This shot is the result of a project that went wrong. The idea was to shoot the athlete during the annular sun eclipse of February 2017. Unlike a total sun eclipse, there is no blackout with some residual light, but a ring in the sky on it’s apex. There were a lot of challenges to achieve the desired image: I had no idea how much light it would provide, once the sun would have around 90% of its surface covered. We put some continuous lights on the paramotor to light the paraglider, which gave no result at the end. The ring was too bright, as if no light had been blocked.
The other thing was that it happened around 11am, and the sun was too high in the sky and therefore the athlete had to fly very high. The athlete had some difficulties to coordinate the flight and cross the sun at the right time. And at the end, the biggest issue: I don’t own a 500mm or 600mm lens, so I borrowed the lens, tele-converter and camera from three different friends; it was also the first time I was using this brand. The camera had an issue, which I found out later, in which it was resetting the configurations when I changed the battery. So, the camera changed from RAW to JPG and I only realized it after shooting. So I couldn’t bring back anything from the dark areas or minimize brightness from the sun on post-production.
Marcelo Maragni

About the shot

Biography
I began my career photographing my trips around Brazil. When I realized I could earn a living from photography, I abandoned my career as a newly graduated architect and started to go deeper into photography in 1999. I specialized in adventure and freesports, starting with surf photography, but soon broadened to other action sports such as kite surfing, adventure racing, mountain biking and rallying. Besides sports, I also shoot fashion, portraits and dance.
I like to seek solutions and experiment with different photographic techniques. I am driven by the challenge of creating images that are new and striking in their design or execution. I'm always looking for interesting photo opportunities: an expedition, an unusual event, or a shoot with an athlete in a good location. The important thing is to have fun with photography.