Kiwi sports photographer turned pole-vaulter Alisha Lovrich has qualified for this weekend's nationals in Christchurch.
The 25-year-old had an injury that put her running career on hold and by chance she ended up taking photos of her teammates competing.
"One year I got asked to shoot nationals and went up and up and up, world champs, Comm Games and here we are," said Lovrich.
More recently she became a pole-vault specialist, she spent hours analysing where an athlete takes off from and timing her photo shots so the pole doesn't ruin the celebration image she wants.
"I'm zoomed right in, so I see everything and I see every single frame."
Lovrich picked up a pole in 2017 and has a personal best jump of 3.4 metre. She admits that photography is still her first love.
"I'm going to be working all day and the morning of I'll probably start stretching in the field, so if any of you see me stretching in the field that's what I'm doing, I'm warming up to jump."
Her coach Brent Booker said photography is possibly what has helped Lovrich pick up the sport so easily.
"We can tell them do this, do that and they don't always understand the actual concept," said Booker.
"So she's got in her mind a picture of what an elite athlete does cause she's zooming in on them close all the time."
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