X Pan 320 medium format 220 film. Home developed with Kodak HC-110 developer. Epson V-850 scan. January 1st, 2023 English Bay, Vancouver BC. #KodakTriX320 #TriXPan420 #220Film #ExpiredFilm #MarkKlotz #Hasselblad #Hasselblad500C #HomeDeveloped #VancouverPolarBearSwim #DocumentaryPhotography

Photographer:
foxy1969
Uploaded:
2023-02-26
Tags:
220film Mark Klotz Vancouver Polar Bear Swim documentaryphotography expired film expiredfilm hasselblad hasselblad 500c hasselblad500c homedeveloped kodak tri-x 320 kodaktrix320 markklotz trixpan420 vancouver vancouverpolarbearswim
Camera:
Hasselblad 500 C
Film:
Kodak Tri-X 320
Lens:
Carl Zeiss 80mm 2.8 Tessar T*
City:
Vancouver, BC
Country/region:
Canada
Year:
2023
Time:
afternoon
Albums:
2023 Vancouver Polar Bear Swim
More photos by foxy1969