Dive right in

As the summer crawls into its later stages, the weather outside is heating up (in the Northern hemisphere at least). Cool waters call out to those who would leap in, momentarily letting gravity have its way with them, pulling them down as they flail, shout or twist. Collected here are a handful of photos of divers around the world, showing their professional artistry, daredevil bravado, or just simple joy as they take the plunge. (35 photos total)

Chinese diver Li Kang prepares for a dive during the Women's 10m final on July 18, 2009 at the FINA World Championships in Rome, Italy. (FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images)

Orlando Duque of Colombia readies to dive off a 26-meter high platform on Fort Lovrijenac in Dubrovnik, Croatia on July 11, 2009 during the 2009 Red Bull Cliff Diving Series. (Zeljko Lukunic/AFP/Getty Images) #

German diver Anna Bader jumps from a balcony while training for a world series cliff diving competition in Polignano a Mare, Italy on July 24, 2009. (REUTERS/Balazs Gardi/Handout) #

Paramilitary policemen train during a swimming course in Donghu Lake in Wuhan, Hubei province, China on July 30, 2009. The policemen attended the course to enhance their capabilities during floods, local media reported. (REUTERS/Stringer) #

Chinese residents jump into the Yangtze river to cool off from the Summer heat in Wuhan, China on July 19, 2009. (AFP/Getty Images) #

A boy jumps off a promenade into the river Ganges in the northern Indian city of Varanasi on July 21, 2009. (REUTERS/Jayanta Shaw) #

A diver drops through the air from the Mostar Bridge during traditional jump from the bridge, 75 km south of Bosnian capital of Sarajevo on Sunday, July 26, 2009. A total of 60 divers compete in the event and drop from the 25-meter high bridge into the Neretva river. (AP Photo/Amel Emric) #

A Kosovo Albanian boy jumps into the water in the swimming pool near the village of Milosevo on July 25, 2009 as the temperature reached over 40 degrees celsius. (Armend Nimani/AFP/Getty Images) #

Tania Cagnotto of Italy competes in the 1m Womens Springboard Diving at the Stadio del Nuoto on July 19, 2009 in Rome, Italy. (Clive Rose/Getty Images) #

Eric Sehn of Canada somersaults during a dive in the men's 10m platform diving preliminaries at the World Championships in Rome July 20, 2009. (REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi) #

A swimmer dives into Jiaozhou Bay in Qingdao, China, on Sunday, July 5, 2009. (Nelson Ching/Bloomberg News) #

A boy wearing water wings jumps into the pool at the Rheinbad public bath in Duesseldorf, Germany, on Monday, July 27, 2009. (AP Photo/Mark Keppler) #

An expeditioner jumps into an ice hole to celebrate the winter solstice at Davis Station in the Australian Antarctic Territory on June 21, 2009. With air temperatures hovering around -23C (-9.4F), Australian scientists and winter crew marked the shortest day of the year with a dip in the polar waters followed by a hot dinner. (PAUL ENDERSBY/AFP/Getty Images) #

Hassan Mouti of France dives off a 26-meter high platform on fort Lovrijenac in Dubrovnik on July 11, 2009 during the 2009 Red Bull Cliff Diving Series. (Zeljko Lukunic/AFP/Getty Images) #

An unidentified diver practices at the swimming pool of the Foro Italico, on the eve of the 2009 World Swimming Championships, in Rome, Italy on Thursday, July 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) #

Flora Piroska Gondos of Hungary dives in the Women's 3m Springboard Preliminary at the Stadio del Nuoto on July 20, 2009 in Rome, Italy. (Al Bello/Getty Images) #

Luxin Zhou of China competes in the Mens 10m Platform Preliminary at the Stadio del Nuoto on July 20, 2009 in Rome, Italy. (Clive Rose/Getty Images) #

Andrey Ignatenko of the Ukraine dives from the 26-meter platform during round three of the 2009 Red Bull Cliff Diving series in Dubrovnik, Croatia. (DEAN TREML/AFP/Getty Images) #

Qin Kai of China competes in the men's 1m springboard diving final at the World Championships in Rome, Italy on July 17, 2009. (REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi) #

German Sanchez and Ivan Garcia of Mexico compete in the Men's 10m Synchronized Platform competition during the 13th FINA World Championships at the Stadio del Nuoto on July 24, 2009 in Rome, Italy. (Clive Rose/Getty Images) #

Valentina Marocchi and Brenda Spaziani of Italy perform a dive in the women's 10m platform synchronised diving final at the World Championships in Rome, Italy on July 19, 2009. (REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay) #

