Chapter 6. KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid)

Surfers wait for waves during the 2006 Rip Curl Pipeline Masters competition at the Banzai Pipeline on Oahu, Hawaii.

The photograph on the following page of a fencer winning the Olympic gold is one of the images that came as a result of everything I’d learned and practiced up to that moment. It is those lessons, both good and bad, that allow me to make bets and take a calculated risk.

I was photographing the Olympic women’s gymnastics semifinals in Beijing in 1998, while one building away, the men’s fencing finals were occurring. At a certain point, I knew I needed images from both events.

Julien Pillet reacts to winning the gold medal in the Men’s Team Sabre final in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

ISO 1250 f/2.8 1/1000 200mm