Go Jump off A Cliff

Tuesday July 19th, 2011

While on assignment in Negril, Jamaica, Michelle Nolan found herself with a day off in between shoots. Rather than relax by the pool, she decided to explore the island and take some personal shots. After asking a few locals how she could make the most out of her day, Michelle found her way to a place called Rick’s Cafe to watch the famous cliff divers.

Michelle had been told that tourists flock to Rick’s to watch young divers execute flawless jumps from the rock cliffs for tips. Since it was the off season and few people were around, Michelle thought it would be a great opportunity to get to know some of these divers. After watching for a bit, Michelle approached a small group of boys and asked if she could hang for the day and photograph them. Their response? “Anytime, mon.” Which was exactly what she was hoping for.

So Michelle started her day with Tippa, Ricardo, Cody and Jordaine, three young men all under the age of 22, all of which had been diving most of their lives. Best friends, these four had a strong sense of brotherhood that Michelle found obvious as she watched. Each boy had a their own individual dive, personality, and nickname.

According to Michelle, photographing the divers was, “truly a unique experience.” Not only were they exquisite divers with skills that could rival Olympians, but they were also great fun to be around. Michelle told me a little about the boys,

They loved being in front of the camera and would yell down from the cliffs, “Miss Michelle, get this!” At times, I couldn’t keep up because more than one of them would yell from different directions. I couldn’t get over how happy they were jumping, swimming, climbing repeatedly throughout the day. They’re playful razzing of one another (and me) highlighted they’re vibrant personalities. They were such free-spirits. So much so, I couldn’t help but dive in myself. My jump was only from about 20 ft. My new friends, however, were diving from 40 plus feet without hesitation. I asked them if they ever got hurt from diving. Tippa told me a story about doing a back flip and grazing his head on a rock on the way down. This is why he said he’ll never do that dive again. I told him his swan dives are beautiful enough.

However, these four were not the only ones to grab Michelle’s attention. There was another diver that caught her eye,

He was a little older than the rest of the boys and kind of the lone-wolf of the group. He had a fiery personality and I could tell he digged the danger. His dives were risky, yet incredibly athletic. The boys told me that he was “crazy.”  I photographed him diving just for a moment because he didn’t like his picture taken.

The day flew by for Michelle and as the sun began to set she found herself wishing she had more time to spend with these unique islanders. Michelle took away a lot from that day—great photos, new friends, fond memories, and a renewed vigor for photography. Michelle explained, “The experience reminded me of one thing I love about being a photographer—for a brief moment it’s a doorway into the lives of people I would never otherwise had the chance to meet, sit with, talk to and get to know. Without it, I would have just been another gawking tourist with a camera.”

- Maria