Saturday, February 15, 2014

Would you like to know a typical day photographing the Winter Olympics?

I already told you how I do my workflow in a previous blog, but now I want to tell you about a typical schedule for a day photographing the Olympic Games. This will also help you understand why it is so difficult to cover more than one event per day.


This was my day yesterday:

9:30am: Wake up (since I did not get to sleep until 3am)
9:35: Get cleaned up and wash some clothes in the bathtub
10:15am: Call home to say hello to the family (using Facetime so I can see them - and it's free)
10:45am: Write a blog to post later in the day (when more of you are awake)
11:30am: Pack up the camera gear I will need for the day
11:45am: Catch the press bus from my "hotel" to the Main Press Center
12:00pm: Eat something at the MPC
12:30pm: Check email, blog posts, and Facebook to see what you all are saying (And loving all of that)
1:05pm: Get the press bus which goes up to the mountains
2:15pm: Arrive at the Gorki press center
2:30pm: Get another press bus which goes further up the mountain
3:00pm:  Take yet another bus to the ski jumping venue
3:15pm: Arrive at the venue and research shooting positions
4:00pm: Finish writing the blog and post
4:15pm: Go out and look at the practice aerial ski jumpers
4:45pm: Get into shooting position
6:30pm: Finish shooting the event
6:45pm: Download photos and start going through them
7:15pm: Decide not to shoot the end of the event, since I did not want to get home at 2am again
7:30pm: Catch the two different buses to get back to the Gorki media center
8:30pm: Get a locker at the press center and dump all my gear
8:40pm: I actually left the clean zone (finally!) to get a real dinner. I am sick of McDonalds!!
10:15pm: After eating at the Marriott (it's all I could find in the area), I head back to Gorki to get my stuff
10:40pm: Finish going through the aerial images and editing them (while waiting for the 11:35pm bus back to coastal cluster)
11:30pm: Get to the bus stop to find a full bus and tons of other press being left behind
11:45pm: They arrange for a second bus. Bonus!
12:45am: Uh oh - there is some sort of emergency issue and the freeway is blocked. Our driver tries to find an alternate route back to the MPC
1:30am: We get back to the MPC and I wait for the next bus to take me back to my "hotel"
2:00am: I get back to my room
2:10am: I call home again to say good night and good morning
2:30am: Get cleaned up and ready for bed
3:00am Night night time - so much for trying to make it an early night.

And here I write this while eating another dinner at the press center. No time wasted!

11 comments:

patsjazzpix said...

Still gotta love it all!

Susie Wagner said...

Wow.. Amazing.. No breakfast? And how can you blog at your venue??? Is there a place with internet while you are vying for position on the ski slope???
I'm impressed.
You also forgot to mention when you have time to go to the bathroom.. or is it true all the journalists are wearing DEPENDS?

eyeguy99 said...

The starry sky image had me going for a minute until I read your caption...super cool effect!

Probably worth experimenting with this concept on future shoots.

Dennis Bress said...

Rock on Jeff. Keep up the great work, the world is totally digging your photos.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the posts,loving every one. They really add to the Olympic coverage.

mcfotosfo said...

What a schedule. Please know your efforts are being completely enjoyed back home..well at least at my household in San Francisco. Thank you for your great content!

Anonymous said...

Nice to have so many things to do. Better more than less. Enjoying your blog and photos.

Unknown said...

Loving your posts and photos!! Watching event on tv, then catching up with your blog. Almost feel like I'm there! Thanks, Jeff!!

Dee Gamel said...

I am having the best time reading all of your blogs. After reading the ones I see posted on Facebook I go directly to my email to search for your blog email to see if I have missed anything. LOVE LOVE LOVE what you are doing for all of us. Thank you!

Dawn Gail said...

That is an exhausting schedule. Thank you and we appreciate your taking time to blog your wonderful pictures and give us the behind the scene scoop. What an experience though, not something many people get to experience.

ANO07 said...

WOW! This is a fantastic post! And you are a super-hero. I love the multiple exposure shots! They capture the whole (or almost whole) movement of the skier and offer quite a different, more complex (and yet incredible) perspective (and, yes, understanding, in a way) of the sport itself. Creative and dreamy like images, yet so...real. Wonderful shots, all of them. Thanks so much for posting! I truly enjoy reading your blog. It's like being there :-)

Thanks again and I look forward to attending more of your classes.