"We spent two days on the North Johnstone River in Queensland. It's a Class IV-V river. Tom is in the foreground (right) with my assistant, Chantelle Sims. In back are Angus Ward (left) and Kevin Dickson, professional guides out of Cairns.

"How you see white water and what it ends up looking like on film are two entirely different things. You can paddle a Class IV section and it's exciting, dangerous. Then you look at your pictures and think, Big deal, that doesn't look like anything. It was a challenge to get exciting shots."

—Mark Gamba, photographer

Photo Facts

Camera: Nikon F5 in underwater housing
Film: Fuji Provia 100
Lens: Nikon 15mm
Settings: 5.6 f-stop, auto shutter speed
Lighting: Natural, with A2 warming filter

Talking Shop
"For white water, I try to shoot from inside a raft, at the edge. That puts white water in your face, splashes across the lens. Really fast shutter speeds freeze the droplets of water and look cool. I use a 15mm lens. Anything longer and I'm not going to get the action."

Photograph by Mark Gamba