Slovenian photographer stuns world with iconic shot

A photograph of Austrian ski jumper Daniel Tschofenig at this year's Ski Jumping World Cup finals in Planica has won Slovenian photographer Borut Živulovič second place in the sport action photography category at the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) media awards.

Titled Above the mist and trees, Živulovič's photo captures Tschofenig at an angle that makes him seem impossibly high in the air. Because of the mist, the ski jumper looks like he's flying above the clouds, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

"I am very happy and honoured to receive this award. The many submissions from around the world competing for the award tells you everything about the importance of the award I received as the first Slovenian ever," Živulovič said.

He is the first Slovenian to make the top three in any category.

He works as a photographer for the agency Bobo and a freelancer for Thomson Reuters, which published the award-winning photograph.

"I was lucky the weather changed and fog created a special atmosphere. But it wasn't that easy. I managed to take a photo earlier that I knew the agency would be able to publish. Then I had time to 'play around' a bit and I managed to get the photo," Živulovič said about the moment he took the picture.

He admitted that he knew it would be hard for him to win first place when he saw the photograph by his French colleague Jerome Brouillet, who went on to take the first place with The Golden Moment, a picture published by the French press agency AFP.

In total AIPS received a record 2,065 submissions from 136 countries. Three finalists were selected for each of the eight categories and attended a special ceremony, held this year in Rabat, Morocco. The winners received US$ 8,000, competitors in second place US$ 3,000 and those in third US$ 2,000.