USA Swimming Junior Nationals

Headed back to the Avery Aquatic Center for USA Swimming Junior Nationals.

What's a telltale sign it's Junior Nationals and not the Senior National Team?.... Braces.

It's really exciting to see the up-and-coming swimmers, the next Michael Phelps maybe.

The event is a breeding pool (literally) for America's swimming superstars.

Though some swimmers compete for spots on the senior national team while still in their teens, Dana Vollmer competed at Olympic Trials at the age of 12.

It's crazy that it really starts that young... guess it's too late for me to start my swimming career. Bummer.

Santa Clara Grand Prix - Day 3

Headed back down to Santa Clara for day three of the Grand Prix. More Michael Phelps.

Warming up and swimming.

And winning.

But apart from Phelps, excited to see Cal Bear duo Madison Kennedy and Will Copeland both win in the women's and men's 50 freestyle. Yay!

Swimming is tough to shoot because sometimes it might be better to be at the end of the pool, start of the pool, or along the pool deck, depending on the event and the shot you're looking for. But here's a photo Kyle Terada took of me along the pool deck =)

And the type of photo you get from there

Santa Clara Grand Prix - Day 2

Headed down to Santa Clara for the second day of the Santa Clara Grand Prix

I'm spoiled by having photographed a number of Olympic swimmers through the number of Cal swimmers who are also olympians. Of course this even had a number of current and former Cal Swimmers

It also included some big non Cal swimmers like Amanda Beard

And Michael Phelps!

A lot of the other photographers were kind of unfazed by Phelps because they've photographed him plenty of times before. But not me! It's crazy to think he won eight gold medals in the last Olympics!

Though I'll randomly doodle a star on my foot and pretend I have a tattoo, I really have no desire to permanently ink myself... that said, if I ever participated in the Olympics... I would definitely get a tattoo of the olympic rings.

But I probably missed my window of opportunity to be an olympian so it's not something I have to worry about.