Boys jump from a ruined structure into the Tigris River in Baghdad's Adhamiya District, northern Baghdad on July 1, 2009. (REUTERS/Stringer) #

Skaneateles High School graduates jump into Skaneateles Lake after their graduation ceremony in Clift Park in Skaneateles, New York on Sunday, June 28, 2009. Jumping in the lake at the end of the graduation ceremony is a yearly tradition for graduates. (AP Photo/The Post-Standard, Nicholas Lisi) #

Water flies from the hair of Qiu Bo of China as he dives in the men's 10m platform diving final at the World Championships in Rome , Italy on July 21, 2009. (REUTERS/Max Rossi) #

Guo Jingjing of China competes in the Women's 3m Springboard Final at the Stadio del Nuoto on July 21, 2009 in Rome, Italy. (Clive Rose/Getty Images) #

The fingertips of China's Jiang Tingting and Jiang Wenwen just break the water's surface as they dive on their way to win the bronze medal of the duet technical synchronized swimming event at the FINA Swimming World Championships in Rome, Italy on Tuesday, July 21, 2009. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) #

Guo Jingjing of China just begins her entry on a dive in the women's 3m springboard diving final at the World Championships in Rome, Italy on July 21, 2009. (REUTERS/Tony Gentile ) #

A child dives into the Nile river during a hot day in Cairo, Egypt on July 18, 2009. (REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih) #

(From left) Britain's Joanne Jackson, Italy's Federica Pellegrini and Allison Schmitt of the Unted States dive in to begin the final of the Women's 400m freestyle on July 26, 2009 at the 13th FINA World Swimming Championships in Rome, Italy. Pellegrini won gold and beat the world record with 3:59.15. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images) #

Reiko, a female polar bear, plunges into the water at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday, July 26, 2009. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye) #

A diver makes a small splash during the men's 10m platform diving final at the World Championships in Rome, Italy on July 21, 2009. (REUTERS/Max Rossi) #

Boys compete for the highest splash as they jump into the water at Havana's port, in Cuba on July 2, 2009. (REUTERS/Desmond Boylan) #

Italy's Maria Elisabetta Marconi enters the pool during the women's 1-meter springboard diving preliminary, at the FINA Swimming World Championships in Rome, Italy on Sunday, July 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) #

Chinese diver Wu Minxia shakes the water from her head after a dive in the women's diving 1m springboard final on July 19, 2009 at the FINA World Swimming Championships in Rome, Italy. (FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images) #

Tania Cagnotto of Italy climbs out from the pool after diving in the women's 1m springboard diving final at the World Championships in Rome, Italy on July 19, 2009. (REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi) #

More links and information

FINA Swimming World Championships - Official site

Red Bull Cliff Diving - Official site

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Thanks! all were beautiful, but #32 brought back my childhood when we did the same "cannonball" splash dives.

Posted by SheilaM July 31, 09 02:19 PM

cool stuff

Posted by eldo July 31, 09 02:23 PM

It's so nice, perfect timing..!

i have some jump shots in my flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mashafeeg/3629187230/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mashafeeg/3288612090/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mashafeeg/370649423/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mashafeeg/2430966684/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mashafeeg/3153818938/

Posted by mode July 31, 09 02:29 PM

Awesome ....

Posted by In your dreams July 31, 09 02:29 PM

The inclusion of #30 is pure genius. Thanks for the broad smile.

Posted by brittney July 31, 09 02:31 PM

Thanks BigPicture! I love almost every photo set you post. And it's sad when you get to that last picture :) Keep up the good work!

Posted by Apoelistas July 31, 09 02:37 PM

#39 The program is called "Professional Photographer" but unfortunately this program isn't available to the general public. The public domain program called "Years of Experience" will get you close though.

Posted by Matt July 31, 09 02:56 PM

Mmmmmmm....Tania.

Posted by Anonymous July 31, 09 03:08 PM

Great idea, really a good theme! I like the fact that the pictures chosen are from around the whole world.

Posted by Maxime July 31, 09 03:34 PM

As a diver and a Bostonian, I love love love these pictures. It's so awesome to see amazing sport photography - good diving photos are not easy to find!

Posted by Kristin July 31, 09 03:51 PM

I'm not too keen on diving, but #9 is simply awesome. Looks like something Rodin would chisle.
Agree with a couple of statements above: #35 Tania Cagnotto is absolutely gorgeous. Would do her. any favour she'd ask me for.

Posted by Schmierwurst July 31, 09 03:58 PM

Brilliant. Simpy Brilliant. Now, I gotta take some jump shots for myself.

