High-speed flash photography with double-amputee skateboarder Felipe Nunes

For Felipe's action shot, Samo wanted to make it look as if he was jumping over a train on his skateboard. Still at the train garage, the team placed some planks of wood on the concrete floor to make it easier for Felipe to skate. Samo crept into a recess in the floor that's normally used by mechanics to slide in and make repairs to the bottom part of the train (pictured above), then lay down on the dirty ground with his Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM lens.

"[In the action shot] the fisheye lens makes it look like he's flying really high, especially with the train in the background," says Samo. In reality, Felipe's jumps were fairly low. The perspective of the Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM lens made the sides of the recess in the floor look curved, mimicking the shape of a skate ramp.

Samo used the AI Servo mode so the camera would continue to focus on Felipe as he moved through the frame, and he chose the focus point grouping Expand AF Area, where focus is expanded with four extra points around the photographer's chosen focal point. This setting is a favourite among many photographers capturing moving subjects because the four surrounding points will take over instantly if the camera stops detecting contrast in the main AF point, ensuring pin-sharp and precise focus. In more unpredictable situations, Samo could have chosen AF Expand Surround, where focus is expanded by eight surrounding AF points yet still remains precise even in very detailed areas such as a person's eye. "In this case, four extra focal points were perfect because I knew where Felipe was going to appear in the frame," explains Samo.

To make sure the details in the ceiling would be visible, Samo shot using ISO2000 and placed a studio flash to the side of Felipe to illuminate his face.

Throughout the shoot, Samo's Canon EOS 5D Mark IV was connected to his phone, so Felipe could check how the photographs turned out via the Canon Camera Connect app. "Another benefit of the Wi-Fi capabilities in the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and Canon EOS 6D Mark II is that you can connect to your computer, check your shot and change the settings from your device. With Wi-Fi, it's so much easier to correct things or to shoot," says Samo.

One of Samo's assistants was ready to catch Felipe if anything went wrong – he did crash a couple of times, causing the skateboard to fall on Samo. "I just held my arm up to protect my camera. It was nothing compared to what Felipe did and how he performed. He cut his hand a little bit, but he kept saying, 'It's fine, we can do it.' He was super-motivated.

"I told Felipe that if I had athletes like him on every shoot, I would be so happy. His enthusiasm and energy was incredible. He refuses to use a wheelchair and goes everywhere on his skateboard. He's just a normal, 18-year-old boy who wants to be a professional skateboarder, and he doesn't care what other people think."