Day 7 - Paparazzi Time

So today presented a new challenge for me. Rather than cover the olympics, i had 2 shoots for different clients. First i had to shoot some video of the olympic line for Bombardier. They had just passed 300,000 passengers on the demo line and wanted to show how crowded it was. Then i had to shoot for another client, Sports Mark, who plans and organizes the hospitality programs for a lot of the major sponsors of the games. In this case Omega had scheduled a photo op of Michael Phelps, and sports mark wanted me to shoot it with both video and photo if possible. It started out ok as i got in the front row of the camera scrum as Phelps and Canadian Mogul Gold medalist Alex Bilodeau posed for the cameras in front of the Omega countdown clock outside the Vancouver Art Gallery. We were then supposed to move into the Hotel Vancouver for a shoot outside the Omega store in the lobby. This was my first experience of what it is like to be a paparazzi photographer. I literally had to fight my way inside, as the crowd was so big they had security linking arms keeping out people. Even though i was one of the invited media, they were not going to let me in until i squeezed past one guard. By the time i got in i was only able to get in about the 3rd row of media, so i had to shoot video holding the camera as high as i could straight armed above my head. I got off a few still shots, but the scene was just too crazy. The challenge of shooting Olympic sports is one thing, but i don't think i ever want to get into the paparazzi thing.

Day 6 - Women's Downhill

So after a week of nasty weather, the sun finally came out and the first ever Spring Olympics began. I made it back up to Whistler to cover the Women's Downhill, where Lindsey Vonn of the USA was favored to win the Gold and followed up in grand style.
Julia Mancuso, also of the USA took the Silver medal. I had actually shot both girls as 13 and 14 year old's when they competed at the Whistler cup Juvenille ski race back in 1998. Newsweek Magazine published one of my Shots of Mancuso back in 1999, pegging her as one to look out for in the future.

Lindsey and Julia Celebrate after the race.
Noelle Barahona of Chile crashes into the air bag in the finish corral and disappears after crossing the finish line at the Woman's Downhill
Anja Paerson of Sweden was 2 gates away from a silver medal before crashing at the bottom of the Woman's Downhill

Day 5 - Victory Ceremony with the Bare Naked Ladies

After Maelle's victory, i wanted to be sure to catch the Medal ceremony at BC place. The Bare Naked Ladies were also scheduled to play that night, so it was gearing up to be another great night. Unfortunately getting to the stadium proved to be more of a challenge than you would think. First off, i had to go through security to get into the media center, then again before boarding the bus that was taking media over to the stadium. While on the bus, we again had to go through security where police officers search under the bus with mirrors to look for bombs or other nasty stuff before they let the bus near the stadium. As we pull up outside, they told everybody to get off the bus, so we did. I followed the directions and entered the building. I took a few minutes before i realized that they sent us into the wrong building. I could hear hockey but i thought they were just playing the hockey game live on the big screen, but then i noticed that the curve of the building as we walked around in the bottom level was too tight to be BC Place. We were at GM place!!! we were already cutting it close for the medal ceremony, and we were not even in the right building. Nobody could tell us how to get next door to BC place. We eventually found our way outside, but still could not find our way, some directed us into the TV broadcast compound, and from there we were able to find our way into the basement of BC place. Even here there was nobody that could tell us who to get upstairs. After walking around the entire bottom level, passing what turned out to be many of the secret props used in the closing ceremonies, we eventually found the ramp onto the field that Rick Hansen had to climb to light pass the torch during the opening ceremonies. It looked steep on TV, and i tell you it was even steeper in person. At last we could see the stage, but security would not let us through, they sent us back down the ramp to continue our quest. We passed 3 more people before somebody finally pointed us in the right direction to the photo desk.

