Picture of theYear: Gabriel Palmeira Catches Perfect Barrel at Rio’s Iconic Arpoador Break
The Story Behind My Picture of the Year
When I was a child and would visit my family in Syracuse, there were certain images from my Uncle Arthur’s LIFE Magazine’s that stood out and inspired me, putting the seed in my head that maybe one day, I could do that for a living. I saw a photo from George Silk of Nick Beck of Honolulu catching a wave on his light board. I was fascinated by the image and literally 50 years later, this image would inspire me to make something of my own.
I’ve always preached “patience and persistence” when asked what my secrets are as a working photojournalist. I’ve always hoped for that “Holy Grail” of a photo. After 40 years in the business, I still believed that my most “perfect” image was something I shot as a 17-year-old on a trip to Israel. Ive never managed to make something that made me feel that rush. Until August 1, 2025. Previously, I had two “one-in-a-million” shots. One became known across New Jersey simply as The Picture—a game-winning field goal in a legendary high school football game. (https://www.bobkarpphotography.com/the-photojournalist-blog/2020/12/1/30-years-ago-today-the-greatest-high-school-game-ever-played)
December 1, 1990—Randolph High school holder Eric Schaub & Mike Groh celebrate Groh's 37 yrd FG with 0:01 seconds left in the game as the ball cleared the uprights at Woodman Field in Montclair, NJ.
The other was Syracuse freshman Glenn Sekunda on February 9, 1992. I was at my alma mater (Go Orange!!) Syracuse, NY for the weekend with reporter Chris Shaw to cover Sekunda, a Parsippany Hills graduate, all-time leading scorer in Morris County basketball history, recognized as the 1991 USA Today New Jersey Player of the Year. and of course home town hero. I was blessed enough to witness Sekunda, guarded by Seton Hall’s formidable 7 foot 2 in, 290 lb center Luther Wright, hitting the winning 15 foot shot in front of 30,000 at Syracuse University's Carrier Dome.
And on that beautiful sunny winter day, there was a third.
That morning at Arpoador, the iconic surf break between Ipanema and Copacabana, I watched as pro surfers defied the usual left-hand break and started chasing barrels to the right, toward the rocks. I repositioned, climbing the boardwalk, scooting down the rocks, until I was parallel with where the barrels were forming. I leaned back onto the rock and then I waited.
Gabriel Palmeira of Rio was the first. He eyed the wave, made the turn, and dropped into the barrel. I held the shutter and prayed for focus.
The result: a photo that, to me, feels like magic. A split second of mastery and motion, captured at 1/8000 of a second.
After a career of shooting nearly every sport on the planet except surfing, and just one year after picking up a camera at the beach, I found my holy grail.
I texted my wife Claudia immediately: “Sweetie, I just got a photo of a lifetime.”
That walk home felt like a quiet victory lap. After 40 years in photojournalism, it was my first real surf shot, and one I’ll never forget. These moments are rare. You either catch them or you don’t. I’ve missed more than I’ve made, and whenever someone compliments my work, I usually joke, “You should’ve seen the ones I missed.” The magic of photography meets the magic of sport. In less than three seconds, the moment arrived and vanished, and I couldn’t be happier that I took a chance that day. And also that Gabriel ALWAYS wears red.
