Candid Conversations: Vladimir Rys and Jiří Durdík

For action photographer and Canon Ambassador Vladimir Rys, split-second storytelling in a single shot is where the power of still photography lies, especially when it comes to the victories and tragedies of high-speed sports such as motor racing. "The 'decisive moment' is what makes a photograph special," he explains. "It could be the expression on someone's face, a beautiful composition, a light formation or all of these together."

Capturing that special moment was the task set by Canon's second annual Redline Challenge and enthusiast photographers from around the world shared their standout split-second imagery. The 2022 winner is Jiří Durdík, who will receive a Canon EOS R5 and a Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8L USM lens, as well as mentoring from photojournalist and Canon Ambassador Laura El-Tantawy.

Vladimir caught up with Jiří, who is also from the Czech Republic, to discuss the background to his winning shot, creative techniques for capturing sports action and their photographic journeys.

Vladimir: I know! And as well as capturing photographs, you're trying to stay clean because there is mud flying everywhere.

Jiří: Exactly. As soon as you take a picture, you have to put away your camera quickly. It's the same with shooting sled racing. You're two metres away from the athletes, so you have to keep the camera under your coat, otherwise the lens could be damaged. I shoot with a Canon EOS 7D Mark II. I'm very happy with it – it's fast and reliable. I have a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens and a Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM, as well as a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens that I use for nature photography.

Vladimir: My favourite lens is the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM. I've been shooting Canon since 2000, over 20 years, and never had problems in the rain. I don't even use protective casing. You've won a Canon EOS R5. Are you excited? It'll really help you improve.

Jiří: Yes, I think it will be a leap forward. It's got much higher resolution – I've never had full-frame in digital, so I'm looking forward to that, and it will better replicate colours, highlights and shadows. Also, the focusing system is perfect for sports and nature subjects such as birds in flight and it has better stabilisation, which helps with slow shutter speeds.

Vladimir: It's awesome, the EOS R5. The resolution is incredible and the quality of the colours, like you said. These features allow you to broaden your horizons and start to shoot totally different things than you did before. In my experience, buying new kit does that. If I get a new lens, suddenly a subject I've photographed hundreds of times looks completely different. How long have you been shooting for?

Vladimir: That's what I love about sports photography, too. You get a whole story in one shot. I've been taking pictures since I was 12 or 13. My grandfather was a photographer and I started playing around with his old cameras. At first I wanted to be a cameraman, but then the challenge of telling a story with a single shot won my heart.

Jiří: To do this, it has to capture human emotion. And you need great light, too.

There were over 14,000 entries entries in the 2022 Redline Challenge, making choosing the winner rather difficult for the judges. Watch as they deliberate, and share the exciting news with Jiří.

Vladimir: When light, composition and the right moment merge, that is the perfect capture for me. You need to follow your gut to catch it. You took your winning photo with a slow shutter speed, right?

Jiří: Yes, 1/80 sec. I had my camera set to Shutter priority (Tv) mode. I was photographing gymnastics recently and shot that at 1/6 sec, and the images came out really well. And basketball, shooting in a range that went from 1/5 sec to 1/125 sec.

Vladimir: I used to shoot longer shutter speeds, but in the past two or three years I have switched to shooting faster. As a photographer, you have to keep evolving. Blurred or sharp can work, it depends, and over the years you develop an intuition for it. Why did you decide to enter this shot? What stood out?

Jiří: I was originally going to enter a different one, from a fire show, but then I entered another contest and printed the image, which is when I discovered how nice it was. It looked completely different than on the screen. When I started out in photography, I was developing my own prints in the darkroom.

Vladimir: Yes, me too. I remember I used to enlarge pictures and keep them on display somewhere for maybe a fortnight or three weeks, and if I still liked them after that, I'd put them away. If I didn't, I'd tear them up and throw them in the bin. I found this incredibly helpful, printing out the pictures and seeing them in my hands. So, do you mostly shoot in colour?

Jiří: I always shoot in colour but I convert maybe 15-20% of my shots to black and white. Especially with indoor sports, where the advertising can be distracting, black and white is cleaner. This shot, though, wouldn't work in black and white, you'd lose the colour in those smudges. I am happy with this shot. I was happy when I took it, when I saw it on the computer and that is the most important thing. I'm doing this for my own enjoyment, not for anyone else.

Vladimir: Your satisfaction is the most important thing. Congratulations again, Jiří.