At the desk i ran into an old co worker friend Tyler Garnham who was one of the venue photo managers. He took great care of us and led me to the photo pit. At this point i found out they had postponed Maelle's ceremony to the next day, so i did all of this for nothing. I had no clue who else was getting a medal, but it turned out to be Mike Robertson with the Silver medal in Boardercross. After the ceremony, Tyler lead me to the front of the stage where we got to shot the first 3 songs of the Bare Naked Ladies. I then went up into the upper levels to shoot some overview shots, then i finished the night having a beer with Tyler watching the end of the concert in the press tribune.

It was quite the day. I got to witness my first of many Canadian Gold medal victories, experience my first of many difficulties with the venue transportation system, and watch one of my favorite bands play a concert.

Day 5 - Women's Snow Board Cross

So the olympics are actually over now, but i have not had a chance to update my blog so here we go. Time to catch back up. On Tuesday Feb 16th, Whistler local Maelle Ricker had a chance at redemption after making the final at the last olympics in Torino only to crash and knock herself out. This year she has been one of the top ranked boarders and my pick to win the Gold medal. She almost didn't even make it through qualification as she fell and had a slow time in her first qualifying run, and with the weather rolling in, there was talk of not having a second run. Luckily the weather broke and she was able to post one of the top times in her second run. She then went on to win the Gold medal.

Day 4 - Mens Downhill

Here are a few shots from the Mens Downhill. It was nice to sleep in my own bed and get up 2 hours before the race started. Too bad home course advantage did not extend to our Canadians.

Aksel Lund Svindal at the finish of the Men's Olympic Downhill. Svindal took the Silver medal.

Hans Olsson of Sweden shrugs after finishing 12th in the Men's Olympic Downhill.

Erik Guay of Canada at the finish of the Men's Olympic Downhill. Guay finished in 5th place.

Patrik Jaerbyn of Sweden crashes into the air bag at the finish of the Men's Olympic Downhill.

Didier Defago of Switzerland at the finish of the Men's Olympic Downhill. Defago took the Gold medal.

Didier Defago of Switzerland at the finish of the Men's Olympic Downhill. Defago took the Gold medal.
Swiss supporters cheer at the finish of the Men's Olympic Downhill.
The mens podium at the flower ceremony of the Men's Olympic Downhill.

Nikon Rocks!!!

In case i have not mentioned it before, Nikon Rocks. Both Nikon and Canon treat the photographers covering the games very well here. We all received a Beautiful Lowepro Flipside 500 camera bag at the opening reception, and they both have Loaner equipment available in the main press center. On Day 2 i had a bunch of time to kill so i visited the booth, they offered to clean my gear, so i handed over both my camera bodies as well as one lens, and an hour later i got them back nice and clear, tightened and they even replaced a piece of missing rubber on my D2x that fell off years ago.

That night I was shooting Mogul skiing so i asked about borrowing a Nikon D3s, which has even better high ISO than my D3, they gladly handed over the body. The following day i borrowed another body and a teleconverter. The only downside is that the gear needs to be returned each within 24 hours, but it is still a sweet deal. They also have a range of long lenses all the way up to a 600mm F4, but so far i have not needed one as my 200-400 is suiting me just fine.

After shooting in the pouring rain at the moguls, and seeing all of the other shooters with their high tech rain covers, i figured i would ask Nikon about them. Once again Nikon happily handed over a very nice cover for my lens, and told me to keep it.

Yes Nikon does Rock!!!

Day 3 - Woman's 3000m Speed Skating

After 4 very long days of shootings, I decided to to take it easy today and cover Speed Skating at the Richmond Oval. By taking it easy, i mean staying away from the transportation system. The oval is about 500m away from my mom's house, so i visited Mom, had some breakfast and walked to the venue. Again it was my first time at a new venue, so it took a bit of time to figure things out, but after checking in, i was track side pretty quick. I should know this by now, but once again the prime photos positions were all staked out well before race time. I ended up just after the finish line on the curve, which made for a great shot during the race, but was too close to the finish to get the best shots after the race.

