Friday, February 7, 2014

Figure skating - Photos from the team competition

Last night I went and photographed the team figure skating, was the first event that I covered at the Winter Olympics here in Sochi, Russia. I always find it strange that they have competitions before the opening ceremonies, but they do. Here are some of my favorite photos from last night.

This blog is going to be a little short on text, since I am hurrying to get into a good photo position in the stadium, for the opening ceremonies.

Enjoy the photos!


I always try to get photos with the Olympic rings in the frame if I can.


I love this shot, with the skaters necklace in his mouth. :)


Evgeni Plushenko nailing his performance.


Getting the crowd into it.


Most of these photos were taken at ISO 1600, 1/800, f4 with the Canon1DX and Canon 200-400 lens.



For this shot, I decided to change from 1/1000 sec to 1/100 sec to try and get some motion blur (while still maintaining focus on his face).


And I also used my second camera with a 16/35 lens to shoot a wide shot (for variety sake).


This is intensity.



The Japanese skater did an amazing job to take the lead. And...the job of a photographer is to capture crowd reaction as well as the sport.


After shooting near ice level, I moved to a higher position to shoot down on the action. For all these shots, I used the Canon 1DX and the amazing Canon 200-400 lens.


The death spin...


My goal, when shooting from the high position, was to capture photos of the skaters within the logo in the middle of the ice.



This is one of my favorite shots.



Simply amazing.



The Americans...



I am off to opening ceremonies now. Even though the show starts at 8:14pm (20:14 in military time to match the year), we have to be in position by 5pm. This means that we have a lot of down time, and it is supposed to be REALLY cold in the stadium. I should have brought warmer clothes, but there is no time to go back to my "hotel". But, I always run warm, especially when I am shooting. Best of all, the opening ceremonies is always a great spectacle to photograph. I am excited. Let's get this going!

7 comments:

  1. Jeff, Thanks so much for your blog postings from the Olympics. Your photos are fabulous. I am a Canon shooter and enjoyed reading your blog about the equipment you brought with you and how it was packed. I look forward to the rest of your postings from Sochi. Have fun!
    Dave
    Central Florida
    http://daveboege.smugmug.com/

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  2. Awesome stuff. Like the high shots best that isolate skaters from background. You must be having a blast. Thanks for sharing!

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  3. The action has started!!! I can't wait to see more of your photos. Enjoy every minute of the games Jeff. You're livin' the dream for the rest of us.

    That food doesn't look all that bad. It wouldn't be my first choice for breakfast, but the hours you have ahead of you, you won't know the difference in a few days.

    No hot water, no lightbulbs.........pretty sure there aren't any real cameras under those dark globes! Haha

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  4. Love the pictures, they are beautiful. These skater's make it look so easy and we know it isn't.

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  5. Great rapid fire shooting on that Canon 1DX capturing those nanosecond moves! Great photographs and thanks for sharing your camera settings and lens type. Feels like I have an exclusive seat alongside your camera bag. LOL

    John
    Austin, TX

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  6. Wonderful pictures- love to see the pics you take! The rings in the BG and the Sochi logo are so awesome- love the pic with his necklace in his mouth awesome- really catches the feeling of the skaters!

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  7. Great images! Gives us a feeling of what it feels to be there, up close and personal :-)

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