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.

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