The racing was great, with Canadian Skating heroes Cindy Klassen and Clara Hughes competing, and Kristina Groves winning the Bronze medal.

As soon as the racing was finished, i wanted to get the flower ceremony shot, so i just followed 2 pool photographers (pool photogs always get the best shooting spots) as i assumed they knew where they were going. They led me to the photo manager who handed out Field of Play armbards that got me access to the center of the oval, just one of 10 photographers who had this access. Turns out all of the other photographers were lining up shooting from the far side of the track. So again i lucked out with a great ceremony shot.
Cindy Klassen of Canada during the womans 3000m speed skating event at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
Nancy Swider-Peltz Jr. of the USA during the womans 3000m.Katarzyna Wozniak of Poland slips at the finish line of her pairing at the womans 3000m.Kristina Groves of Canada during the womans 3000m speed skating event at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Groves won the Bronze medal.Ice Hockey star Jaromir Jagr cheers on the Czech's during the womans 3000m speed skating event.
Clara Hughes of Canada during the womans 3000m speed skating event at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
The crowd cheers as Kristina Groves of Canada wins the Bronze medal at the womans 3000m speed skating event at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic celebrates her Gold medal victory during the womans 3000m speed skating event at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

Day 2 - Woman's Freestyle Moguls in the Rain

Today was supposed to be the Mens Downhill, so i left to drive to Whistler at 7 am. I got about half way to Squamish when i heard they had postponed the race, so i made a quick U-turn and returned to the city. As luck would have it, i was right at the U-turn lanes they recently put into the highway. I always thought they were a waste of taxpayer money but they came in handy today. I got back to our Studio in West Vancouver just as Brad and Ian were leaving, so i caught a ride into downtown to make my way to the Main Media Center.

One of the nice things about not being assigned to a specific event at the olympics (other than covering the Whistler athletes when they compete), is that i get to choose what i want to shoot. I checked out the schedule and decided that the women's moguls event was my best option. Jennifer Heil was favored to win the first Gold medal on Canadian soil, so i was looking forward to covering this event. I had lots of time before the event so i figured this would be a good time to explore the Media Center. It is located at Canada Place, and takes up all of the available trade show space. They have a McDonald's and a food court, a bank and store, as well a the transportation hub to get to all of the venues. I checked in at the photo desk and was assigned a locker to store my gear. Each venue has photo lockers, big enough to store a few camera bags and clothes etc. they are about 2 ft by 2 ft by 3.5 ft. At this point i have 3 different lockers around town, One up at cypress, one at Whistler Creekside, big enough for my ski gear, and the one at the main media center.

Eventually i caught an early bus up to Cypress Mountain, to get ready for that evenings event. After experiencing the challenges at the downhill training, i figured i was ready for this. but let me tell you, shooting the Olympics is not all it's cracked up to be. First i had to find the correct bus, i was directed to the cruise ship terminal at Canada place, which is outside the security zone, but this was incorrect, so i wanted to get back into the meadia center to find the correct location. But every time you enter, you have to go through security. They randomly pick you for searches, so of course i got picked. rather than unload all of my bags and pockets, i wanted to just go find my bus on my own, but i figured the security people would not like me refusing to get searched so i had to unload everything. I was dressed for the pouring rain up on cypress so it took while for them to search me, as i had on about 5 layers. and had some keys in my bottom layer. eventually i got through and found my correct bus. After about 45 minutes, we reached the top of Cypress mountain, or at least as far as they would drive us. We got off the bus and had to walk about 1/2km up the hill to another security check. After passing through this one, we walked another 1/2km to get to the media tent. I checked in, dumped my gear in my locker and checked out the site.

