Category Finalist 2010: Illumination

Josh Letchworth

Ben Horan lives in Nahunta, Georgia. Since wakeskating requires a towing device and significant body of water, accessibility can sometimes be a problem. Ben decided to dig his own small pond in his side yard and use a winch to pull him through it.

I brought out my lights to capture something strong as it was getting dark. I heard some rumors about him getting back tails pretty consistently and have always wanted to get a photo of a really good one. I wanted to get as close to water level as I could to really accentuate the trick. I used a longer lens but no waterhousing. I had to stand neck-deep in the bottom pond with my camera just out of the water and dodge his landing spray. I remote-fired three lights, Profoto 7Bs, and had a super short flash duration to ensure the action would be completely frozen.

There’s a moment in every trick where time stands still and all the energy put forth to make that trick happen recedes. There’s nothing more to do than to just be in that space. This is definitely one of those moments. Locked in, nose up and perfect poise. In his mind he’s already made it.

PHOTO INFO

Photographer: Josh Letchworth
Athlete: Ben Horan
Location: Nahunta, GA, USA

TECHNICAL INFO

Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8
ISO: 400
F-Stop: f 6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/250