Extreme Athletes Praise Sports Photographers

Photography Tips  •  Sports Photography

Athletes who perform extreme sports like snowboarding, skateboarding, and motocross are often praised for their fearlessness. But what about the photographers and videographers who document those daredevil moments? Red Bull Illume is a competition that focuses on rewarding them for their contributions to sports and photography alike:

In this video, renowned athletes of action and adventure sports share their thoughts about photographers’ bravery and determination to get the perfect shot. “You feel the mutual respect,” says skateboarder Ryan Sheckler, naming his sport as a particularly dangerous one for photographers, who are often in the line of fire when boards– and limbs– go flying. Mountain climber David Lama commends their hard work and willingness to tote heavy equipment, show up early, and leave late. “It’s much more than just pressing a button,” he says.

Snowboarder Travis Rice admires photographers’ willingness to be out in the elements.

Both the skateboarder (Ryan Sheckler), and the photographer risked life and limb for this shot.

“The tricky thing with photography is that– being out in the elements, it’s so hard to reproduce what that’s really like. But every now and then, a photographer is able to not only help recreate what was really going on, but actually take it to a whole other level.” – Travis Rice, Snowboarder