2006 T H E Gallery
CRAWL INTO A DANK CULVERT IN QUEBEC, bounce down a double-drop in Nor- way, surf the shoulder of Mini Bus, run from a flock of ostriches in South Africa, join a procession of locals to the White Nile, or get pounded by the maelstrom of Molly’s Nip- ple in the Northwest Territories. To take us to all these places in 14 pages we rely on a class of photographer that too often remains in the background, out of the picture.
Behind the scenes, professional photographers are lugging lenses worth more than their cars. They are crashing in motels with adjoining mini-putts and in tents with walls caked in the blood from relentless mosquitoes. And don’t forget that pro pho- tographers usually have to lead the way down the rivers you see in their photos; they are an amazing hybrid of athlete and artist.
Watching them work, you can see ideas going off like popcorn in their heads—shut- ter speeds, f-stops, film speeds, angles and focal lengths—creating an alchemy of light, composition and action.
We’ve asked them to tell us the stories behind their shots, how they were produced, and whether they were trampled by the ostriches or swept over the falls.
PADDLER: CHRIS GRAGTMANS, BLANCHE RIVER, QUEBEC
From the outside, the culvert looked like an underachieving rusty pipe, add- ing little more than a trickle to the river. Then I noticed it lined up with the bot- tom of the set and I climbed in to gain some perspective. It’s no exaggera- tion to say this photo evokes a sense of tunnel vision. I like it because that’s how a paddler sees a set, focused only on what’s coming down the pipe.
Ben Marr 27
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