Student finds profession that clicks
By Tim Gallagher Journal staff writer | Posted: Sunday, January 27, 2008
Nick Schrunk may have had the most interesting holiday break of the 12,609 students attending the University of Northern Iowa.
Schrunk, a senior from Spirit Lake, Iowa, spent his break photographing professional wakeboarders as they rode across gator-infested waves near Panama.
Schrunk shot 2,400 photos in temperatures that often hit 105 degrees with 99 percent humidity.
And had the time of his life.
"It was a lot of work, but it was a great experience," said Schrunk, a senior graphic design major hired by makers of the Red Bull energy drink. His images will be used to promote the company's 22-minute wake-boarding adventure video that may land on an ESPN network or Fuel TV.
"My job was to shoot the stills," said Schrunk, the son of Mike Schrunk and Sharon Schrunk of Spirit Lake. "They wanted still photos to kick (distribute) to magazines and newspapers to promote the video."
It proved challenging. Each of Schrunk's eight days (Dec. 10-18) began at 5:30 a.m. as temperatures were already creeping into the mid 80s. Red Bull's six professional wakeboarders would hit the water soon after with Schrunk on a chase jet ski or boat.
"My best angle came from a chase boat that followed alongside the athlete," he said. "The hard part was that the drivers of these boats didn't speak English. It was challenging at times for me to communicate instructions."
Schrunk attempted to get the boats into prime position for shots that not only showed boarders in mid-air, but also gave readers a sense of Panama's coastal beauty.
One day he found a spot atop an old sunken ship and shot to his heart's delight as wakeboarders jumped past.
The problem? The tide began to rise.
"At one point I could see the tide rising something like 6 inches every 10 minutes and I'm standing there on a piece of corrugated metal from a ship that's been there 40 years and worried my $3,000 piece of glass (his camera) was going to be under water," he recalled.
Schrunk was able to communicate his dilemma in the nick of time. They ended up being some of his best shots.
Gators pose a challenge
Beyond the heat and long hours, wakeboarders had a few brushes with alligators. The Panama Canal, Schrunk explained, has many inlets cutting their way inland into jungle-like terrain.
"We're in a rickety old boat going through these inlets shooting and every once in a while we'd come across wooden gates hooked together," he said. "The guys on the boats would use their bodies to push the gates down."
Those gates, he was told, serve as checkpoints for alligators. The gates keep the animals together at those points to lessen alligator movement across the small inlets.
"You hit one of those gators and you could ruin a boat," he said.
Following his day of shooting on the water, Schrunk would trade his 400-mm. lens for a wide-angle lens and then hit the clubs with the Red Bull athletes. He often shot lifestyle images for Red Bull Central America until 2 or 2:30 a.m.
"It was only 90 degrees at night, so I didn't sweat that much," he said. "It was really easy to work with these athletes, because they've been through it before. They know the drill."
Actually, so did Schrunk, who landed this assignment as a result of his work as project manager last summer when Red Bull had a 22-minute wakeboarding video shot in Okoboji. Schrunk used his local knowledge on that effort as project manager.
"We worked last summer on East Lake, West Lake and Center Lake," said Schrunk, 22. "And so I guess you could say I got to know everyone there and they decided to keep me around for another run at it. I sincerely thank Red Bull for the opportunity to go along on this shoot."
The TV video and accompanying DVD from Red Bull should be released in April to coincide with the U.S. wakeboarding season. The working title, he said, is "Red Bull: Panama Chapter."
While the experience should serve him well as he attempts to find a job this spring (he's looking in Denver and Southern California, primarily), it did leave him thankful for his life in Iowa. Eight days of heat, humidity and sun had this Iowa boy seeking cool relief.
"I had to put Zinka, it's like chalk basically, on my face three times each day to protect myself from the ocean glare," he said. "We all got fried the first day, no matter what we did.
"And by the eighth day I was ready to jump on a plane and get to somewhere where it wasn't 105 degrees," he said.
While the wakeboarders headed home to sunny Orlando, Fla., the UNI student boarded a flight for Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It took one step for him to know he was home.
