During the several years I spent photographing the Red Bull Air Race, I was always looking for the truly special moments away from the race track – the sort of competitive flying that illustrated the whole sense of freedom in those spectacular locations.
On the morning after the Red Bull Air race in Monument Valley, I had the chance to set up this picture of two race planes flying near the track on a transfer flight. After a briefing at the race airport and a location check, I was able to direct everyone from the air to their positions. The weather and the light was perfect for what I had in mind. Alex Maclean and Nicolas Ivanoff were able to perfectly execute the idea, and they switched their smoke on at precisely the right moment – it all happened so quickly. You're standing outside the helicopter on the skid and the airplanes are racing towards you at about 350 km/h.
The picture was ideally suited to enhance with a 3-D depiction because in this case the technology works for the picture and not vice-versa. The 3-D depiction was created exclusively in post-production. To get an optimal view of the 3-D enhancement of this picture you have to look at it with the red lens on your left eye and the blue lens on your right eye. During the preparations for the Red Bull Air Race in Monument Valley I had the chance to talk with one of the local Indian inhabitants about the meaning of putting on a race at this spot. She said the Gods were most likely pleased about it – otherwise they would have prevented it with stormy weather or heavy rain.
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