Impossible is possible – dynamic portraits from the ambassador Canon Samo Vidic

Ambassador Canon Samo Vidic is a professional sports photographer who shoots the stars of world sport for famous publications and brands, demonstrating his excellent physical shape and skill of famous athletes. However, he decided to devote his own project to those who are often deprived of attention – to athletes with disabilities who do the impossible to succeed in their favorite sport.
“The media is not particularly interested in such athletes, and Olympians are more often glimpsed on the screen. The Paralympics are paid much less attention – about five percent of what the Olympic Games get. Therefore, I wanted to capture athletes, about whom we know so little, to tell about them, to tell the amazing story of their lives, ”says Sam.
Most of his busy career, which began in 1999, the Slovene photographer Samo Vidic devoted to sports photography. In his youth, he himself was an enthusiastic athlete: he jumped on skis from a springboard, played football and tennis. Before he himself discovered the magical world of photography, he received a degree in mechanical engineering.
At first, he planned to devote himself to reportage photography, but when he got to the seminar on sports photography, he realized that he could combine two favorite things at once. “I liked photography, as well as everything related to sports and outdoor activities, so I did not hesitate for a long time.
I am a self-taught photographer, and at times it was difficult to figure out how to shoot different sports correctly, but this was only more interesting. I worked very hard and was ready for anything to become a professional sports photographer. At first, I dreamed of my pictures being printed by a local newspaper, then my ambitions grew with me. I constantly raised the bar for myself and still do it, ”says Sam.
As part of the new project, the photographer invited several athletes with disabilities to capture their skills and show how many difficulties they had to overcome on the road to success.
The Canon technique allowed Self to realize the potential of each frame, opening the photographer with a whole range of technical possibilities, from shooting with long exposure to dynamic underwater shooting.
To realize his plans, Samo took two completely different photos of each athlete. The first is a portrait, designed to tell about the personality of the hero of shooting and the difficulties that he has to overcome, the second is a dynamic frame, vividly demonstrating his determination, will and professionalism. The photos were presented in the form of a diptych, revealing the two sides of the character.
In addition to the Slovenian swimmer Darko Djuric, who was born without one arm and both legs, Felipe Nunes (Felipe Nunes), a Brazilian skateboarder who fell under the train and lost his legs, took part in the project, British climber Anoushe Husain, who There is no right hand birth below the elbow, and blind distance runner Libby Clegg, winner of the Paralympic gold medal from the UK.
On dynamic and vivid photographs. The characters, skill and inflexible will of the people who want to take an example are imprinted.
Swimmer Darko Djuric participated in the Paralympics, twice won the world championship and set the world record at a 50 m butterfly in the S4 class. Titanic work stands behind every athlete’s achievement.
With the help of a portrait and a dynamic frame, Samo tried to tell as much as possible about the swimmer. “Darko has only one hand, but in the water in some magical way his wings grow. That’s what I tried to show, ”says the photographer.
The shooting took place in the pool in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana. When the swimmer posed for a portrait on the starting pedestal, Samo asked the two assistants to throw out buckets of water on Darko on the left and on the right so that it would take the form of wings. Studio flashes helped the photographer to “freeze” water in motion. For this, Samo placed the main light source in front of the swimmer at a distance of three meters, and the backlight – five meters above it.
“At first I wanted to shoot from the water side, but then I would have to stand a meter and a half from Darko and use a wide-angle lens to take the athlete completely into the frame, but I don’t like this method of shooting portraits. In addition, there were white walls behind Darko, about two meters away, which would occupy a significant part of the frame, so I could not create a dark background effect. ”