After a while i noticed all of the photographers prepping their gear for the heavy rain that was falling. I am used to shooting in the snow where your gear gets wet, but these conditions were something else. I frantically started looking for anything i could find to protect my gear. I eventually found a plastic bag and some tape to try to cover it. but that was not working well, so i got in line to buy a rain poncho from the souvenir stand. All they had left was a small, but i figured it was better than nothing. We were supposed to be in place 1 hour before the event started, so i got all poncho'ed up, grabbed my gear and headed out into the downpour. I wanted to shoot the qualifying run from the side of the course and the finals from the bottom. To get on the course, we needed to have crampons and climb straight up the hill beside the fence. My crampons barely passed inspection because they only cover half of my foot. I was told next time to have full mountaineering ones. As i started to climb, i noticed that due to the lack of snow, it was going to be very difficult to get high enough to shoot over the fence. They only had enough snow for the course and not the side of it, so it sloped off right at the fence. this meant there was no way to get high enough to shoot over the fence. After climbing over half way up the slope, i decided to head back down and beat the others to the finish corral. Another lesson i learned, if you want a good spot, get there early. By the time i got to the bottom there was not front row access. i ended up finding 3 japanese photographers standing together. All were about a foot shorter than i so, i figured i would just shoot over their heads.

All of the Olympic venues are light for TV, at a light level of about 1400 lux which gives you around 1/500 sec at f2.8 at iso800. So with a camera that shoots high ISO you are good to go. Unfortunately the reason they do this is for the TV cameras, which have a tendency to get in your shot at the finish line. so you must choose your location wisely. For the flower ceremony, the photo staff made a strange request. They told all photographers who wanted access to the finish corral to shoot the ceremony, to meet in a certain spot 5 minutes before the end of the competition. What is strange is that this is when the top skiers come down. so with 3 skiers left, i found myself with a front row access to shoot, while most of the others waited to get into the corral for the ceremony. During the Flower ceremony, they all had to kneel down anyways, so i just stayed behind the them on the other side of the barrier and got just as good of shot.

After the event, we had to walk back down to the transportation hub, and wait for 30 minutes in the pouring rain, for the bus back to the media center. You would think they would have more than 1 bus every 30 minutes for the end of the event. In the end Jennifer Heil took home the Silver Medal. Here are some of the shots from that night. To check out more go to

Day 1 of the Olympics

The first day of the olympics for me consisted of more video of the torch relay for 2 separate clients, and watching the opening ceremonies on TV. We started downtown early again. and at first the crowds did not see that bad at all. We found parking about 2 blocks away from the Art Gallery, where we where shooting. But by the time the torch was near, the crowds were a big as i have ever seen. Everyone was staying on the curb while there was still traffic on the road, but as soon as the sponsor vehicles got nearby, the crowds filled the streets. It got so crowded that the run turned into a push. the vehicles could barely get through.

Our next assignment was for Bombardier on the olympic line. We had been shooting for Bombardier for quite a while, so we were able to get staff jackets from the train crew, which allowed us access on the train and boarding platform. As the torch arrived, the crowds swelled once again, but this time we were able to get some clear shots. We then continued back to Granville island on the train to complete our last shoot. We were doing interviews with the Coke VIP's but kept getting interrupted by the constant sound of helicopters hovering over head. At about this time i was really looking forward to becoming a photographer again. Enough of this video stuff.

I had a great seat for the opening ceremonies, right in front of the TV. Having a media pass will get me into almost any venue and event during the olympics, but not the opening ceremonies. There are 750 accredited photographers covering the games, but they only had seats for about half of them. It would have been great to see live, but after a few long days, and many more to come, i was kind of happy to relax on the couch for this one.

1 day to go.

