"[narrator] Every powerful photograph, has a powerful story behind it." "Krystal Wright has made her name as an adventure sports photographer." "This takes an iron nerve, instinctive timing and a willingness to travel to the back of beyond... all in the pursuit of the perfect image." "She travels to the blue waters of Vanuatu, seeking the clarity and light she requires to capture the immersive world of freediving." "[Krystle] That's what's going to make people sort of question well how did you take this?" "[narrator] She then ventures to the canyons of North America where she will encounter athletes who appear to walk on air." "[scream echoes]" "[Krystle] I can relate to the mental challenge that this sport does pose." "You know when I'm photographing" "I tend to not think about anything, you just do it." "[narrator] Finally Krystle takes to the skies over the flooded salt pans of Bonneville to capture a sport that has had an impact on her before... [uplifting music] [uplifting music] [uplifting music]" "[indistinct speech]" "[Krystle] As an adventure photographer it's a lifestyle that I live and breathe." "Though perhaps it's also a mixture of passion and obsession." "There's an insatiable desire in me to explore with the camera in hand." "To try and capture a fleeting moment that encapsulates the soul of that place." "[narrator] Free diving is an adventure sport that has a captured Krystal's imagination." "Former vice world champion free diver Yoram Zekri will be the subject of a specific underwater image" "Krystle hopes to capture." "[Yoram] Freediving for me, it's my way of life." "When you free dive you hold your breath but it's not just a question of metres or time, it's just a question of sensation, how you feel inside you." "When you free dive you are part of the ocean and it's like you are dissolved in the water." "[narrator] Krystal and Yoram have travelled to the tropical islands of Vanuatu in search of the deep clear waters she needs to accomplish her vision." "[Krystle] Almost a year ago" "I came up with this concept." "I was in the Mediterranean, just got this idea... why not photograph at night?" "We had a go, I got a nice shot but it wasn't the shot that I really really wanted." "And uh, the main thing for the shoot to actually work is you need clear water." "So we're going to head out to the blue hole today." "Ooooh yeah." "Oh man look at that." "[indistinct chatter]" "[Yoram] That's not so clear as when I come last time in September." "September it was like 15 metres deep and you can see the rocks at the bottom." "[Krystle] Yeah." "[Yoram] Now it's like cloudy but we'll try." "[quiet, upbeat music] [quiet, upbeat music] [narrator] The water visibility is crucial to achieving this photograph." "Krystal needs to do a test dive during daylight hours so she knows the exact distance she can get from Yoram and still maintain a clear image once darkness falls." "[Krystle] Ooohh... it's fresh." "[Krystle] When you come up with a specific shoot, you need to know the environment." "So this morning was great just to get in the water, get a feel, what does it look like underneath, what's the distance I need to work with tonight." "First I'm excited because I just see the blue," "I'm like ah perfect!" "But, as we get in the water, there is just sediment everywhere." "Sort of sat here for a few hours going, oh what do I do?" "[chuckles] But... patience." "Right now as I look down there" "I'm seeing pretty much the bottom now." "So that means we've got close to 20 metres of visibility." "I just want to jump in there and start shooting but I have to be patient and wait for the light." "The image that's been playing on the back of my mind for about a year now... it's really simple." "And that's the thing I was taught when I first got into to photography - keep it simple." "[narrator] Krystal envisages a single shaft of light piercing down into the dark depths below." "A canoe arrives from the local village to help direct her light exactly where she needs it." "[Krystle] The thing we need to do tonight is keep the canoe over the deepest part and Takow - the torch is just directly down." "[gentle music]" "[Krystle] The idea is we get a light beam coming straight down and I'm just going to get Yoram just swimming up through that with a mono fin." "And with, you know, shooting on a 14mm underwater is just the blackness." "[gentle music] [gentle music] [gentle music]" "I think it's going to be good." "[Yoram] Yeah?" "[Krystle] Again, I think we just... it's just not quite black enough." "[Yoram] Be patient!" "A few minutes!" "[laughter]" "[Krystle] But then we still need that light more directly down, that's the problem." "[Yoram] Maybe if we fix on the wood?" "Yeah or even here you know." "Attach it so it's on the water and you tape it like you want, straight." "[Krystle] Yeah." "[gentle music] [narrator] With the light-source secured, it's time to embark on the shot that Krystal has dreamt of for over a year." "[gentle music] [gentle