First of all, I want to thank all of you for following along on yet another Olympic journey. Just in the last 2 days, more than 35,000 of you have read at least one entry of the blog. That is pretty cool, and it gives me more incentive to pull these crazy long hours of shooting and writing. Thanks! You said you wanted more "behind the scenes", so I am giving you more.
Today's blog post is about the challenges of these Paris 2024 Olympics. Specifically around transportation and getting from one venue to another.
I posted on social media today that I went to three venues in one day, and people wrote back and said "Why is that a big deal?" Now I will tell you why.
First of all, for the first Olympics in decades, there is almost no media transport on buses. The thinking was, the train system is so good, everyone can use that. And it is true, they have trains that go just about anywhere, but then once we get to a station, it can still be another 1/2 mile or more to walk to get to the venue or back to the hotel.
At least I have a pretty walk to the train station, through the park in Nanterre. I am usually walking back through here around midnight, so there is not much to see on the way home.
We need to be able to navigate the system which is honestly not always straight forward. Yesterday, I left the tennis venue at 2pm to be at the water polo venue by 4pm.
According to my transportation app, it should have taken 45 minutes. All the press here are saying that we should double those time estimates. I got lost and ended up getting an Uber and barely making the game on time! There are volunteers at most stations and they are very good at helping out and very much appreciated. There is signage everywhere as well, but even then it doesn't always work out smoothly.
Many times when I am walking, I will use Apple Maps on my phone to help me get to the nearest train station. As I mentioned a while back, I am new to the Apple Watch and LOVE that my route shows up on my watch. This saves me looking at my phone all the time (which looks like a total tourist or that I am completely lost - which I often am). And sometimes I will use my Apple Airpods in my ear to get directions audibly.
I should also mention that Uber works well here, but Uber divers can not use the Olympic Lanes (dedicated to Olympic vehicles and personnel) of the freeways. The taxis can, so sometimes I use an app called "G7" which is a taxi service here. I think it is more expensive but they CAN use the Olympic lanes if we are in the vehicle. Today, I took an Uber to the Fencing venue, but most of the roads are closed so I had to be dropped off 1/2 mile from the venue and walk in.
And then...once we get to the venue, it could be another 1/2 mile to find the media entrance! At the Beach Volleyball venue, I got sent on a wild goose chase and ended up walking well over a mile to find the press entrance. With the press buses, they would drop us off at the back of the venue, and we would walk right into our press room.
And once in, if it is one of the larger venues, it could be another 15 minute walk to get into a shooting position. This is a constant source of frustration, since not everyone knows where the media are supposed to go. Add all this up and you will understand why I am averaging 18,000 steps a day here. I love my Bombas socks and my Hoka shoes. These are the best, but I am wearing through them quickly. And come on Hoka, hook me up with some more shoes!!
Now that the rain has stopped, it has gotten really hot and humid. That makes it even harder to get around comfortably. I am usually a sweaty mess just going down to breakfast, let alone trekking around town. The air conditioning here is barely adequate at best, and basically nonexistent on the trains. Add to the sweaty mess. Even the indoor venues are hot and humid because they purposely want them that way to keep the athletes muscles from seizing. I am usually out of the hotel for about 16 hours a day, and can't wait to get back and shower!
And now let's talk about the stairs! As you know, Paris is an older (and very pretty) city, but many of the train stations are old and there are either no escalators (or elevators) or they are very hard to find. This means that I am constantly having to lug my 40 pound camera bag up and down stairs. This would be OK if it was just once in a while, but this is a constant here.
They even have steps leading to the press rooms inside the venues. This one is at The Grande Palais where I am here to photograph Fencing.
Heck, I have already had 3 instances where I lugged my camera bag in one hand and helped a mother and stroller in the other. I guess I chalk this up to a good workout. I need to work off my morning chocolate croissant!
Another thing that makes it tough for rolling around a big camera bag is the dirt. I have been really surprised at how many dirt paths we have to take. And when it was raining, that really sucks! I tried carrying the bag over the mud, but at some point just gave up and rolled the bag through the mud. Thank you ThinkTank for making great and durable camera bags.
Lastly, in past Olympics I would take advantage of the time on the press buses to write these blogs, but when hopping trains, I am often standing (since they are crowded) or just unable to work on the laptop during the short hops between train lines. This means that I am staying up even later in a press room or in my hotel to get these out.
All of us press appreciate the mass transportation and the desire for cleaner air, but we all long for our press buses to come back for the next Olympics in Italy. One can hope.
And just for a laugh, I thought I would share with you this photo of the public "bathrooms" here in Paris. and no, I have not used them. :)
__________________________________________________________
• 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, Asia and more.
* Thank you to Canon, Apple, ProGrade Digital, Crucial, Tiffen, DataColor, ThinkTank, Adobe, and CameraBits for providing loaner product to me for the Olympic Games!
_________________________________________________________________
