Behind the Scenes of Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony!

I'll bet that most of you think that when us photographers shoot the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics, we show up, take photos and then leave. Let me tell you that that is NEVER the case. In all past Olympics, when the Opening Ceremony was in a stadium, we would have to be in position at least 4 hours before the start. With the Paris Olympics, since the opening is on the Seine River, it is even more complicated. 

I want to share with you what this long day has been like, and we are still four hours from the start of the ceremony.

First of all, there is the process of getting a ticket to this event. There are more than 2000 photographers here from all over the world, and most of them want this privilege, so they ticket this and other high demand events. But due to security limitations, they only allocated 350 tickets on the Seine River and 250 tickets in the Trocadero. 

This process happened a couple of days, and I found out that I got my ticket. But then the problems happened. 

The USOPC granted my ticket but it would not show up in the special ticket app that we use. Myself and many other photographers had to scramble to get that situation rectified. 

Once I got that squared away, I had to go to a special desk at the MPC to get my credentials "upgraded" with a sticker. 

This sticker designates that I have passed security (phew) and shows the zone of the river where I will be photographing from. 

The Opening starts at 7:30pm but we had to meet outside the MPC at 1pm to head over to our photo locations. We all thought we were taking press buses, but nope, that was not the case.

Next thing we know, we are being taken to a train station to start our journey. Well...what we thought would be the start of our journey.

We waited about 15 minutes for our train, and it turns out that the train had stopped service. We were never told why. 

After wasting half an hour with this process, we headed back up to the MPC to figure out plan B. The pressure was on because it was absolutely imperative that we get to our location before they let the general public in.

Two trains and two hours later, we finally made it to the security checkpoint by the Musée d'Orsay.

Weirdly enough they didn't even look at our tickets (on the app), but they checked our upgrade stickers and matched our credentials to our passports. Yes, security is tight!

We got past the checkpoint and then had to wait another 30 minutes for security to let us into our spot.

A bunch of us wanted to get water, so I walked to a nearby fence and purchased 3 bottles of water from a local pizza place which is not in the secure zone. It was funny that I paid through the fence using my Apple Watch and she handed the bottles over to me. 

In a typical situation, we receive a briefing book about the ceremony and what to expect, but due to security, we know absolutely nothing. There have been a bunch of rumors about who might perform, how the torch will be lit, what time it will start and end. But we really have no idea.

Much to my surprise, our photo position is right across the bridge from a hot air balloon, which we believe is where the Olympic flame will be lit. About 30 minutes ago we were given these wrist bands which supposedly give us access across the river to watch the lighting of the torch. Is this true? I am not sure, but that would be cool. Time will tell!

Figuring that I would not be eating dinner, I stopped by the USOPC office and grabbed a bunch of goodies to hold me over. But a couple of us were just talking about ordering a pizza over the fence. That would be hysterical.

Photo credit to Conny Kurny - Germany

Where am I writing this blog from? Yep, that is me and my new MacBook Pro, and this is my office for the rest of the day and night! They have provided WiFi access for us in this spot, and I smartly brought my blow up seat cushion. Luxurious huh? 

That is the Louvre behind me, and will be the backdrop for my photos tonight. Not too shabby.

Now I just need to hope that the weather holds since I did not bring any rain gear.

How will this all work out? I guess I will let you know tomorrow.

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FLAVOR FLAV is in the house!

This morning I covered my last press conference before the Olympics officially kicks off. And this one was very different from any "presser" I have ever covered. This one did not have an Olympic athlete, but instead had 6-time Grammy nominated singer / rapper, Flavor Flav. Flav is now an official sponsor and hype man for the USA Women's water polo team.

He showed up with a big smile and a whole lot of USA Water Polo swag.

I had a great time capturing all his expressions...

...and there were a lot of them!

This was not your typical press conference, as he stood up and had fun with the press.

He talked about how the women of USA Water Polo have won 3 Gold medals in a row.

Flav was a real kick to photograph.

After the press conference, I hopped up on stage and took some portrait of Flavor Flav with all his bling.

And I had to get a photo of me with Flav to try and give me a little more street cred at home. 😀 (Photo credit to Greg M.)

And now I am off to a meeting about the Opening Ceremony.

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• Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!

• You can now purchase Jeff Cable Photography images from my new fine art site at: https://fineart.jeffcable.com/

• If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.

• Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Africa Costa Rica and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours.

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USA Basketball Press Conference with Steph Curry and Kevin Durant

I spent the bulk of my day today at the Main Press Center, photographing numerous press conferences, and by far the most crowded one was for USA Basketball with Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. The room was packed with reporters, photographers and anyone else who had access to the MPC.

They had just come from an early morning practice, and made an appearance for 45 minutes of questions from the press. I was sitting in the 3rd row and getting nice portraits of them throughout the press conference.

KD was much more serious than Steph.

I usually look for the big smiles and then fire away. I was zooming in really tight to include their faces and the surrounding "Paris 2024" logo, as I have done for the last couple of days.

This series of photos shows them having a little fun together up on the platform.

For this last shot, I used the wider lens to zoom out and show a little more of the Paris 2024 signage. After photographing three press conferences (yeah - I know, I only shared two with you all) and then shooting some other projects for the USOPC, I then went over to the Aquatic Center to shoot a practice scrimmage between the women of Team USA vs. the Australians. It was a really good test of the Canon R1, and gave me a chance to tweak some settings. More on that soon.