music] [gentle music] [gentle music] [gentle music] [gentle music]" "[Krystle] I think with the blackness, that's what's going to make people sort of question like "how'd you take this?" and "where is it?"" "When people look at my images, there's a lot of space." "And a lot of space because it creates mystery, it creates questions." "You know I want viewers to ask questions." "I don't want the obvious to be there, it's like they've got to look at it and try and put the pieces together." "[upbeat music]" "[Krystle] Ahh, who would have thought that you're shooting the whole night and you know I couldn't figure out how do you get the fins to light up because the beam's directly down," "I could only see Yoram's torso." "Funnily front on all I had to get him to do was just swim diagonally back and I was finally light up the whole body." "It's a simple shot, you wouldn't think so much can go into one thing but for me, for my own sanity and my own soul... yeah it's just this fulfilment." "I think that's why I'm addicted to photography because there is no end or being the best it's just continually how do you grow, how do you evolve and how do you keep pushing yourself to make unique and hopefully incredible shots." "[gentle music]" "[narrator] Ever the nomad," "Krystle packs her bags and departs the tropics." "The continuous travel for her craft has meant she no longer holds permanent residency for any one country." "She is now heading back to a land famous for its adventure sports - the United States of America." "Krystle is seeking a very special type of athlete." "People who confront their fears and appear to walk on air..." "[Krystle] Having left Vanuatu, the tropical blue waters and the incredible green rainforests, we're now here in this canyon in North America, you know 2000 foot walls and it's a stark contrast to where we just were." "[Jerry] Slack lining is a sport in which we take a one inch wide piece of webbing and tie it between two objects and then walk on it." "And the practice of high lining is taking that activity up to high elevation such as the canyon we are in right now." "[gentle music]" "When you're approaching the line for the first time you have a little bit of anxiety, a little bit of fear because there's a ton of unknown." "And then as soon as I step up it's like pure joy." "And a little bit of anxiety still because there's a 2000 foot drop beneath you." "[uplifting music]" "When you're out there and you find the perfect balance and the line is still, everything just drops away, and you're floating - you're one inch from flying." "[uplifting music] [uplifting music]" "[Krystle] The image that I'm looking for - it's combining a beautiful landscape and the action." "And when you're here, you can see it's these beautiful featured walls." "I mean you're crazy not to capture that beautiful feature while placing the action naturally in the image." "It's the perfect combination to work with as an adventure photographer." "It's funny I find that a lot of adventure sports, even though they're vastly different to the eye, when you compare them they actually have a lot of similarities - freediving, high lining - both solo sports, definitely both huge mental challenges." "[screams]" "I do have a little bit of a reputation as a screamer." "[screams]" "Sometimes it really helps me to scream and a movement to stay standing or to feel powerful." "[screams]" "[Jerry] Falling, it's pretty minimal impact but it takes a toll mentally for sure." "Falling over and over and over affects your psyche." "[music] [upbeat music] [screams]" "My sister made that beanie!" "I can relate to the mental challenge that the sport does pose." "You know when I'm photographing," "I tend to not think about anything... you just do it." "Ultimately it all comes down to can you focus your mind, clear out any distractions and just be in the moment." "[uplifting music] [uplifting music] [uplifting music] [uplifting music] [uplifting music] [gentle music]" "[Krystle] I had a friend who actually said to me" ""you know you're actually a landscape photographer" ""but you just happen to throw action figures into your landscapes."" "At first I thought it was funny but then I realized it's so true because it's not an adventure sport unless you have an adventure and therefore you have to be in a really cool unique, landscape." "You look out over the flats here and it is desolate but at the same time it's actually incredibly beautiful." "It's a strange contradiction but I do love being out here, it's different, it's unique." "[narrator] The radiant salt flats of Utah are the perfect canvas for Krystal to portray another dynamic sport... paramotoring." "Also known as Powered Paragliding, this adventure sport allows an athlete to get airborne without the need for elevation." "The freedom of flight being achieved by the power of a two-stroke engine strapped to the pilot's back." "[Krystle] The interesting thing for me is that" "I was in a major accident back in 2011, that's