'Conditions were perfect': how the breathtaking image of Olympic surfer Gabriel Medina was taken

[muriel_volestrangler]

On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true.

The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard.

The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI.
...
But Brouillet had knowledge and experience on his side – he could see one of the best waves of the day was approaching and knew that Medina often does this kind of celebration at the end of the wave.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jul/30/paris-olympics-2024-surfer-gabriel-medina-floating-photo-jerome-brouillet-how-it-was-taken

[et tu]

1. awesome!

more than hanging ten lol ty for posting!

[sheshe2]

2. Reminds me of these song lyrics...

🎶🎵🎶🎵

… Believe it or not, I'm walkin' on air
I never thought I could feel so free
Flyin' away on a wing and a prayer
Who could it be?
Believe it or not it's just me

Congratulations to the photographer for catching this shot perfectly.

[surfered]

3. Sweet!

[Oopsie Daisy]

4. Is there video of this moment, too?

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. In #7, but not from the spectacular angle (nt)

[2naSalit]

5. Just WOW!

[GiqueCee]

6. Wait a minute...

... I think maybe this photo requires closer scrutiny. The surfer's posture appears to show his weight on his left foot, as if he's walking. and then there's obvious rectangular "cloud" directly beneath him, with a faint pale blue trapezoidal shape directly under that.
Definitely NOT shapes commonly found in cloudscapes. But they are quite common in poorly Photoshopped images.
For the record, I work in Photoshop nearly every day. So, feel free to prove me wrong (emphasis on the word, prove). If you have the receipts, I will defer.
I await scathing condemnation. But if you don't have facts, don't bother.

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. It has been widely looked at already, so you'd expect knowledgeable people would have seen it

but here's video from another angle:

https://www.eurosport.com/surfing/olympic-games-paris-2024/2024/paris-2024-watch-the-moment-behind-the-incredible-surfing-viral-image-of-the-olympics_vid2196178/video.shtml

[Nittersing]

9. "video not available in this country"

That's what I got. (In US)

[Oopsie Daisy]

10. Thanks for the link. Sadly... I get an error message "This video is unavailable in your country". Oh well.

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. Try this from NBC

I get "unavailable in your country" for this, since I'm in the UK:

[Oopsie Daisy]

13. It worked GREAT for me here in the US. Thanks for the link! It was impressive.

🏄️🌊

[GiqueCee]

12. "THIS VIDEO IS NOT AVAILABLE IN YOUR COUNTRY"

Well, fine. What country are you in, Muriel? The link denied me access.
And, BTW, having worked with Photoshop professionally almost every day since shortly after it was introduced in '88, I think it was, I can fairly say that I am one of those knowledgeable people.
And, as I said, I see definitive proof of its authenticity, I will defer. Maybe that video is available somewhere else. But thanks for taking the time to provide enlightenment, even if I couldn't see it!

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. See reply #11 for a US link (nt)

[GiqueCee]

15. Nope...

... can't open that one, either. SOmething's bound to turn up that's accessible us in the colonies. Thanks again for trying.

[Brother Buzz]

16. LOL, that's green screen fakery staged in a nice television studio

I hazard to guess we will be seeing that instant iconic photograph for for a long, long time.