PHILIP KOESTER
JC: While many wannabe windsurf photographers think they absolutely must have a big 600mm lens to score fantastic windsurfing pictures, the reality is, quite often, that the wider shots are far more interesting than a tightly zoomed-in version of the scene. My shot here has freeze-framed Philip Koester, who also has the luxury of a helicopter shadowing him during the Starboard photo shoot. Snapping from the air is always quite exciting, but boy oh boy, that hour in the sky really can fly past with all the adrenaline of buzzing about in a chopper. I’ve pulled the trigger at a pretty decent moment and scored a punchy shot of Philip in action. His arm is down off the boom, the colours are all matching, the wave is a solid size and the image is nice and sharp.
About a week after the helicopter shoot, Jay Haysey of Global Shots showed me this picture of the very same moment. His was gunned-down using his 70-200 lense from the rocks at Ho’okipa. I really like his image, simply because it puts everything into perspective. It’s quite a dynamic shot helped by the fact the helicopter is hovering right up above the break. The rocks in the foreground show the consequences of what can happen when it all goes wrong, while Philip’s isolated nicely above the wave, having just nailed a fairly chunky section. Now, looking into the Meta Data for this shot, Jay had the camera zoomed out to 140mm as he struck his target, while, if he’d been zoomed right in on a 600 lens, the picture would have lost all its impact. I’m surprised you can’t see another ten or twenty sailors in the background here, as Ho’okipa is normally packed during the brand shoot season, so just the one solitary sail heading out just gives an extra dimension to the photo.
Philip Koester
“The picture from the air is cool because it is sharp and crisp and all the colours on my sails are really strong. The land shot is totally different and you can see the whole scene and what’s happening around me. I don’t know which one I like best to be honest but it’s really interesting that we can see that one move from two totally different angles.”