Pro Sports photographers at the Winter Olympics

[LongQ]

www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-7891-8203

link above from the Rob Galbraith site provides links to 3 blogs from photographers at the Winter Games. From what I have read (all three, fascinating) the TV companies must be working overtime to make these games look professional on air.

The Scott Sady blog is especially interesting for local observations - remember that you need to start at the bottom and work up to undestand the developing 'picture'. (Pun sort of half intended ...)

[_dobbo_]

Very interesting reading, who would have guessed the Italians would execute the Olympics in such typical Italian style!

[LongQ]

_dobbo_ said:

Very interesting reading, who would have guessed the Italians would execute the Olympics in such typical Italian style!

It was reported last week in a newspaper that Turin (or Torino) didn't really want the games and were shocked to get them when one (or two?) people with votes on the Olympic panel took umbrage at at the Swiss (who did want them and expected to get them) and voted elsewhere - ending up with Turin getting the poisoned chalice.

I liked the bit in one of the blogs where an English project manager mentions building the main infrastructure in about 6 months with a large number of Chinese labourers. Truly international.

I was also wondering how a group of photographers, each carrying around 200lbs of kit (how do you DO that?) manages to use a (small?) Italian 4x4 hire car. No wonder it broke.

[Andy M]

I read these last night. Both John Lehmann's and Scott Sady's blogs are pretty interesting, the other I just skimmed.

Typically Italian

[simpo two]

LongQ said:

I was also wondering how a group of photographers, each carrying around 200lbs of kit (how do you DO that?)

Like this?

[_dobbo_]

simpo two said:

LongQ said: I was also wondering how a group of photographers, each carrying around 200lbs of kit (how do you DO that?) Like this?

It's the boot with the sock in whcih really completes that image!

[lotusfan]

One of the links is to shortsshooters.com, fantastic (if very american generally) images of sport, and photojournalism,

how cool is this!!!!
www.sportsshooter.com/contest/clip/winning_image.html?id=183

[LongQ]

Look at all that kit later to appear on eBay - one careful semi-professional owner looking after his equipment as only a pro does .... etc.

Mind you, all the lenses are the wrong colour, but apart from that the array is impressive.

Where's my coat ...

The thing is that one of the bloggers has a shiot of all his kit at the airport. It would fill a Panda. You could not get 2 of him and his kit in one without risking serious damage and contortions for the occupants. Might be OK in a Discovery but not a small Italian 4x4 car.

It is good to see read the working side of the profession. Puts being an amateur shooting in rain and gloom at Donington into perspective. At least I didn't HAVE to be there and could go back to the car at any time I wished to. No security queues either. Probably because hardly any people around.

[LongQ]

Some interesting posts in the last 2 days, especially from Strazzante and Sady.

This was pointed:

"The problem comes in the editing room. I'm sorry Nikon, but the 11 Mb file on the d2h just doesn't crop well if you want a full page shot. I'm sitting there editing next to Gruber, the USA Today photographer who, like the rest of the staff shoots Canon, and his files are over 23Mb. Much more image to work with. I don't do this enough to feel comfortable shooting super tight. I'm already working a 600 and a 1.7x, couldn't really go tighter anyhow."


And Sady followed that up with this anecdote:

"I have come to understand why Paparazzi is an Italian word. During the women's downhill race, we were shooting the third gate. One of the Italian shooters for Reuters shoots a lot of ski racing. As a result, he was shooting almost 200mm tighter on the gate than I was. Well of course, one of the first racers around the corner was multiple gold medal winner Janica Kostelic of Croatia. She hit the gate a little wide and this guy cut her in half. The racers then speed by us on the way to the next turn and this guy starts shouting at her. "Tourista! Learn how to ski!" She had to have heard it. Can you imagine being heckled at the Olympics on a medal run by a photographer of all things. That wasn't the only time something like that happened. At the finish line, if the racers don't look toward the photographers, the Euro press lets them have it."

Now I fully understand that. There I am perfectly set up for shooting rally cars at night and half the drivers come through on the wrong line, almost out of flash range and compromising the focus point! Have these people no concept of how to drive? If they were at school I would make them go back and try again ...

[Bacardi]

simpo two said:

LongQ said: I was also wondering how a group of photographers, each carrying around 200lbs of kit (how do you DO that?) Like this?

Isn't that old Bjørn Rørslett's shopping trolley? Closest thing he gets to sport is a twig with some snow on