Posted by Akshat Gait July 31, 09 04:05 PM

Nice photos!
There is a mistake in #2. There is no such a country called 'Columbia'.
Orlando Duque is from Colmbia, with 'o'. This is a very usual mistake, I've found...
On the other hand, #30 is the best!

Posted by MarioA July 31, 09 04:25 PM

Love your reply, Matt. Did you steal that information from www.thereisnoshortcut.com

Posted by Luke July 31, 09 04:26 PM

beaufitul :)

next a collection of summer countryside in the summer :) ;)?

Posted by ha! July 31, 09 04:31 PM

one of the best set at The big picture. my favourite is the #8, but lots of beautiful pictures here.

Posted by Anonymous July 31, 09 04:42 PM

Red Bull seems able to pick much more interesting settings than FINA. Maybe the latter should kick it up a notch.

Posted by Des July 31, 09 04:46 PM

Missing a pic of someone skinny dipping. Maybe next time. Great pics

Posted by troyerboy July 31, 09 05:39 PM

Regarding #11... It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's Asian Superman!!!

If you think out of the box for a second, and imagine that his flight path is horizontal and not vertical, he could easily be flying by the onlookers on his way to parts unknown...

Posted by abstract July 31, 09 05:59 PM

Good pictures but i wonder. Where are the divers from la quebrada in Acapulco Mexico?

Posted by german torres July 31, 09 06:06 PM

Very Nice Indeed, I am slowly but surely becoming �The Big Picture� junkie
I was always fascinated by the cliff jumping, especially into the sea. Where You have to timed Your jump with tides and/or waves, if not you may not find enough water to cushion the body entry into the water. South East Asia and especially South America is a bonanza with places to jump off the cliffs.
Here are few links to some jumps. The photos quality not as good as We saw it here: http://www.snotr.com/video/1599
http://www.lukelong.com/jump.html
http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/211_fall2004.web.dir/ana_marx/brazil.html

Posted by Peter Bullert July 31, 09 07:14 PM

#23 - I visit this site every day and imagine my surprise when I see a picture of my cousin at graduation!!!

Posted by Jeannette July 31, 09 07:28 PM

Great pictures!! It doesn't matter what nationality, creed, color or religion, this pictures are stunning examples of the sheer elegance of the human body. One of Gods greatest creation, simple, agile, pure athletic prowess.

Oh, the polar bear was great too, cute paws!

Nice job!

Posted by Jon July 31, 09 09:05 PM

#29-- That's my high school! Such a great tradition... even our retiring superintendent jumped in a few years ago! The water is FREEZING!

Posted by SkanGrad July 31, 09 09:07 PM

Great photos! Diving is always a moment you feel alive.

Posted by Nina July 31, 09 09:31 PM

#34..... best of the best

Posted by dex July 31, 09 10:25 PM

This is a just perfect !

Posted by kosmo July 31, 09 11:19 PM

some fantastic perspectives in these photos. #34 is great!

Posted by Geoff July 31, 09 11:48 PM

Great great pictures. My favorite ones are #3 and #26.

Posted by Mahshid August 1, 09 12:03 AM

#26 is amazing !!!!

Posted by nadorama August 1, 09 12:29 AM

Great Photos!

I need water, water to drink
Water on my brain, water sustain,
Water over me
I want water, water I need
Water to think, water to drink
Water over me

Posted by Kaveh August 1, 09 01:36 AM

Excellent! This is one of my favorite Big Pictures.

Posted by Andrew Janke August 1, 09 02:03 AM

Thanks.

I quite like 34 btw.

Posted by Anonymous August 1, 09 02:09 AM

#35
damn yo!

Posted by maggie August 1, 09 02:18 AM

Hellllllooooooo Tania.
Nice pictures by the way.

Posted by raul briseno August 1, 09 02:20 AM

Awesome shots. One of the best posts in a while.

How about the "other" diving... SCUBA diving! Love to see some Big Pix of that.

Posted by Bob August 1, 09 02:48 AM

nice one.....
really fabulous

Posted by stevie teever August 1, 09 03:02 AM

There always nice pictures here , great work

Posted by M.brookman August 1, 09 03:54 AM

CHILL!!!!!!!

Posted by DZRTJ August 1, 09 04:20 AM

amazing. #30 was a pleasant surprise.

Posted by tim August 1, 09 05:42 AM

Polar bear is is nice but I like Tania Cagnotto better.

Posted by Dave August 1, 09 07:05 AM

Absolutely awesome collection of photography, but #30 was delightful and caught me by surprise.

