[Leica] Olympics Photogs Blogs

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant)]

Bob Baron offered:
Subject: [Leica] Olympics Photogs Blogs
>>>>A friend sent me these links; if you have the interest and some spare
> time there is some interesting commentary:
> http://filmlessphotos.blogspot.com/
> http://www.rgj.com/blogs/olympics/
> http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/sports_olympicphotos/
> I'll bet Uncle Ted can identify with more than one of the stories.<<<<

Hi Bob,
Thanks for bringing these to the list. :-)

First one I opened was by Canadian news/sport photographer John Lehman who's 
a friend of mine. :-)  Then it got better, more buddies whom I've shot along 
side covering many an Olympics and other international events. :-)

It allowed me to enjoy the Games, so to speak, without freezing my butt nor 
fighting for my spot within the "designated photo positions."

No matter where you want to go at a venue site, you have no control of where 
that is because "Photo Positions" are areas designated by the organizing 
committee long before anyone arrives. Until you arrive a few days before the 
Opening and walk the venues do you know where the "Photo Positions are."

Even then at the Summer Games there can be 1600 give or take a few 
accredited photographers fighting for the best photo positions. Obviously 
not all 1600 at the same venue, but the main sports, track & field, swimming 
garner the highest numbers

How about 250-300 on one side of the swimming pool? Standing "all the time" 
on risers shooting over each other's head and shoulders. Or you're trying to 
shoot while there's a 600mm lens over your right shoulder and something of 
similar length over the other used by two guys behind you.

Winter Games the same thing, accept there's rarely ever enough space for the 
number of accredited shooters. Hopefully to get a good spot, you might be 
"on the hill" 5 hours before the races start, then be sharp & ready to spend 
another half dozen hours shooting the event. :-) Then of course the 2-3 hour 
bus ride back to the MPC. No you can't drive your rental vehicle!

And even though you know where the best photo position is to cover the 
sport, " What and where you want to go" has absolutely no bearing on where 
you end up covering the event. Not are you alone in the position, you are 
squeezed in with quite possibly 200 or more other photogs all trying to 
shoot the same event moment..... differently and better than each other.

Not only that, particularly in the Summer Games you're squeezed so close to 
each other you can smell some guy's and they're several days old un-washed 
bodies! And no you can't move simply because there's no place to move to. 
You just get on with the shoot at hand.. taking great action pictures. ;-)

Oh yeah, the biggest pain in the ass offered by people who watch Games on 
home TV sets."Oh WOW are you ever lucky covering the Olympics!  Right up 
close to everything and getting to go every where!"

Yep that's fer sure, we're lucky alright carrying all those big lenses, 
extra bodies, batteries while wearing more winter clothes than you can 
hardly carry on your body.

Oh and the real fun stuff? Standing out side on some God for saken mountain 
side waiting for a skier to flash by faster than you can re-act if you let 
yourself be distracted for an eye blink! :-)

And as I read in John Lehman's blog. 5 1/2 hours fun riding media buses to 
and from events, then back to the MPC... "Main Press Centre."

Am I complaining? NOPE! I wouldn't trade all those years for anything! :-) 
It's way too much fun and excitement. :-)

ted