Water Ski and Light-ning

Plan A - head out to the local lake to shoot some water skiing (with photog in water).
Plan B - hope the lightning doesn't hit us!

Just a few hundred meters out of the bay and realized Plan B was much more likely to happen than plan A. However, despite ominous weather, we headed out through the white caps to an area that is usually quite calm even amidst surrounding storms. No luck at all and it was an easy decision for the group to head back to the dock and come back another day. Hold it right there! As the photographer, I'm always looking for a shot even when the plan seems to be a failure. We were stoked to get out and shoot some unique ski shots and I was determined to make that happen even if no one would be talked into jumping in. The background had drama written all over it and images kept popping off in my head. Brandon (skier and aspiring model) accommodated my request to make something out of nothing, so I through on a life jacket, my waterproof housing and before arriving back at the dock jumped in the water for some pre-ski type shots. Insert [minor photog stupidity] and [my brain works on really cool photos long before situational risk enters my thoughts]. The combination of lightning, water, and 13' light stands would seem like a pretty obvious recipe for disaster to most folks. Never pass up a cool shot! hmmm...what to do??

Shoot!




Test shot