This was one of few easy-going projects that I was invited to assist. And the whole job felt like home. I grew up not far from the location, and wakeboarding competitions were a fun past-time. Also, it was a day trip with very little equipment to tote. I really enjoyed being on this job.

Beyond the familiarity, Noah was incredibly talented. I mean…duh. We didn’t need to ask much to get a killer image for him. He was just having fun, Bill was working, and I think I carried a back up camera to switch off when needed.

To get the SI cover shot, we took a drive to South Florida from Jacksonville. We hung briefly with Noah and his family, then took a heck of a boat ride, watching this kid do spectacular wakeboarding tricks. The weather was perfect. We finished shooting during golden hour, then, as all of these shoots go, something went wrong.

I forget what the problem was, but our journey ended with being towed back to shore. It was only across a lake, but what a bummer note to end on. It was nice to see the end result, and it totally made up for that sour moment. The kid looks legit.

Topping the whole thing, SI sent a cookie copy of the cover as a gift to Bill at the end of the year which I found both cool and funny. It all made me smile a lot. This is a good memory.