Nikon Owner Magazine article - felixkunze.com

swiftly pitched the idea to Gray. After
some deliberation and quiet, hurried
negotiation on Nikon Owner’s side
to arrange insurance, a shoot was
arranged. I brought in the equipment,
stylist, hair/make-up and my assistants;
Nikon Owner would supply the lens.
We were also able to secure
the cooperation not only of the
prestigious Leander Club at
Henley-on-Thames, as well as
Gant UK for clothing, but also of
Lastolite UK who kindly provided
some equipment I would need for
such a challenging and exciting
location shoot.
The Leander Club is one of the world’s
oldest rowing clubs, an institution,
a hugely influential piece of British,
International and Olympic history. Nestled
by the finish line of the Henley Royal
Regatta, it also occupies a prime spot
next to the only straight stretch of the
Thames anywhere. This is quite aside
from the sheer beauty of the place.
ThE shooT
We arrive before sunrise on a cold
November day and are greeted by
Leander’s fantastic press officer and
my whole team, joined by Mark Gibson
from Nikon Owner to deliver the lens and
shoot a video of the occasion. Everyone
stumbles around inside the Club until
coffee starts to get us going full pelt
into shoot preps. Outfits are picked out,
medals are lusted after, hair is cut, coffee
PETE REED: GOLD ON THE WATER
As well as his illustrious career in the Royal Navy,
Pete is a double Olympic Gold Medalist in the
Coxless Four (Rowing) from Beijing 2008 and
London 2012. He also has the world’s largest
recorded lung capacity at 11.68 litres.
is consumed. My assistants and I rush
around to set up the first shot of the day,
ever aware of the cold and dark.
With the advent of dawn, the mood
changes. We go from being cold, wet
and tired to awed, cold and inspired.
Henley offers its full beauty; the river
seems alive with the energy of a new
day; the fresh frost glistens on its
shores. The first rowers are looking
wearily at the water, aware of the
cold water waiting to make them pay
for any mistake in balance.
We mull over the idea of me joining
Pete inside the rowing boat. A
sculling boat is narrow and at the
slightest loss of balance the boat will
overturn and ditch us in. If I fall in,
no big deal, if my D800 falls in, that’s
a problem. If the 13mm falls in, it
could be the end of my career. So no,
we won’t do that. ‘But Pete’, I plead
‘Please let’s shoot you in a scull on
the water’. Again, hesitation, but
eventually he caves and says he’ll
try. Pete is part of the Coxless Four;
his team races in a quad formation
and depend upon their team-mates
to stay dry. In a single scull, Pete has
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