Fantastic!

Posted by Bronson Harrington August 1, 09 07:37 AM

Amazing shots, great photos!

Posted by Alon August 1, 09 08:17 AM

#25 and #27 - lovely pictures! The elegance and grace with which Guo Jingjing moves through the air is simply amazing.

Posted by Kay August 1, 09 11:03 AM

hilariously amazing set. love the angle on number 26

Posted by hidalgo August 1, 09 11:09 AM

Thanks for the great shots :)

Posted by Zdravko Stambolov August 1, 09 11:28 AM

Begs the question..."How'd they do that???"

Just awesome!

Posted by LegallyBlonde August 1, 09 11:49 AM

I can not begin to fathom how one is there at the right time to take these photos (some of the have to be staged. As in 1...2...3... JUMP).

All of these photos show just how amazing the human is. We have learned how to swim, synchronize, and build a camera that can stop the world with out a single blur of motion.

My self being a amateur photographer with a $800.00 camera could only dream of taking these photos.

Posted by Jeremy August 1, 09 12:37 PM

very nice pictures!!!

Posted by prabhu August 1, 09 12:55 PM

#25, 27, Guo Jingjing, you look so good.

Posted by stephanie August 1, 09 01:35 PM

Amazing shots of movement of water and divers! My favorite: #24 & 34 - so poetic.
These are the kind of pictures that make one look at them again and again. Worthy of magazine covers.

Posted by Frances August 1, 09 01:49 PM

Great Photographs !!
Amazing Collection !

Posted by Anoop August 1, 09 01:52 PM

I love diving. My favorite is of the older Chinese man's swan dive... love the look back. It's something you can do for years and years without much abuse on the body. When I'm seventy I'll still be doing gainers.

Where are the good bridge, quarry jumps these days? Someone on here has to know!!! What about vacation spots?

Posted by Eric August 1, 09 02:39 PM

#13 - Nothing like a nice cool dip in the ocean. And when seawater freezes the surrounding water becomes more salty, so he should float ok.

Posted by zach August 1, 09 03:24 PM

Sorry, i think this is a weak set. I see all the rave comments, but I don't think this merits all the praise. 35 is the only interesting shot IMO, because she's beautiful, not because it's a great photograph. 6/10 at most.

Posted by Mezzo D August 1, 09 03:39 PM

No doubt the bravest of the bunch are the Chinese who are swimming in the Yangtze.

lollll...that river is getting all of the pollution we used to make - multiplied exponentially.

Posted by ibsteve2u August 1, 09 04:19 PM

How awesome to see those incredible photos ... 5 years ago my wife Melissa and I ... life long Pennsylvanians ... decided to pack up at move cross-country to Scottsdale, AZ. We had started a thriving internet business that we can operate from a laptop and mobile phone from any location ... so why not live where we dreamed?

Thanks for these pictures. We "stood on the high dive" ... had lots of fear ... but "jumped right in" anyway.

Such a metaphor for life. Oh, by the way, we did the same thing when starting our internet biz 5 years ago. Here's the great news. We watched others dive in first, so we knew we could, too.

More details on our site. Just Google our names. Kevin Knecht and Melissa Knecht.

Go Red Sox! LOL (At least until they play the Phils in the Series this year!)

Posted by Kevin Knecht August 1, 09 04:20 PM

These are simply STUNNING.

Posted by John Smith August 1, 09 04:40 PM

Every one of those pictures is amazing, to think so many people (and polar bears) are crazy enough to jump off cliffs for fun and exhilaration. I think it's quite wonderful that many individuals, on so many different levels (excuse the pun), chose to jump into cooling waters, in a space of ten days, all over the world. Especially like the guys from Wuhan in photo #5.

Posted by Andy August 1, 09 06:22 PM

A B S O L U T E L Y
F A N T A S T I C !

Posted by mama August 1, 09 07:09 PM

Seriously? "THE" Ukraine? Do you say "The Canada", "The Australia", or "The China" !?!

Come on people, the U.S.S.R. doesn't exist anymore.

Posted by Frustrated August 1, 09 07:18 PM

Love 5 and 18.

23 is simply perfect. Such a wonderful time to celebrate!

Posted by Katie August 1, 09 07:18 PM

#9 Ms Cagnotto looks extremely fit- absolutely perfect body.

Posted by HardWorkingMan August 1, 09 11:13 PM

Fantastic photos. Enjoyed everyone

Posted by John August 2, 09 12:13 AM

#17 - looks like he's posing, not diving lol
#35 - WOW :D

Posted by ryan August 2, 09 12:41 AM

Amazing shots.

