This last weekend all of Europe seemed bent on adventure. There was a mountain bike race on Piancavallo, a tough mudder in Germany, a renaissance reenactment in Friuli, a trail running race in the Dolomites and countless other outdoor adventures loading my shoot list. Out of the tantalizing list of options though I decided to go to Lago di Garda. The lake is famous for its summer crowds who flood the waters and the mountains searching for kite boarding, windsurfing, sailing, climbing, mountain biking, and paragliding thrills. This weekend however, it was for something different. This time we all came to witness the Red Bull Cliff Diving event off the top of the Scaliger Castle in Malcesine.
It was a vibrant sun soaked day on the shores of the lake and a powerhouse display under the diving platforms. Every parking lot was full, every cafe overflowed and the beaches thronged with people. The music blared from the beach and the flotilla of spectators were charged up for the aerial acrobatics off the top of the 13th century castle battlements. All these elements together made for a stunning athletic spectacle.
I posted additional images here: RED BULL CLIFF DIVING
This was the fourth stage of the 2013 season and the second time it was ever held in Malcesine (the first was during the 2011 season). This was also the last european stop for the 2013 season. Having experienced the event though I definitely want to shoot this again next year. So many different ideas and angles occurred to me on my drive home.
It also must be said that the Red Bull crew were amazing. They were very accomodating to other media and kept us in libations and caffeine but most of all doing what they could to help us move around and outside of the castle. However, the Red Bull Media team had this event wired from every angle making it extremely difficult to shoot around their cranes, jibs, GoPro rigs, boat and wall cameras, ladders and various other camera platforms. To get a taste of how these guys role check out their QUICK PREVIEW which they already cut.
To Red Bull and to all the athletes, thank you for a great day on the shores of the stunning Lago di Garda.