Introducing Roesie Percy, photographer. Since birth, Roesie, 20, has been severely visually impaired and can only see in the far right corner of her left eye, having no sight in her right eye. The young photographer describes her work as “very ironic”, with pictures being all about the seen image. Roesie, however, looks for shapes, focuses on bold colours, not searching for details because she is unable to see them.
Her gallery features pictures from the Henley Royal Regatta, Newcastle University Boat Club as well as an indoor training gym at Edinburgh University. The Times was able to arrange exclusive access to Oxford University Boat Club training at their base in Wallingford and also on a launch on the River Thames last week for Roesie, which she described as a privilege.
Roesie writes (of the top image) As a photographer, I believe that if you want to get that perfect shot, you need to do things that most people wouldn’t even think of doing. So I put my wellies on so I could get into the water to photograph those unique moments instead of seeing the obvious pictures. Here the Cambridge Men’s Blue Boat throw their own wellies from their boat in preparation for an outing on the Tideway last week.
Equipment used: Nikon D750 using 24-700mm zoom lens (set at 24mm) 1/1000th sec f5.6. ISO 400.
Roesie writes This is what I call a perfect accident, taken during the Schools’ Head of the River in 2019, one of the first events I went to as a novice. I wanted to achieve a crisp, sharp overhead photograph, but I had accidentally chosen the wrong settings on my Sony A6000 and discovered that the slow shutter speed achieved a really nice frame.
Advertisement
Equipment used: Sony A6000 using 18-200mm zoom lens (set at 37mm) 1/60th sec f4.5. ISO 100.
Roesie writes At Henley Royal Regatta in 2021, the team ASR Nereus from the Netherlands won the Temple Challenge Cup. This is the celebration during the prizegiving, and the reason I have included this frame is the blazers. They may look rather tatty and uncared for, but this isn’t the case. The tradition of the Nereus blazer is something rather unique. Each has its own history — they get handed down through the generations of rowers. Some of the blazers in the photograph have been worn by crew members since the 1960s, and it is not until the owner of the blazer has won the Varsity (the oldest student rowing event in the Netherlands) that the blazer is allowed to be repaired.
Equipment used: Nikon D750 using 24-120mm lens (set at 78mm) 1/500th sec f7.1. ISO 1250
Roesie writes The photographers’ stand, which is located directly opposite the stewards’ enclosure, is one of the best seats in the house to watch racing at Henley Royal Regatta. Taken in 2019, the Harvard University Boat Club powered past the enclosure, and by using a low vantage point I wanted to capture the spectators in their finery.
Equipment used: Nikon D5100 using 20-300mm zoom (set at 70mm) 1/4000th sec f6.3. ISO 1000.
Advertisement
Roesie writes Early morning sparring on the Tyne with Newcastle University Boat Club. While on a family holiday I could not resist doing a shoot with NUBC, as they are one of the biggest university boat clubs in the country. I vividly remember being on the water at 7.30am and it being 20C — unheard of in the North East. It was memorable for me because the light was so low and dramatic, and I really enjoyed this photoshoot.
Equipment used: Nikon D750 using 70-300mm lens (set at 155mm) 1/1600th sec f5.6. ISO 250.
Roesie writes I particularly like this picture taken at Henley Women’s Regatta of the Tideway Scullers, as, first, the light is so beautiful, but also because the smiling rower had come prepared with a packet of Haribo and a water bottle tucked into her sports bra!
Equipment used: Nikon D750 using 70-300mm zoom lens (set at 35mm) 1/1600th sec f7.1. ISO 320.
Roesie writes Cambridge Men’s Blue Boat paddling back from Mortlake after their fixture against a crew from the Dutch Rowing Federation. I planned to photograph both crews at Putney Embankment and then sprint up to Hammersmith Bridge to capture an overhead action shot. I had about 25 minutes to reach Hammersmith, and this picture is the result, and why it made my whole day so enjoyable.
Advertisement
Equipment used: Nikon D750 using 24-70mm wide angle zoom lens (set at 70mm) 1/1000th sec f5.6. ISO 640
Roesie writes ASR Nereus celebrating their win in the Temple Challenge Cup in the 2021 Henley Royal Regatta. It is typical of the Dutch to have their team-mates swim out to the boat to support and celebrate with the team, and this was no exception! Photographing this kind of unique celebration has changed my view on my own photography. Now I tend to look for those “emotional” moments, rather than just the typical action shots.
Equipment used: Nikon D750 using 70-300mm zoom lens (set at 180mm) 1/2000th sec f7.1. ISO 400.
Roesie writes Screaming to make the boat go faster. . . even when winning! Coxswains have a very important role — they are the steering wheel and the motivator. This cox clearly wanted to motivate his crew and I like his facial expression and his intense clawed fingers, which shows the energy of the race.
