This past weekend I traveled to Washington D.C. to cheer on a friend and her team, the DC Strokes Rowing Club, in the 3.1 mile Head of the Anacostia Regatta. I don’t have a lot of experience photographing sports or even people, so it was a challenge for me to capture some images of the event.
The last time that I watched my friend row, she was part of a four-woman boat, but this time she was in a mixed boat, with four female and four male rowers (plus a coxswain). I can’t even imagine how difficult it must be to synchronize your efforts with such a large number of others of such varied sizes and strengths. It was fascinating, for example, to see how they carried the boat down the ramp to the water, with the rowers arranged in ascending order by height.
I learned from the last time that I watched a race at this location that the best way to get action shots of the entire boat was to place myself on a bridge that overlooks the finish line. So after I watched the rowers launch their boat, the Stonewall, and head slowly for the start line, I walked quickly to the bridge to await their arrival. As I looked upriver to see when the boats would be coming, it was tough see across several railings and four lanes of traffic.
Eventually their boat arrived and I was happy that I was able to get some action shots from above as they headed for the finish line. Congratulations to all of them!
(Click on any of the photos in the tiled mosaic to see the photos in a larger size.)
The rowers in action
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
It looks like it would be a lot of fun!
It does look like fun, but also a lot of work. I think I would prefer the more leisurely pace of a canoe or kayak.
Fabulous photos. It was a great weekend for a regatta! Those races are so exciting ~ quick but intense! (my daughter does crew in HS)
Thanks. I suspect that a significant part of the rowing experience is the camaraderie that comes from being part of a team. It’s a little hard for spectators, since we only get to see a small part of the race, but there is definitely a sense of excitement in the air.
We have a rowing club on the river here and I often watch them when I cross the bridge. It looks like a lot of hard work, especially on the longer boats with more rowers.
I suspect that synchronization of efforts is the toughest thing for the multrower boats, though I have never done it myself (and I agree that it looks like a lot of work).