Yesterday morning, we woke up before dawn to go to the reef with the new SUP Cosmo pro-model 8’. The forecast was heavy wind but we wanted to try it out, so early morning, we went regardless. When I say we, I mean Amandina and I. She is my partner in life, creative co-director and photographer. She believes in my potential, pushes me above my limit, and I fully trust her opinion. We are a perfect team when it comes to creativity, although the on-site production in the water is really funny. We continually have to yell at each other to be heard over the sounds of the waves. So, back to yesterday: we woke up before dawn, packed all our photo equipment carefully in a pelican case and a waterproof box, loaded it on an inflatable Air Tourer that fits perfectly for this type of adventure.
“ The first item on the agenda of a morning: check the weather. I can only work according to the natural conditions and living in a tropical climate means living with the wind ”
Amandina paddled all the way up until she was behind the reef, just to take a picture of me surfing on the reef. It was a very short session but intense, waiting for the sun to rise behind the mountains of Tahiti-iti while the wind picked up. To pass the time, we made signs to each other from afar that meant nothing, while Amandina made squats on the board with her backpack and camera on the shoulder. Finally, I had gorgeous waves and I tried things I may not have tried if I wasn’t under pressure. I guess this comes with the job: using adrenaline as an engine and a reward to create magic. This last weekend we decided to go on a photo trip. We packed everything in the pick-up: sup board and the sails that goes with it, inflatable boards, the kite surf kit, all the photo equipment, and we embarked onto the ferry to Moorea.
Amandina’s parents are part of that unique group of people who live nearly their entire lives on a sailing boat. When they happened to visit us, we went for three days of work and fun around the island. Sailing is really the perfect add-on for photo shooting; it allows you to get around with all the equipment while being more flexible with the weather conditions. We can adapt to landscapes, lights, colours, wind directions, etc… Unfortunately, everything comes at a price. For while it was perfect, but the large wind swell rocking the boat while we were leaving the marina made me sea-sick. The life of the free rider is never easy!
