Not a wedding by maggiemae

Not a wedding

but merely a cold plunge into the sea at Mid Winter! In Oamaru Harbour a motley assortment of strangely clad people ran into the water! This bride looks as if she really didn't want to get her dress wet! What was she thinking of! The other figure seems to be embracing his challenge.

Three good things:
1. There were 2 roaring fires in drums for these brave souls to huddle around when they came out!
2. A lovely clear and sunny day for one of the shortest days.
3. Mowed the lawns - a first for June but they continue to grow!
Cool capture
June 22nd, 2014  
How exhilarating! They say you have to get your body used to this sort of activity....a bit of a shock to the system to say the least!
June 22nd, 2014  
@happypat Yes, I read that recently - a cold dip just to get the body used to it!
June 22nd, 2014  
there must have been a full moon!!! Fantastic capture with the blue of the water standing out so well against the white dress
June 22nd, 2014  
@grammyn It does look a bit like a night photo, Katy but it was at 2.30pm in the afternoon. I experiment a bit with my camera speed and this is what eventuates.
June 22nd, 2014  
@maggiemae LOL! I meant that they were crazy to go in that cold water! You know........people do stupid things when there is a full moon!
I like what eventuated in this shot!
June 22nd, 2014  
people do similar things in the UK maggie. No accounting for stupidity me thinks !
June 22nd, 2014  
@grammyn Oh, I do see what you mean! Never thought of that!
June 22nd, 2014  
Brrr rather them than me! How funny!
June 22nd, 2014  
hope she didn't get out in the deep water in that outfit.
June 23rd, 2014  
Oh heavens! I probably wouldn't go into that water mid-summer, never mind mid-winter! Looks like they were having fun though!
June 23rd, 2014  
Fun capture, I saw on the news that Hobart, Tasmania had a large crowd of skinny-dippers. Some strange people !!
June 23rd, 2014  
i would have to be paid a lot of meaningful cash to do this. besides, my excuse would be that i'm holding the camera. nice capture, maggiemae.
June 23rd, 2014  
what a fun capture! (i bet it was hard to walk in the water with that dress on!)
June 23rd, 2014  
@northy Yes, that would be the reason she looks as if she is struggling a bit!
June 23rd, 2014  
@summerfield The oldest person was 72, Vikki! ...and she didn't have a heart attack! Probably does this at 6am every morning!
June 23rd, 2014  
@chard All the competitors had to go out and submerge and only come in when the horn sounded! Agony!
June 23rd, 2014  
@phil_howcroft Well, its good for a laugh and brought lots of people down to the Harbour to watch!
June 23rd, 2014  
Brrrr....cold just thinking about it! Great capture of the festivities and conveying that it is cold.
June 23rd, 2014  
weird? Not sure... but a cool photo!
June 23rd, 2014  
I don't blame her
June 23rd, 2014  
Very interesting
June 23rd, 2014  
Oh boy, that is going to be a chilly dip
June 23rd, 2014  
Bev
Great catch. I wouldn't get into frigid water under any circumstances.
June 23rd, 2014  
Oh the mid winter swim! I've never been brave enough to try it myself but I can imagine it would be refreshing.
June 23rd, 2014  
A great way to celebrate the shortest day!
June 23rd, 2014  
At first sight I thought the bride was carrying the other guy. I thought she was some mermaid just coming out of the water. Beautiful. this seems to be great to watch.
June 23rd, 2014  
What an interesting sight and a fun catch. I like how you caught the lighting surrounding them. Cool!
June 23rd, 2014  
great composition Maggiemae
June 23rd, 2014  
Looks fun !
June 23rd, 2014  
This is a fun shot, Maggie, you have to be a bit mad now and then but to go for a mid-winter swim in Oamaru once in your life seems like a special occasion too.
June 23rd, 2014  
What a capture .... love it and really like the processing.
June 23rd, 2014  
Intriguing candid capture - I wonder what it was all about?
June 23rd, 2014  
I guess you only live once! Fun to watch and photograph.
June 23rd, 2014  
@dulciknit Everyone dresses up and dives into the harbour on the shortest day of the year, Alison! Annual event!
June 23rd, 2014  
Aaah, thank you!
June 23rd, 2014  
Hilarious humans! They can be so silly! I love it.
June 24th, 2014  
Brrrrrrr! This is making me feel cold just looking at it! How bizarre, but great photo opportunity!
June 24th, 2014  
Lovely capture Maggie.
June 24th, 2014  
Makes me think of the Polar Bear Clubs I've heard about. Crazy people swimming in the Atlantic (or some other frigidly cold body of water) with nothing but a bathing cap and swimsuit. I think it is officially listed as a definition of insanity in some dictionaries. But if I'm reading some of the comments correctly these folks were in some sort of competition- so maybe there was a prize for the craziest costume and the length of time you stayed in the water. At least that makes some sort of sense- but to do it just because...?????! Fun shot!
June 25th, 2014  
@olivetreeann there were prizes for the best whatever and prizes for those who did not get a prize so it was all worth while, Ann!
June 25th, 2014  
Great timing on this one. There's something here called the Polar Bear Club, members of which do this in Lake Ontario in winter. I am not a member!
June 25th, 2014  
Nice shot and they have to be totally crazy to do this on a cold day. Seems so strange that June means cold there and warm/hot here.
June 26th, 2014  
How fun....for them!! Great shot of the craziness!! Brrrrrrrr!
June 27th, 2014  
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