Travis, a friend of mine come out to try a capture a very specific shot with the sharks. We talked in the off season to discuss details, logistics and approaches to manifest a breach on cue. Although not impossible, I told him that we were once again heading into the unknown and patience would be needed to try and manufacture this 1-2 feet from his camera.
As summer set in, he came out with gear and crew. The first day was clearing the kinks out of the operation and knowing how each person would contribute to the shot. Towards the end of their stay we had all cylinders firing and fell into a groove. That last day the sharks were proving to also find their cue cards and work perfectly coming up one after another at the foot of his paddleboard. But we could not get one to breach directly in front of him. Then… it happened! We all cheered in celebration and that’s when I looked down at him as he didn’t move an inch from his position on the paddleboard. Instantly I knew something was askew. We all asked him at the same moment, “did you get it?”.
All week his gear had performed flawlessly with minor adjustments here and there. But at that moment, when the stars aligned for nature to show us a wonderful sight, an electronic gremlin reared its ugly head and sabotaged the camera.
Trying not to let this disaster detour us, we continued to try and recapture another shot while the action was still hot. He didn’t end up empty handed and did manage to capture a half breach slightly off center of his shot.
I love trying new angles and experiences and really enjoy working with people that think the same. Although he was not satisfied as all photographers usually aren’t. Ultimately, he shook it off, laughed and said, “there’s always next year”.
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