Equipment used: Nikon D750 using 70-300mm lens (set 170mm) 1/3200 f8. ISO 1000.
Advertisement
Roesie writes I don’t think that most non-rowers realise that rowing boats are really heavy. Even though crew members of Oxford University make it look easy, it can still be quite a struggle to get the boat up and over your head and on to your shoulder in a synchronised way to carry it off the landing stage, as can be seen in some of the expressions of the rowers in this photograph.
Equipment used: Nikon D750 using 24-70mm lens (set 24mm) 1/1600th sec f4.5. ISO 400.
Roesie writes On a beautiful but cold morning in early March, I had the privilege of being able to photograph the Oxford University crew training on the Thames at their base in Wallingford. The Times had organised my visit and I got up at 3.30am to be at the boathouse at 6am. Being able to capture a photograph like this in such beautiful lighting conditions made the early start worthwhile. It was an incredible feeling to have the opportunity to photograph the crew as they trained for the Boat Race on Sunday.
Equipment used: D750 using 70-300mm lens (set at 70mm) 1/1250th sec f4.5 ISO 800.
Roesie writes In January I was asked by Edinburgh University to record their training sessions. Admittedly, I was quite nervous because I had never done any sport shoot indoors, but during a whole week photographing the crews I managed to learn and adapt to the lighting conditions. I believe that every cloud has a silver lining and because the weather in Scotland was so bad in winter it meant that I was able to perfect my photography skills. What do rowers do when they can’t get out in a boat? They spend more time on the rowing machine!
Advertisement
Equipment used: Nikon D750 using 24-70mm lens (set at 24mm) 1/200th sec f3.2. ISO 800.
Roesie writes In their final fixture before the Women’s Boat Race, Cambridge Women’s Blue Boat took on a strong ASR Nereus crew. Both crews looked extremely well drilled and it was fantastic for me to photograph the race from the official press launch on the Thames.
Equipment used: Nikon D750 using 70-300mm zoom lens (set at 300mm) 1/1000th sec f6.3. ISO 200.
Roesie writes Using a wide-angle lens I wanted to capture the quietness of the Cambridge crew as they prepared for their early morning outing at Putney. I think this is a frame which Marc Aspland has taken covering Boat Races for probably more years than I have been alive, so it is great for me to take a picture similar to how Marc sees pictures.
Equipment used: Nikon D750 using 24-70mm wide angle zoom lens (set 26mm) 1/1000th sec f5. ISO 400.
Roesie writes The Times had arranged for me to photograph from the official press launch and this was my very first time I had photographed rowing from a launch on the Tideway. I didn’t know what to expect and had excited anticipation in the pit of my tummy for the whole time travelling to London, but once I was in position and the race started, all the nerves quickly went away and I concentrated on capturing great pictures. I am starting to learn that you can only control the controllable and there is absolutely no point in getting yourself worked up over things that are out of your control — I just wanted to capture some images which I could be proud of from this unique vantage point.
Equipment used: Nikon D750 using 70-300mm lens (set 230mm) 1/1000th sec f7.1. ISO 250
Roesie writes Another “Marc” picture. The pile of Cambridge wellies were on the riverbank at Putney and I thought I would like to capture different pictures. The bright light blue caught my attention, and I like the fact there is a single CUBC logo on the side of one welly.
Equipment used: D750 using 24-70mm lens (set at 35mm) 1/640th sec f5.6. ISO 400.
Roesie writes Here Oxford Men’s Blue Boat raced against Oxford Brookes in their last fixture before the Boat Race. This photograph was taken just before the crews crossed the line at Chiswick Bridge. This was such an exciting and close race with a few blade clashes and I was so happy to be able to photograph this from the press launch last week.
Equipment used: Nikon D750 using 70-300mm zoom (set 250mm) 1/1250th sec f5.6. ISO 200.
Roesie writes This is the very last frame I took when I photographed the men’s and women’s crews on the Tideway last week. The Cambridge University cox is seen strapping the boats to the trailer, and the next time I will see this is when the boats are unloaded in preparation for the 167th Boat Race on Sunday. I cannot wait.
Equipment used: Nikon D750 using 24-70mm lens (set at 29mm) 1/800th sec f6.3. ISO 500.
Roesie is in her third year studying photography at Plymouth University, combining this passion with her love for rowing. Roesie has been rowing since the age of 12 and first picked up a camera aged 16. After meeting last year we became friends via Instagram, on which she is known as @a_blind_photographer. Roesie will be representing The Times as our photographer at the Women’s Boat Race on the Tideway on Sunday.
