It wasn't the shot Hawke's Bay Today photographer Paul Taylor expected.
When Taylor arrived at Tamatea's Saltwater Creek to see a car submerged in the water, he watched as a young man clambered onto the roof.
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"I saw a fella jump onto the car and scrabble around lifting books out through the sunroof," Taylor, who had driven to the scene from Napier Boys' High rugby match, said.
"I grabbed a few frames then waited for him to to jump back to dry land, kind of hoping he'd fail and get wet, which I thought would make a tidy shot."
As it happened, the man was "quite an athlete."
![The man grabs belongings from the sinking car. Photos/Paul Taylor.](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/7Y2SLBYEV3EEFX65HT7CAPMX6E.jpg?auth=128cb9aa48d3d4c0c7a03597a5f580096393f9ce1f9a9b36d87efa64857fb361&width=16&height=9&quality=70&smart=true)