Olympics in Milan: My favorite 30 images from these Olympics

Now that I am back home (and laying low), it has given me a couple of days to reflect on my amazing Olympic experience in Milan. That reflection is comprised of stories, key moments, different stress levels and a chance to see some of the beauty of Milan. Most importantly to us photographers, this was a chance to add new images to my portfolio, for which I am really proud. 

What you see in these photos is different from what I see. Because I was the one taking the photos, I remember what I was thinking at that moment, the logistics in getting to that location, the camera settings I chose, and maybe even the challenge of getting that shot.

In this blog post, I want to share with you all my top 30 favorite photos from these Games. I will also try to explain why these made my top list.

This photo is in the collection for two reasons. It was on my first full day in Milan and my first photo assignment for USA Hockey. We had already done the formal photos for the women's team, and right before they left the ice, I suggested a more informal and fun shot. The fact that they were not only open to it, but embraced it, made it even more special. And secondly, I just love the happiness that exudes from them.

I really loved the opening ceremony, especially after the let down in Paris. I loved the colors in this photo. I remember, even when taking this photo, that it was a really cool and colorful moment. 

It is always tricky trying to time photos of pyrotechnics. If I shoot too early or too late, it may not look good. But here I captured that spilt second where there was just the right rotation of the fireworks.

This was a happy accident with the Canon RF 7-14mm lens. I shot a really wide image, but when opening the file in Adobe Camera Raw (and since there is no lens profile for this brand new lens), it opened my wide shot to this. I loved it!

When I saw that the teams would be entering through this gold ring, at the perfect angle from my photo position, I was really happy. I love this shot of Team USA making their entry. 

This is a photo of Aerin Frankel, who was absolutely outstanding in net for the women of USA Hockey. I got this shot with the puck coming right at her.

As I have said so many times before, people's reactions are often more powerful than their actions. This photo really shows that!

I was very excited to photograph the "Quad God" for the teams competition, knowing that it was my only chance to catch him in action. (Note: I knew that the next time he would skate, I would be shooting hockey games.) The second I saw him lean back right in the middle of the Olympic logo, I fired a bunch of shots with the Canon R1, knowing it would make for a cool composition.

During the teams competition, Ilia nailed his performance and ended with this reaction. A golden moment!

Speaking of reactions, this was the first really nice goal scoring celebration of the Games for me.

I have always enjoyed creating motion pan photos (where I slow the shutter speed of the camera and I move the lens at the exact same speed as the athletes). This was one of those moments. I saw these two in this position and I tracked them as closely as I could. I knew that if I could get a sharp image of their faces, that this would be a cool shot.

Brady Tkachuk scored a goal and turned right in my direction with this awesome reaction. 

For most of my long track speed skating photos, I took them at slow shutter speeds, but not for Jordan Stolz. This guy is so fast and I wanted to make sure I got a nice shot of him in action! I put myself in a position to get him coming around a turn with a nice Olympic background. 

When selecting my favorite images from these Games, even I was surprised at how many of the photos I selected were reactions vs actions.

I spent a lot of time keying in on Hillary Knight, as she was on the cusp of setting a new US Olympic record. I love this shot of her coming right in my direction, with just her and all the opposing players in the frame. 

I have to include at least one shot of the Winn brothers. They were hysterical for the entire Olympics.

These next photos were taken on my one free day of shooting no Olympic sports, but getting a chance to see the beautiful city of Milan. 

When I walked into the Galleria, I immediately knew this would be a cool location for the RF 7-14mm fisheye lens. I took a bunch of photos and thought I was done, until I saw these two gentlemen. The minute I saw them, I knew that they would be the perfect subjects in front of an already amazing background. (Note: I made sure that they were dead center in the frame so that they would not be overly distorted by the curvature of the lens.)

I took many photos of the Olympic flame that evening, but I think this is my favorite (also taken with the fisheye lens). 

This was the game winning overtime goal in the women's gold medal game. I was happy to capture this image with the puck just crossing the goal line in this historical moment for the team!

The image still gives me chills. I love all the levels of emotion that is captured in this one frame!

This is not my first time capturing the women winning gold, but something I hope for every time.

This was a special moment for me as four-time Olympian, Kendall Coyne and five-time Olympian, Hillary Knight grabbed a flag and skated towards me for this photo. As the team photographer, this is just pure gold!

I could not pick favorite images of Milan and not have at least one photo of the Duomo. This was taken after I had recorded the second interview for NBC. You can see the studio lights on top of the building to the left of the Duomo. I ended up staying in the area to get some blue hour photos, about 30 minutes past sunset.

It is not often that I would pick a warmup photo as a favorite, but this is one of those shots that I am really proud of. I was pushing myself to get something different and unique after shooting so many of these over the weeks. I remembered seeing, in previous warmups, that Jaccob Slavin would stay in one position stretching while others would skate and shoot around him. I thought this would be a fun slow shutter shot and it was.

Finally! After weeks of trying to get a really solid fisheye shot on the glass, it finally came in the men's semifinal game. I really hated the fact that both teams were wearing similar colors, but in this case it worked out well.

It was the last day of the Olympics and the big gold medal game for the men of USA hockey. The first goal of the game was scored by Matt Boldy, and he gave this celebration right in front of me. I knew immediately that this would be a keeper.

Just like the women's celebration photo, this one shot has so many levels of jubilation in one photo. 

We all know the story about Jack Hughes being the hero for Team USA, missing teeth and all. I love this shot with his bloody mouth and finger raised in celebration.

Connor Hellebuyck was arguably the best player on the ice for the team, and I love this shot of him basking in the glory of the win.

This photo captures one of the most poignant moments of any of the Olympics that I have covered, when the men paid tribute to Johnny Gaudreau by including his jersey and kids in the team photo...an absolutely amazing moment, captured in a single frame.

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