why I have this scar that runs up my forehead here." "And I actually haven't flown that much in the last couple years so it does play on my mind a little bit about, you know, what happens if you get hurt again." "But at the same time I love being in sky." "Once you're up there it feels amazing and yeah I'm actually really excited to start taking images because I think it's going to be a really cool different image that I've ever taken for paragliding." "[Krystle] With me today we've got Shane and Justin and Shane's going to be our pilot in the shot, the focus, and Justin's going to take care of flying me." "[Shane] Once again on that rehearsal." " Yep." " Arms are like that." "This is going to come up." "And your arms are going to go in between there once you're up there." "But it's going to try and scoop you just like that, so you wanna try and keep your feet kinda forward, keep runnin'." "[Justin] And it's going to be like full bore, keep on running, okay?" "[Shane] Run like you're scared." "[Krystle laughs] [indistinct]" "[engine whirring] [upbeat music] [upbeat music] [upbeat music] [upbeat music] [upbeat music] [upbeat music] [upbeat music] [upbeat music] [upbeat music] [upbeat music]" "[upbeat music] [upbeat music]" "[narrator] To capture the footage of Krystal's flight perspective, cinematographer Abraham Joffe takes a second flight with Justin, Krystle's pilot." "[upbeat music] [upbeat music]" "Suddenly - over the flooded salt pan - the unexpected happens, their engine begins to splutter and fail without warning... [loud splash]" "[Abraham] Bit of a hard landing mate?" " Yeah!" " What happened?" "[Justin] That was pretty exciting." "We were just cruising around, filming Shane... as soon as we got out over the water..." "[Abraham] I thought you were playing with me." "[Justin] No no. [laughs]" "[Abraham] And then you just see the water just coming in fast." "[Justin] Yeah." "[gentle music]" "[Krystle] I am a little concerned that the motor will start properly." "We'll see what things happen but I'm still going to go up," "I'm not just going to sit there and go what if, it's just you just gotta try and if it works out it does and if not it doesn't." "[narrator] The untimely motor failure has cost Krystal the remaining magic light of the day." "She decides she has no choice but to settle in for the night with her team." "[gentle music] [gentle music]" "[Krystle] The first flight we had today, it was amazing but at the same time, a tiny bit frustrating because as we flew today the landscape just kept getting better and better and by the end of the shoot" "I finally found the perfect location but I couldn't quite communicate to the others what I wanted because the motors are going, it's super loud, also my pilot Justin was telling me "we're running out of gas," "we've got to get back."" "So I knew that was going to be the outcome because you know it's very hard to nail everything on the first shoot." "So with the shot tomorrow, directly down looking at these beautiful salt craters and having Shane performing some wing overs or spirals and combining this into what I would think is a beautiful photo." "[gentle music] [gentle music] [narrator] The new day has stillness in the air, perfect conditions for Para-motoring." "Having spent the night dreaming of a perfect sequence of shots," "Krystal has even more riding on this precious last flight." "[indistinct chatter]" "[upbeat, rhythmic music] [upbeat, rhythmic music]" "[Krystle] With the recent flooding, you've got all the salt build up." "So you've got these sort of cool like crust layers, it's almost..." "it's like reptile skin like all these scales." "The wind's really still here so we'll get perfect reflections." "These sort of landscapes change so dramatically throughout the whole day - from the sunrise to the sunset, midday, you name it." "[upbeat, rhythmic music] [upbeat, rhythmic music] [upbeat, rhythmic music] [upbeat, rhythmic music] [upbeat, rhythmic music] [upbeat, rhythmic music] [upbeat, rhythmic music]" "[Justin] Woohoo!" "There he goes!" "Woah, woah, woah." "[Shane] Hey how was that?" "[Justin] Beautiful!" "[Shane] I think we nailed that one huh?" "[Krystle] I couldn't stop shooting, the light just got better and better." "That was amazing." "[Shane] That sunset was beautiful." "[Krystle] It was all perfect, you've just got to keep shooting." "[Abraham] Cool, alright guys." "[Justin] Good job." "[Krystle] Beer?" "[Justin] Beer!" "Yes please." "[Krystle] Photography changed my perception of the world." "My eyes are continually drawn to the ever changing light." "My perspective is now constructed of depths, layers and dimensions." "In the pursuit of adventure," "I find myself hanging off cliffs, swimming amongst canyons, trudging through the rain." "All in hope that I capture something unique." "Through these travels, my experiences continue to shape my life, and my journey." "[upbeat music] [upbeat music] [upbeat music] [upbeat music]" "[upbeat music]" "[upbeat music]"