Now the press conferences are almost over. I have one more tomorrow morning with none other than Flavor Flav. After that, it is all action!

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• Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!

• You can now purchase Jeff Cable Photography images from my new fine art site at: https://fineart.jeffcable.com/

• If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.

• Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Africa Costa Rica and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours.

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Press conference for the men of USA Water Polo

Today has been a day of press conferences. Back to back for most of the morning and I may have one more this afternoon. The first one of the day was for the men of USA Water Polo.

It is the same media room as yesterday and they still have not improved the lighting. I am really surprised that no other photographers have mentioned this.

But the show goes on...

I started with a wide shot, and just like yesterday I used the Canon R5 II with the Canon RF 24-70mm lens.

And all the closer shots were taken with the Canon R1 and the Canon RF 100-300mm lens.

Just like the women's team, the men were having a good time up there.

Lots of laughs.

A reporter asked Alex Bowen about his signature karate chop celebration when scoring a goal. He proceeded to telling the story.about why he does this. It is basically a nod to the San Diego Padres (where he grew up).

As opposed to this kind of celebration...

A reporter decided to ask a light-hearted question, asking the guys who does the best imitation of Dejan (the head coach). That got a huge laugh out of the guys.

Even Coach Udovicic, who is known for being very serious, broke into a smile. I had to grab a shot of that!

...and again!

Just like with the ladies press conference, after they were done taking questions, I grouped them up for a team photo. The funny thing is...Ben Hallock looked at me and said "Is that the new camera?" I love that these guys follow my life as much as I follow theirs. I feel very honored.

One more collegiate banner shot.

And then I was off to photograph Steph Curry and Kevin Durant. I will post those photos in a little bit.

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• Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!

• You can now purchase Jeff Cable Photography images from my new fine art site at: https://fineart.jeffcable.com/

• If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.

• Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Africa Costa Rica and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours.

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2024 Summer Olympics: First assignment and first time using the new Canon R1 and Canon R5 II (for real)

As you know, yesterday was my chance to try and figure out a little bit about the press center, transportation and just getting a feel for these Paris Olympics. I ended up falling asleep at 9:45pm (while in the middle of a phone call no less) and then waking up at 2:30am this morning with my AirPods in my ears and my phone next to me. That is a first. I guess that defines exhaustion!

This morning, since I was up so early, I took the time to tweak all the settings for the two Canon R1 and the one Canon R5 II pre-production cameras. I also went down and had my first breakfast at the hotel, and I have to say, it was not too bad. I guess there really is no bad food in France.

I had to be at the MPC at 10am to photograph the press conference for the women of USA Water Polo. I decided to walk to the train station again, which was faster since I kinda knew where I was going. But I got to the station to find out that train I wanted doesn't start service until 10am. What the heck?? So I ran and found a taxi and made it to the MPC with a half hour to spare. 

For this event I decided to use a Canon R1 with the new Canon 100-300mm lens and for the up-close portraits I brought the Canon R5 II with a Canon RF 24-70mm wide lens. I moved around the room with the R1 to get different angles. This is actually the first time that I have used both cameras for any real photos and I have to tell you, they were both amazing. Super sharp images, almost perfect exposure every time, focus locking in and holding perfectly, and the eye control of the R1 is SO COOL! The Canon R1 was locking in perfectly on whomever I was looking at. I am really looking forward to Saturday when I can put the camera to a test with fast action sports.

I spent most of my time in the 5th row to isolate each of the athletes, but also far enough back to get multiple subjects in the frame. Here is a nice shot of Maggie and Ashley with big smiles on their faces.

Again, because I was using the Canon 100-300mm lens, I could zoom in and out to get tighter portraits if I wanted.

I purposely zoomed out enough to include the "Paris 2024" logo at the bottom of the frame.

And of course, there is no shortage of logos to include.

I usually look for those big smiles, up close...

...and in groups.

The job of a photographer is to tell the story, and the story here is how much these young ladies love each other. The camaraderie of this group is incredible, and this definitely comes through in the images.

This photo was taken when a reporter asked Kaleigh if this was her last Olympics (since she originally said that Tokyo would be her last), in which she answered with a very confident "Yes!"

And then it was time for the others to answer the same question. But they were not as definitive.

I love the smiles...

I took about 180 images during the press conference and kept 101 in total. 

After the press conference was over, I switched from the Canon R1 with the long lens to the Canon R5 II with the wide lens. Now it was my time to say hello to these awesome women who I have not seen since Tokyo, and take some portraits for the team.

Here are the athletes with their coach, Adam Krikorian.

And one last shot with their collegiate banners.

After the press conference I immediately went to the press room to download, rank, retouch, and deliver images to the team. I retouched and delivered the best 37 images in 10 minutes. 

I then grabbed some lunch before heading back to the same conference room to capture some images of the US swimmers, including Katie Ledecky.

Now you might think that I am picky (and I am), but I was not happy with the lighting in the conference room. If you notice in both press conferences, the light is too high (causing darkness in the eyes) and too close to the people on stage (throwing shadows on each other). I mentioned this to my contact at USA Water Polo and he suggested that I talk to the people in charge. I actually talked to the IT people and suggested fixing that for future press conferences. 

Tomorrow morning is the press conference for the USA Water Polo men's team. Let's see if the lighting is better.

__________________________________________________________

• Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!

• You can now purchase Jeff Cable Photography images from my new fine art site at: https://fineart.jeffcable.com/

• If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.

• Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Africa Costa Rica and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours.

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