"Five degrees and snowing," said Schrunk. "I was actually happy to see it."
Schrunk, a senior from Spirit Lake, Iowa, spent his break photographing professional wakeboarders as they rode across gator-infested waves near Panama.
Schrunk shot 2,400 photos in temperatures that often hit 105 degrees with 99 percent humidity.
And had the time of his life.
"It was a lot of work, but it was a great experience," said Schrunk, a senior graphic design major hired by makers of the Red Bull energy drink. His images will be used to promote the company's 22-minute wake-boarding adventure video that may land on an ESPN network or Fuel TV.
"My job was to shoot the stills," said Schrunk, the son of Mike Schrunk and Sharon Schrunk of Spirit Lake. "They wanted still photos to kick (distribute) to magazines and newspapers to promote the video."
It proved challenging. Each of Schrunk's eight days (Dec. 10-18) began at 5:30 a.m. as temperatures were already creeping into the mid 80s. Red Bull's six professional wakeboarders would hit the water soon after with Schrunk on a chase jet ski or boat.
"My best angle came from a chase boat that followed alongside the athlete," he said. "The hard part was that the drivers of these boats didn't speak English. It was challenging at times for me to communicate instructions."
Schrunk attempted to get the boats into prime position for shots that not only showed boarders in mid-air, but also gave readers a sense of Panama's coastal beauty.
One day he found a spot atop an old sunken ship and shot to his heart's delight as wakeboarders jumped past.
The problem? The tide began to rise.
"At one point I could see the tide rising something like 6 inches every 10 minutes and I'm standing there on a piece of corrugated metal from a ship that's been there 40 years and worried my $3,000 piece of glass (his camera) was going to be under water," he recalled.
Schrunk was able to communicate his dilemma in the nick of time. They ended up being some of his best shots.
Gators pose a challenge
Beyond the heat and long hours, wakeboarders had a few brushes with alligators. The Panama Canal, Schrunk explained, has many inlets cutting their way inland into jungle-like terrain.
"We're in a rickety old boat going through these inlets shooting and every once in a while we'd come across wooden gates hooked together," he said. "The guys on the boats would use their bodies to push the gates down."
Those gates, he was told, serve as checkpoints for alligators. The gates keep the animals together at those points to lessen alligator movement across the small inlets.
"You hit one of those gators and you could ruin a boat," he said.
Following his day of shooting on the water, Schrunk would trade his 400-mm. lens for a wide-angle lens and then hit the clubs with the Red Bull athletes. He often shot lifestyle images for Red Bull Central America until 2 or 2:30 a.m.
"It was only 90 degrees at night, so I didn't sweat that much," he said. "It was really easy to work with these athletes, because they've been through it before. They know the drill."
Actually, so did Schrunk, who landed this assignment as a result of his work as project manager last summer when Red Bull had a 22-minute wakeboarding video shot in Okoboji. Schrunk used his local knowledge on that effort as project manager.
"We worked last summer on East Lake, West Lake and Center Lake," said Schrunk, 22. "And so I guess you could say I got to know everyone there and they decided to keep me around for another run at it. I sincerely thank Red Bull for the opportunity to go along on this shoot."
The TV video and accompanying DVD from Red Bull should be released in April to coincide with the U.S. wakeboarding season. The working title, he said, is "Red Bull: Panama Chapter."
While the experience should serve him well as he attempts to find a job this spring (he's looking in Denver and Southern California, primarily), it did leave him thankful for his life in Iowa. Eight days of heat, humidity and sun had this Iowa boy seeking cool relief.
"I had to put Zinka, it's like chalk basically, on my face three times each day to protect myself from the ocean glare," he said. "We all got fried the first day, no matter what we did.
"And by the eighth day I was ready to jump on a plane and get to somewhere where it wasn't 105 degrees," he said.
While the wakeboarders headed home to sunny Orlando, Fla., the UNI student boarded a flight for Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It took one step for him to know he was home.
"Five degrees and snowing," said Schrunk. "I was actually happy to see it."
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