Athlete: Airton Cozzolino
Sport: Kitesurf
Client: Red Bull
Location: Torbole, Italy
Now that the days allow it, it is impossible to resist the temptation that air and water offer to kitesurf enthusiasts, especially in the right spots: so let’s go, on the board, holding the kite, hunting for thrills and jumps to scream alone or in company of old friends.
For veterans of the discipline, or for the simple curious looking for strong sensations, there are various dates to mark on the calendar.
Red Bull Hero Hits Your Spot will stop in 4 locations around Italy and will bring with it an exceptional guest: Airton Cozzolino, world champion of the discipline. The hero of kitesurfing will be available to participants for training sessions, also in the water, in addition to technicians ready to offer useful tips to better prepare for the discipline.
I was called to one of the scheduled stops to take some shots with Airton. Unfortunately the location was not the best and the spots available were very few. While waiting for the wind to go out surfing, we dedicated ourselves to some static shots.
In general I always prefer to start with some portraits: it helps me to study the light better and immediately takes some impact shots to show to the athlete. It is essential to put him at ease and let him know that we are making good contents. He has to trust you!
After a few “quite strong” close-ups, I tried to take some full-length photos, contextualizing with the surfboard. Since we were shooting for Red Bull, one of the “must have” shot was definitely the drinking scene.
Once we got a good number of static shots, the wind had finally started to blow decently. Then we rushed into the boat and set out to take some action shots.
It was a very cloudy day and unfortunately the colors were a bit dull and flat, tending to gray. The wind didn’t blow very hard and Airton had about half an hour to do some of his spectacular tricks before a downpour forced us back to dry land.
It was not certainly one of my luckiest days, but I think some nice shots were taken anyway.
On July 15, on the occasion of the feast of the patron saint of the city of Palermo, Aaron Durogati performed an acrobatic flight landing in the famous beach of Mondello and marking the beginning of the festivities. During this recurrence, it is customary to drop countless rose petals from the sky; and as well as a graceful petal, the paraglider athlete glided over the city while the incredulous people looked up to the sky.
The Darsena in Milan will be transformed into a real wakeboard arena, where the best riders in the world will compete in a unique format of its kind: the athletes will compete in couple. They will therefore have to make sure not only to perform the tricks perfectly, but also to move in sync with their teammate, an extra twist that will make the special race even more unique and unmissable.
