Adventure sports photographer Mark Watson explains how he captured this remakable shot of champion motocross rider Robbie Maddison.
I truly believe I have the best job in the world. Every day I feel fortunate to have pursued a vocation in life where I’m able to combine my love of the natural world with adventure, through my photography. Maybe I sound egotistical, but my job as an adventure sports photographer allows me to shoot some of the most amazing locations and athletes on the planet.
The image here is an example of how photography continues to challenge me, and while the results invoke a feeling of triumph, there is also a hint of disappointment, spurring me on to achieve bigger and better results next time.
Robbie Maddison is one of the world’s most respected freestyle motocross riders so it was a little intimidating asking him to hit a 90ft jump and perform a "rock solid" (where he’s required to remove his entire body from the motorbike and spread it horizontally before letting go of the bars and floating separately from bike 30ft above the ground) just so I could get the photo I’d envisaged, but could not guarantee!
I knew Robbie could do this move with his eyes closed, but a lot of my photography is inspired from lipstick-camera angles, and getting amongst the action, and I wanted a double-page resolution photo from "up there", which meant attaching a DSLR camera to his handlebars. I chose one of my lighter camera bodies, but I wasn’t sure whether the addition of a Nikon D300s body with 10.5mm fisheye lens would upset the balance of his bike.
If it did, the camera would not only be toast…the safety of “Maddo” would also be at stake! I’d tested the set-up with rider Clint Moore and ironed out a few camera-mounting issues, but each rider is unique and the initial success of the set-up with Moore didn’t guarantee an issue-free run with Robbie. And our timetable meant we had to get it right first time.
A few failed attempts at mounting the camera on Maddison’s bike became frustrating, so we eventually abandoned the camera bracket idea and I resorted to the tried and trusty method of zip-ties and gaffer tape! (See below.) It was a fiddly set-up…a little gaffer, some foam to absorb the vibrations and the shock of landing, some more gaffer-tape, then a glance through the viewfinder – more gaffer – a position and pre-focus based on Robbie’s estimate of where his head would be mid flight, some zip-ties and (of course) more gaffer tape, then finally a radio-controlled PocketWizard wireless camera control setup so I could fire the camera at just the right moment. And – just in case – some more gaffer tape, just to be sure!
Then Robbie went stratospheric. We planned for one test jump to try the balance of the set-up and to ensure the trigger worked fine – and it did. The next jump Robbie performed a ‘rock solid’ and I casually stood on some scaffolding with my finger pressed firmly on the PocketWizard ‘fire’ button. A third jump and then it was all over. After a rough landing the D300s was hanging by a single strand of gaffer tape. We nailed the photo and it went global, ensuring a happy Robbie and a big grin on my face.
My only disappointment lies in our estimation that the ideal focus point is further from the lens, rather than closer. The results prove the optimum focus distance was closer… but I’m being 'picky'! Really my frustration is just a simple justification so I can catch up with Robbie again with more zip ties and gaffer tape (and maybe a remote flash at sunset). It’s always worth pushing your concept a little further.
Article first published in Australian Photography, July 2011. 
Mark Watson works to position his camera with some
‘hi-tech’ gaffe tape and zip ties! 
The lightweight Nikon D300s SLR managed to survive the
shoot but was hanging by a single strand of tape after
the third run.
Testing 1, 2, 3... Mark Watson (right) tests the radio-controlled PocketWizard wireless
camera control as Robbie Maddison (left) looks on.
A true “wow” shot. Watson fired the D300s, which is gaffe taped to
the handle bars, with a radio-controlled
PocketWizard wireless camera
control. (Nikon D300s, 1/2000s @ f/5.6, ISO 400. Focal length 10mm. No flash.)