Category Winner 2007: lifestyle
Desré Pickers
To capture this feat, multiple camera angles were needed. For the film crew (and myself) to avoid aviation authorities and fly below the 1,500-foot minimum flight limit, the paddlers had to set off across the crocodile- and hippo-infested waters above the falls before sunrise. The paddlers approached the edge of the mile-wide, 350-foot-high falls to scout the rapids below. This moment was captured from a helicopter circling 500 feet above the falls, battling with mist and wind blowing up from the narrow canyon. Challenges included extreme air turbulence and constantly having to wipe water from the spray off of the lens. I had initially planned to shoot wide at 15 mm, but a last-second in-air lens change in these conditions rewarded me with this shot.
Athletes: Steve Fisher, Sam Drevo, Dale Jardine
Location: Victoria Falls, Zambia, Africa
TECHNICAL INFO
- Camera: Canon EOS 20D
- Lens: 28–105 mm
- Focal length, digital: 105 mm
- ISO: 200
- F-stop: 5.6
- Shutter speed: 1/500
- White balance: Outdoor
