© Richard Bennett Photography
Tina of Melbourne (1978)
Precision aerial photography is a partnership between pilot and photographer. The Cessna 172 had the aerodynamics for my style of photography and Nick Tanner was a superb pilot who could manoeuvre into the perfect position for my shot irrespective of the conditions. This photograph is a classic example of that partnership where I have been able to use the wake of the boat as a strong compositional element leading the eye to the subject. It was taken off the west coast of Tasmania during the Melbourne to Hobart race which finishes at the same time as the Sydney Hobart race.
Nick taught me what could be achieved with light aircraft and he taught me to have confidence in the air. This was also the first year I used the 6×7 Pentax camera. It had a larger negative than the Hasselblad and a shutter speed that was twice as fast. The large negative gave me greater flexibility in enlarging the image and cropping images without losing quality.
Best of — Yacht Racing
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