Posted by Miharu August 2, 09 01:08 AM

human poetry in motion...deeply moving...thankyou

Posted by Toula Karayannis August 2, 09 08:15 AM

I can take several photos like the #16... I am an expert to take this type of photo!

Posted by Russel August 2, 09 11:01 AM

really nice pics.. very nice

Posted by edvaarveru August 2, 09 11:23 AM

Absolutely amazing photography here.
The images are so crisp and every single one seems to capture the diver at exactly the right moment.
Well done, it's incredible and a massive inspiration!
xx

Posted by Emilia :) August 2, 09 07:25 PM

WOW!!!

Posted by LINDA LUTZ August 2, 09 07:34 PM

Captivating images, truly mesmerizing!

Posted by AnnaMariaDJ August 2, 09 07:58 PM

#26 and 27 are insane.

Posted by Akhil Tandulwadikar August 3, 09 03:10 AM

#6 indian kid, jumping on boats? Nice cam work here..
I love the swim toned body, miss it.

Posted by Brahmin August 3, 09 03:18 AM

Pic 30, Pres. Medvedev ?

Posted by michael August 3, 09 03:49 AM

for #13, I met a scientist from New Zealand, telling me that a nice ice bath was customary for people coming at MacMurdo base - once, at least, even though some are known to take regulary a swim in ice pools ...
Man, I want badly to go to this place :)

Posted by bratisla August 3, 09 04:45 AM

Nice photos. Like those water sports and watch them on eurosport.

Posted by TDM August 3, 09 05:48 AM

The young boy in photo 6 has such grace. That one is without a doubt my favorite.
When I see these individuals dive I see love in their bodies. To capture that is a beautiful thing.

Posted by F. Magdalene Austin August 3, 09 06:11 AM

super fantastic work...wow!

Posted by anirudh g August 3, 09 07:55 AM

Number 7 picture; the boy who jumps; that's a peace of photography; really outstanding.

Posted by thierry mat August 3, 09 08:04 AM

:O I WAS THERE AT DUBROVNIK

:D it was badass

Posted by Jack August 3, 09 09:16 AM

No. 25, great composition, poetry in motion.

Posted by marix August 3, 09 11:32 AM

The policemen in #4 seem to be having more fun than any of the children shown!

And I find #6 confusing too....he appears to be doing a random karate move in mid-air above a bunch of boats. Land safetly, young Superman!

Posted by Anonymous August 3, 09 01:11 PM

#31 Who made the decision for the judges to look towards the sun?

#32 Now that sounds like a great idea for a water sport! Perhaps at the next FINA World's?

Posted by Simon August 3, 09 07:57 PM

so cool

Posted by fefe August 4, 09 01:09 AM

vaya amazing photos!!!

Posted by c�monalex youcandoit August 5, 09 03:20 AM

# 6 amazing

Posted by Beto en la playa August 6, 09 06:57 PM

@104 But we do say "in the UK" or "in the United Kingdome," "in the Philippines," "in the Republic of Maldives," "in the Democratic Republic of Congo," "in the Czech Republic." Ukraine appears to be the only one of the former USSR entities where "in the" is commonly used instead of simply "in". I wonder why that is? It's a strange and rare convention in english but I doubt it's due to people mistaking Ukraine for the USSR. Even Russia isn't refered to by using 'in the Russia."

Posted by Maria August 7, 09 06:48 PM

Where are you from? Is it a secret? :)

Posted by Rufor August 8, 09 03:30 PM

#30�s great!

Posted by IanTsai August 8, 09 08:38 PM

oh, It is cool

Posted by sophia August 10, 09 10:09 PM

wow surprize! exerent

Posted by princess August 11, 09 04:52 AM

that's very coooooooool~!!!!!!!!!!!!
I like cool! :)

Posted by nano August 11, 09 05:02 AM

Ha!Ha! So cool~!

Posted by Anna August 11, 09 06:57 AM

gosh such awesome shots !

Posted by MiddleChild August 12, 09 06:48 AM

WE NEED BETTER SHOTS OF THE BOYS!!!

Posted by JACK August 14, 09 05:14 PM

These pictures are both phenomenal and fun to look at! Great job!

Posted by Brenda R. MIller August 19, 09 02:57 PM

You should get shots fromt he cliff divers at Acapulco.

Posted by Kate September 15, 09 09:35 PM

Amazing captures thank you for sharing

Posted by Rebecca October 1, 09 12:51 PM

Amazing, just ended wishing i had a pool next to me.

Posted by diegotumblr October 27, 09 09:41 PM