Today was another crazy day. I was shooting Video for Coca-Cola, covering a few VIP's who were running with the torch. We started at the live site in Coquitlam at 7 am in the rain. We then traveled to Burnaby for our first torch runner. As we pulled up to the meeting spot, we ran into Bob Costas from NBC. turns out he was the torch runner our Coke VIP was handing the flame off to. We were located right beside a highschool, so about 30 minutes before the torch arrived, classes were let out and the streets were flooded with kids. While covering the torch relay in Whistler, I was able to run along side and get a few shots and planned to do the same here. unfortunately the crowds made this very difficult. After getting the torch kiss, where they light the next runner's torch, i took off behind the crowds, ran up about 150 meters, and found a gap in the crowd. As i stuck my camera out to shoot, one of the escort cyclists, who was racing ahead at full speed, slammed into my camera. He almost went down, and gave me the dirtiest look as i check my gear for any damage.

For our next runner, we were located along Cambie Street, where the crowds got even bigger. We were standing between 2 groups of school children, screaming at the top of their lungs while we waited for the flame to arrive. I made sure this time i stayed far away from the escort cyclists, as i did not want to be recognized.

Our day continued in Yaletown, where we shot at the live site at David Lam Park. We were among the first to enter the Coke Hospitality tent, and i have to say, it is pretty cool. Inside they have a very energetic staff handing out samples, showing some of their recycling initiatives, as well as showing off some of their involvement in past olympics. The best part was the polar bear mascot. I am sure you have seen the commercials, but this mascot was as real as they get. you have to check it out.

Luckily we wrapped up earlier than expected, so i was able to attend the Olympic Photographers reception held at the Vancouver Aquarium that evening. Sponsored by Nikon and Canon, this reception was a chance to mix and mingle with some of the best photographers in the world, in a spectacaular setting. The best part about it was that at the end of the evening they gave all of the photographers a limited edition Lowepro Flipside 500 camera bag worth about $200.

Olympics are here! Kinda

So the games officially start on Feb12th, Whistler hosted the first day of downhill training for the men. Unlike many other sports, a training run in the downhill is just like a real race. all the volunteers are in place, all the safety features and security are in place, and it is a good eye opener on how things will work during the games. For the official race, on course photo positions are limited to just 80 photographers, so i figured my only chance to get on course would be during training. I called the creekside photo desk to find out about access and was told to be at the base 3 hours before the start and i may get some course access. The race was scheduled for 10:30 am so i made sure i was there by 7am. So my first olympic experience consisted of me getting lost in my hometown. I couldn't find the meeting location. I then called the help desk and was told to head up to the timing flats. As i expected to be on course, i was carrying my skis, boots, camera gear, and laptop bag. So after taking the new chairlift up to the finish area, i finally found the media tent. the guys here were helpful, they gave me a key to a locker to store my gear as well as the coveted course access armband. Unfortunately the lockers were back down at the base in the legends hotel, and as luck would have it, they were not really supposed to give out the armband to me. I headed back down, found the lockers, along with about 100 other photographers all lining up to get their bands as well. I still needed a lift pass as my season pass was not valid on the creekside gondi, so i waited in line with the others. As i got to the front, i was standing beside Paul Morrison, one of the top Whistler photographers shooting for Canada Ski Racing Magazine. He was being told he might not get any access as it was being saved for the highest circulation shooters. I felt a bit guilty as i had my band already, but did not say anything.

Lessons learned: expect long lines and a lot of runaround before you are able to get into position. The photo staff are there to help you, but they may not always know everything. It is going to take twice as long as normal to get anywhere and do anything. And like any ski race, expect long delay due to fog and bad weather. Now on to the photos, they were all shot with my Nikon D2x at 400mm and a 2x crop.
Manuel Osborne-Paradis of Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, had the 6th fastest time in a shortened downhill training session for the Vancouver 2010 Mens Downhill event. The session was cancelled after just 42 racers skied the course, on account of poor visibility. This image took a lot of work in photoshop to clean up the fog. here is the original.
Andrew Weibrecht of the USA had the 10th fastest time in a shortened downhill training session for the Vancouver 2010 Mens Downhill event.

Steven Nyman of the USA got a little out of control at the top of the Dave Murray Downhill course in a training session for the Vancouver 2010 Mens Downhill event.