This is easily my favorite shot of David Nightingale at work. He’s the kind of photographer who often sticks the front of his glass in places most would shy away from—whether it’s deep in a hole in the sand, submerged in puddles, or leaning precariously over the edge of sea walls as he is here. Watching him work is a lesson in commitment; his technique and his ability to visualize a scene long before the shutter is released is second to none.

This particular moment, capturing him battling the elements on the pier, has really made me rethink how I approach a scene when I’m out and about. Seeing his own interpretation of this day over on Chromasia only hammered that point home. It’s about more than just the gear; it’s about that dogged persistence to get the frame, no matter how much salt spray is hitting the lens.

Technically, I wanted to capture that intensity with the Canon EOS 5D. I kept the Canon EF70-200mm f2.8 IS USM L Series pinned at 200mm and shot wide open at f/2.8. This allowed for a razor-thin depth of field, isolating DJ against the misty, chaotic backdrop of the sea wall. To freeze the spray and the movement, I pushed the shutter speed to a blistering 1/4000 second, keeping the ISO at 125 to maintain that clean, professional detail the 5D is known for.

In the digital darkroom, the image was built through six adjustment layers in Photoshop CS3. I focused heavily on the black and white conversion and a subtle vignette to draw the eye toward the action. I also spent time straightening the background layer to keep those architectural lines on the pier strong. Finally, I applied a curve to the blue channel to give the monochrome a slight, cool tone. After about 20 minutes of work, I was satisfied—it finally felt as dramatic as the moment itself.

• taken|17 september, 2011
• camera|Canon EOS 5D
• focal length|200mm
• aperture|f/2.8
• shutter speed|1/4000s
• iso|125
• flash fired|no
• exposure bias|0.33 ev