Standerd Slides

Subject: Josh Palma
Photo: Joey Meddock
TSQ Location: Book 2.1, Critique, Page 85

Everything in Abu Dhabi and Dubai is about size. From street signs to malls to hotels, everything about their structure is meant to leave you breathless.

Near the place where we were staying, we came across this massive hotel right next to the water’s edge. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to get a shot somehow with it in the background.

The biggest problem were the water conditions and the roller feedback off all the concrete walls that surrounded us.

I gave the boat driver a two-way radio while I waited around the corner in another boat floating still.

We got two tricks per attempt. Then, we had to let the water roll out and calm down again. Each time Palma would do a trick, I’d tell him “a little sooner/later” as he passed by so could get the angle right. We had to wait about five minutes between each attempt.

I this with my 300mm lens because it has an incredible depth of field on it. The hard part is that it’s super tricky and technical to focus. Floating in rough water didn’t do me any favors either.

I framed it up vertical so I could see the top of the hotel, yet keep the boat and rider toward the bottom of the frame. I wasn’t quite sure what trick Palma was going to do either. That made a huge difference in this photo. After I saw him try a big HS 180, I told him to keep doing it over and over again on each attempt.

From my angle, it was important for the rider to go big enough to “separate” from the boat. Anything smaller, and he would blend in behind the tower or obstruct the view from my shot/angle.

It’s important to communicate with the rider/subject when shooting from these distances. It really makes a difference when you can explain to them what you are looking for and why. Sometimes it takes a while to see it, but when it does, you’ve got to speak up. Tell them to try it again and again until they feel happy with the trick. As a shooter, you’ll get several attempts to nail the shot just right too.

–Meddock