Viral Olympic Surfing Photo Captured by a Nikon Z9
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TOPSHOT - Brazil's Gabriel Medina reacts after getting a large wave in the 5th heat of the men's surfing round 3, during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Teahupo'o, on the French Polynesian Island of Tahiti, on July 29, 2024. (Photo by Jerome BROUILLET / AFP) / ALTERNATE CROP (Photo by JEROME BROUILLET/AFP via Getty Images)
While shooting surfing for the 2024 Olympics in the Tahitian surfing venue of Teahupo'o in French Polynesia, Nikon photographer Jerome Brouillet captured this surreal photo of Brazil's Gabriel Medina celebrating after getting a large wave at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Jerome, a Frenchman, specializes in surfing photography but also dabbles in waves and nature as subjects.
Rumor has it that it was captured with a Nikon Z9 but the lens is unknown. I have reached out to Jerome to inquire about what lens was used but have not heard back yet. This is understandable since I’m sure he is busy adhering to an Olympic sized schedule in French Polynesia. I did find a photo that appears to show Jerome holding his Z9 and the Nikkor Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S lens but it’s not clear if the photo was taken after his famous Olympic surfer photo or at some other unrelated time.
Let me know in the comments what you think the lens was. I’m guessing it was the 100mm-400mm Nikkor lens.
Watch a short interview of Jerome on my Facebook page where he describes what it was like to capture such as famous photo at: https://www.facebook.com/RobertGAllenPhotos/
Considering what has happened recently, I thought I would share a few of my photos of Charlie Kirk. Back in 2020, I was retained to provide photography coverage at a Turing Point USA event. These are a few of the photos from that event. This post is in no way endorsing or being critical of certain political views. It is only to share photos from a photography event assignment.
After receiving the Nikon Z5II, I immediately took it out for a test drive. I could not be more pleased with the results of this little gem of a camera. Check back often since I will be adding to this collection periodically.
Let me know in the comments if you have any questions.
Today, as first reported by Robert G Allen Photography, Nikon releases major new firmware 2.0 for the Nikon Z6III camera.
Nikon Inc. has announced the release of the new NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S II, a standard zoom lens that is compatible with full-frame/FX format mirrorless cameras. This second generation of the acclaimed NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S brings enhancements to image quality, speed and handling, further improving upon a lens that was already a popular choice for all types of imaging professionals.
Robert G Allen Photography recently took delivery of Nikon’s professional zoom trio or as I like to call these 3 lenses, Nikon’s Trinity. I will be posting sample photos as I get more usage out of these 3 premium lenses. In the meantime, here are a few sample images from a recent event assignment:
I love seeing all that Nikon gear hanging from her in the movie poster for the documentary Love and War, a doc about Lynsey Addario as she covers the Ukraine war and other conflicts around the world. The movie is produced by Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin.
I was reminded recently that the winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy were only 6 months away. And 6 months seems like a reasonable timeline for the release of the Z9II. What better timing I thought than right before the Olympic games!
Hot off the press is a new version of NX Studio. This version includes fixes for the following and raises the version number to 1.9.1
These are very limited firmware updates but it’s good to know that Nikon is still caring about their legacy DSLR cameras, at least currently. I have owned and used both of these cameras and they are both DSRL perfected. I would have stayed with the D6 but the shutter was too loud!
I was recently retained to provide event photography coverage of the 2025 Standhope Ultra Challenge near Sun Valley Idaho. It’s considered one of the highest trail races in the US Northwest with elevations reaching over 11K feet within the Pioneer mountains of Idaho. This is not a course for the faint of heart!
As I predicted, due to all the 3rd party lens issues, Nikon issues firmware 3.01 for the Z8 camera.
I thought I would take out the Nikon COOLPIX P1100 this morning around 4:00 AM (so you didn’t have to, thank you) for a few photos of the buck moon at its almost full moon phase.
I’m waiting for Nikon to announce a new Z8 firmware update to replace the original 3.0 update due to all the 3rd party lens issues. I think it’s OK to upgrade to the 3.0 version. I upgraded my Z8 and have had no issues.

Welcome to Robert G Allen Photography. I'm a professional multi-disciplinary commercial freelance photographer based in the Pacific Northwest and a Nikon DSLR Enthusiast.
While my career has primarily been as an event photographer, this website represents other areas of photography for which I have professional competency and enjoyment. The resulting front page gallery and single subject galleries are the result of a combination of client assignments and personal areas of interest.
With a release date of October 2020, the Z7II offers plenty of opportunity for updates and changes, much of which are overdue. Just like the Z6III, I think similar changes could be made to the Z7II to bring it up to date with the release of the Z7III. Here is what I think could the specs of a refreshed Nikon Z7II could be.