Pros and Dares

   Occasionally a series of photographs come in that makes one think about adventure and luck and the "wow" factor; but often there is less thought about the skill and preparation that goes into creating such a shot, not only on the part of the photographer but also on the part of the athlete.  What drives such people?  Hidden behind the terrific and professional shot is generally a lot of work, a lot of coordination and sometimes a lot of just plain luck in timing. For many of us these stunning photos also bring the realization that the photos we've managed to capture on our phones and have perhaps posted somewhere are simply  destined to be filed away in our memories and likely never to be viewed as "professional," despite how good we think they appear.  But then again you never know and we should be encouraged and not discouraged by such professionalism because the more we know the better our chances and our understanding.  By presenting these five photos* from the adventure files of National Geographic, you might discover a tiny bit of the time and patience that's required to get such photos; and who knows, you might pick up a hint or two to get that photo of yours moved up a level (the link also lets you submit your photos for consideration to the magazine).

Photograph by Will Strathmann

    "So much of this shot came down to trust and luck...I had to trust that my time-lapse was running and that the positioning of our kayaks was right.  And I was lucky that the lake was calm enough for floating smoothly without movement and that the passing clouds didn’t obscure the stars"...(To get the image, Strathmann set his camera on a tripod on the dock and used an intervalometer—a device that operates the camera’s shutter at set intervals—to take 13-second exposures every 14 seconds. He and his friend then paddled out on the lake to view the night sky).  "The biggest challenge was remaining still enough so that motion blur didn’t ruin the image."

Photograph by Frederico Pompermayer

   “Wave skiing has so many similarities to snow skiing—the faster you go, the more control you have—that it’s actually quite addicting,” says professional surfer Chuck Patterson...The idea of skiing on a wave was actually several years in the making, with contributions from skiing pioneers Shane McConkey (who once skied down a chute in Alaska on water skis), Mike Douglas, and Cody Townsend.  New technologies had to be developed before Patterson, who started snow skiing at two years old in Lake Tahoe, felt it was a reasonable idea to attempt.  “I had a couple pairs of wave skis shaped, and we found that mounting regular snow ski bindings to the custom ski and wearing traditional ski boots was the best way to handle the bumps and stay in control while riding and turning on big waves,” he explains.

Photograph by Cody Tuttle

  “I focus on staying calm and enjoy every move,” says climber Lonnie Kauk...mentored by the iconic John Bachar, whose commitment to pushing the free-solo style of climbing redefined what was possible without a rope (he eventually died in a free-solo fall in 2008).  At the point where this photo was taken, the wall was at a full 90-degree angle, making it difficult for photographer Cody Tuttle to get the angle he wanted..."I used a big-wall swing and chest harness so I could lay down horizontally and kick off the wall to get the angle I wanted.  Lonnie was staring down on his second chance to place protection, which makes this route so famous.  It is incredibly run-out, and if he were to fall at this point, he was looking at an 80-plus-foot fall.”

 Photograph by Tyler Roemer

  
  “With most action photography, I feel that I only have a couple chances to make the photo work to tell the story,” says photographer Tyler Roemer, who took this mid-winter photo of kayaker Christie G. Eastman preparing to paddle off Celestial Falls on the White River in Oregon.  “With the roaring of the water, communication between Christie, the other boaters, and me was down to nothing.  To get in position, I perched on a ledge that was directly across from the falls’ line of sight.  Access was easy for me, but more challenging for the kayakers,” Roemer says.  Eastman, meanwhile, was warming up in the pool above the falls and lining up her kayak with the spout of the waterfall to ensure a clean plunge.  “It can be difficult to see from upstream,” she says.

Photograph by Jassen Todorov

"Here is the Pacific Ocean at its wildest and most beautiful," says Jassen Todoov.  "This is also about the human spirit and the desire to 'harness' powerful winds.  Look carefully and you will see one incredible kitesurfer."

   The common themes for me seems to be those of guts and patience, ambition and desire.  These people have a vision to capture an image that will move us, while others have a vision to simply push the boundaries of life and to challenge themselves physically.  And it's not for all of us.  I seriously doubt that I would kitesurf, much less kitesurf over such trecherous-appearing waters.  But their efforts might prove a good lesson for all of us, to show that it can be done, that conventions can be broken (skiing on water??), that odds can be overcome (rock climbing without ropes) and in the process we might just be rewarded, even if it is only in showing the diversity and the power of nature.  Oh, about that thought to NOT be discouraged?...that last photo as taken by Jassen Todorov was submitted to the magazine (and subsequently published) as an entry in their photo contest.

*Each photographer's link gets you to even more dazzling images...