Adidas Sickline Extreme Whitewater kayak Championship

SimonMW · October 8, 2013

A few photos I took during the weeks runup to the Adidas Sickline competition last weekend in Oetz, Austria. The competition consists of setting the fastest time down the Class 5 Wellebrucke rapids, and attracts top kayakers from around the world, including many of the Olympic Whitewater Slalom athletes. Anyone of class 5 ability is eligible to enter, so the everyman can compete against Olympians!

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Full gallery here with more uploading as I type.
http://simonwyndham.smugmug.com/Sports/Kayaking/Adidas-Sickline-2013#!i=2819038831&k=39XLqkq

johng · October 8, 2013

I like #6. Colors and exposure are good in the rest. The issue I have with most of the shots though is shooting down on the subject really takes away all the drama. That downward angle minimizes the impact of the rapids and, of course, you cannot see any faces.

johng · October 8, 2013

Another approach highlights the extreme conditions:
http://twistedsifter.com/2012/03/top-30-whitewater-kayaking-photos-by-red-bull/

SimonMW · October 8, 2013

John, thanks for your comments. The shots from above are of the kayaks landing in the water off the seal launch ramp. It wasn't possible to get any other angle.

ian408 · October 13, 2013

I like them and am with John re: the angle.

SimonMW · October 13, 2013

Thanks Ian. Though as I mentioned there wasn't a lot of choice of angle. Often in photography you have to make the most of what you are given. In this case the only clear angle was from the top of the ramp. So priorities have to change. In this case my aim isn't to capture faces, but the patterns of the water as the boats hit the bottom. IMHO that makes just as interesting a photo.

The downward angle also emphasises the boily dramatic nature of the water more than some river level shots I have seen in the past. Often shots from river level only show half the water type, and not the boily mess that the kayakers often find themselves in. In fact some of the most dramatic shots I have seen of kayaking have been from above because it can often show the scope and immensity of the water much better than from river level.

Johns examples of the Red Bull shots are very cool, though well out of the the scope of the Wellebrucke Rapids in Austria! There were no 100ft plus drops there. I did feel that he was highlighting something totally out of the scope, and completely different to what I was trying to capture, or indeed could even attempt to capture. I don't have Red Bull paying me to go to far off lands! And nor do I posess the kayaking skill needed to accompany kayakers like that on their expeditions, which is how a lot of those photos were taken.

I have taken lots of photos of kayakers, including facial expressions. Sometimes it is nice to experiment and capture something different and within the limitations of the angle that is presented.

ian408 · October 13, 2013

Shots #7 and #8 seem to contradict a lot of your argument for capturing the nature of the water. When I see kayak shots from above (that I like), it's often with more context and a wider angle. Like boulders or a clear path for the kayak to follow. Your top down shots are a boat smack in the middle of the frame with turbulent water-am I looking at the base of a fall or water rushing through the rocks? Is the water shallow or deep? I look at #7 and see water over the head of the kayaker and what looks like a lot of flow and I get that. 1,2, 4 & 10 lack that sense of place.

SimonMW · October 13, 2013

I understand that Ian. Though my main point is that while somebody can criticise someone else because the phot doesn't do X Y or Z, that opinion doesn't take into account what the photographer was aiming for. In the top down shots of the kayakers hitting the water I wanted to see the shapes of the water as the kayak hit. I wasn't aiming to show faces or a sense of place. It's all subjective. If you don't like my approach, that's fine. But I like to try different things.

ian408 · October 13, 2013

You're welcome.

AceCo55 · October 14, 2013

What I do like is the wide variety of images. You have illustrated the context well. Good story telling of the day.
I do like #1 and #5 the most I think.
Looks like you would have had a great day.

Adidas Sickline Extreme Whitewater kayak Championship

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