Jenny

Jenny is a library manager from Christchurch, Dorset. I was walking my dog on a freezing winter's day when I saw her striding out of the sea. She looked terrific set against the stormy skies and kindly let me take some shots. Jenny has always loved swimming outdoors but took up 'all year round' swimming in 2014 after her dad passed away. She'd spent many years caring for him, and after his death, found that she had more time to pursue her love of swimming. At first, she was nervous about swimming in the sea in the middle of the winter, so she joined a club called 'Beyond the Blue.' A group that regularly meets to swim all year round and welcomes new members no matter their ability. Jenny told me that it's a lot easier to enter freezing water when supported by the laughter of like-minded people. Since then, her swimming has gone from strength to strength. She's joined the 'Polar Bears Club' and recently got the coveted 'Spartans Badge.' To qualify, you have to swim 20 Sundays at Boscombe Pier between Oct and April inclusive. Jenny loves the 'pure joy' of swimming in the sea and, despite not feeling very positive about her body, enjoys 'feeling the power of her body' as she moves through the waves. Jenny has made lots of new friends through her passion for swimming, a couple of which aren't human. She's been joined on 2 occasions by seals who swam along with her, which she told me was ‘amazing, humbling, and a little bit scary’. She managed to photograph one. Jenny was an inspiring person to meet and I'm really looking forward to taking more shots of her and the other members of her club on their winter swims. I won't be bringing my Speedos though, no way.