The pictures: Personal Best (1)

Herald photographer Brett Phibbs' shot of fencers Joao Gomes of Portugal and German Ralf Bissdorf in action in the individual foil competition was shot with a 300m lens on a digital camera. The exposure was 1/4 of a second at F5.6. Phibbs went for a classical look, studied the subject for some time, then panned with the fencers as they lunged. The key to the success of the picture was capturing the light as it hit the foil. Phibbs has covered two Olympic and two Commonwealth games for the NZ Herald. Note that this web version of the picture is at a low resolution.