Image of the Week, Part II: Getting On It

Photographer Jay Nichols returned to his home in Naples, Fla., with thousands of shots from the first day of speed runs during the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout in Missouri last month. (Read the story in the Sept/Oct issue of Speed On The Water magazine.) Most of his photos that have been published so far have been of boats in full flight captured from the side and filling much of the frame.

But this one of the class-winning Sterling 1700 engine-powered Skater 36 catamaran starting a run was captured from a different angle—slightly head on and distant, framed by the hills around the lake.

From the crowd in the foreground to the subject in the background, there’s lots to love about this Jay Nichols image. Photo courtesy/copyright Jay Nichols/Naples Image.

Two elements make this shot a winner in our book. First, the spectator fleet in the foreground, which gives you an idea of the density of flotilla and crowd. Second, the giant roostertail behind the relatively small cat. The 36-footer had just cleared the staging area and entered the course, and throttleman John Tomlinson had gotten on the throttles hard. A few moments later about halfway down the course, that roostertail was gone.