9. Summer Olympic Sports

Many common threads exist between all of these sports, so I’ll start by explaining basic positioning and lens selection.

In all things context is king. If you want to make tight action images, you’ll need to be close enough to do that with the lens you are using. I am lucky to have a wide range of choices available to me now, so I figure out where I want to stand and then select the appropriate lens. That hasn’t always been the case. When I started, I had one lens, and I let my legs do the zooming. That’s still often the best solution.

The athletes competing in these summer sports don’t wear masks, which makes it easier to capture facial expressions, especially reaction shots.

Matches normally consist of the best of three sets. During the first two sets, the players change ends after every seven points, and in the third set they change ends after every five points. This allows you to photograph both teams on offense and defense during each set.

A lot of celebrating goes on during most matches. Most of the time the athlete at the net will turn toward the player in the backcourt and either gesticulate strongly or hug his or her partner. This sport offers a wealth of emotion to capture (Figure 9.1).

The players use a few basic skills: serving, digging, spiking, blocking, and attacking.

The court is divided by a net, and much of the action takes place within a few feet of the net, which makes it easy to track and anticipate what will happen (Figure 9.2).

Access is normally very good. The entire baseline on both ends and the sides of the court all provide excellent shooting positions. If an overhead position is available and it is possible to shoot down on the action, the sand provides an interesting but simple background to make the action stand out.

The player at the net will signal the other partner in the backcourt to indicate which direction to move right before the ball is served (Figure 9.3). The act of signaling can make for a very nice detail image. When you’re positioned behind the serving team, paying attention to the signal allows you to know in advance how the serving team hopes the play will go. As a result, you’ll have the advantage of knowing where to focus and how to quickly compose your shot.

Following the return of the serve, the action sets up, most often at the net. The setter positions the ball so that the attacker can spike the ball. When the attacker comes to the net, the receiving team will attempt to block the ball. These head-to-head confrontations at the net are easy to shoot and make unfailingly good images. The other action that frequently happens when the players are at the net is that the attacker will lightly tap the ball—the action is called a dink—and attempt to tip the ball over the overstretched arms of the blocker.

During day matches, the sand reflects a lot of light; it’s like having a giant reflector underneath the players. This does two things: It changes the direction of the light in a way not normally seen in action images, and it increases the quantity of the light available. The result is wonderfully lit images, which gives you the ability to use extremely fast shutter speeds at fairly low ISOs (Figure 9.4).

Deep blue skies, flying sand, and constant action make beach volleyball a terrific sport to photograph.

From ringside positions, you’ll be shooting up at the fighters while they dance around the ring and throw punches. Wide-angle lenses work best here. A medium telephoto is important if you want to get in tight on the boxers’ faces between rounds while they are resting and receiving medical attention in their respective corners.

Slightly elevated positions allow you to shoot over the ropes that surround the ring. Don’t get so focused on the action that you ignore the scene. A wide angle from up high can be an important storytelling element, capturing the scene around as well as in the ring.

For capturing peak action, a very fast shutter speed is necessary. A minimum of 1/1600 is preferable.

Boxing is frequently lit “theatre style,” meaning the lights are concentrated on the ring, making it look like the scene is illuminated by a giant spotlight. This makes for dramatic images. The backlighting will help freeze the water droplets flying from the athletes when a punch is landed.

Road cycling takes place on a course laid out over normal roads. Typically, the cyclists compete in two road cycling events: time trials, which are basically a sprint competition, and road races where cyclists compete in packs.

For road cycling races, I try to concentrate on two positions. One is a scenic location out on the course where I can place the racers in an environment that defines the race (Figure 9.6). After the pack has passed, I then move to the finish line to capture the winner crossing it.

There are literally thousands of cycling road races held every year that have nothing to do with the Olympics. The most famous of these is the Tour de France, which is held over three grueling weeks, normally in July. The race consists of 21 one-day stages. The Tour is an amazing event to cover; it is part race, part carnival (Figure 9.7). Covering the tour is a difficult challenge because the peleton (the main group of riders) moves very quickly, and the leader, wearing the coveted yellow jersey, is frequently difficult to spot until the very finish of the stage. But the scenery is spectacular, the competition fierce, and the emotions high.

Track cycling consists of various events: Sprint, Team Sprint, Keirin, Team Pursuit, and Omnium. Each of the events has slightly different rules and vastly different strategies. For the purposes of this book, I’ll discuss the general shooting considerations that apply to all of them.

Track cycling races take place on banked oval courses, which may be indoors or out. As with most of the other sports discussed, there are many different combinations that will work to make spectacular images.

I like to shoot head on from the end of one of the straightaways, normally facing the start/finish line. To capture the action as the cyclists come out of the far turn and head toward me, I use the longest lens possible. As they power through the turn right in front of me, I switch to a wide-angle lens. If I’m able to place a wide-angle remote to capture the cyclists going through the turn, I’ll often use a short telephoto and do pans as the racers pass in front of me. Because the cyclists in most of the races do multiple laps, I have time to try a number of different lens and setting combinations (Figure 9.8).

Usually, every event requires the athletes to perform six different dives. As in gymnastics, each diver will practice his or her routines during a warm-up period. Pay close attention to practice and take notes; you’ll then be ready for the actual competition.

Generally, you’ll need a telephoto lens to photograph diving because access is normally very limited to the pool deck for safety reasons.

Find a position that gives you an open sight line from the start of the dive to the finish. Be careful to select a clean background (Figure 9.9). Diving is a very beautiful sport, and you want to be sure that the diver dominates the image (Figure 9.10).

Each competition features three components: the riders, the horses, and the course.

These events are routinely held during the day, and many shooting positions are available. It’s best to spend time scouting the field of play and determine well in advance of the event where you can get clean, straight-on, and side-on views of the horses and riders.

Figure 9.11 shows that by shooting with a telephoto lens and getting low to the ground, I was able to make a clean image of the horse jumping over the duck.

High vantage points are important as well, because they allow you to show the beauty and the difficulty of the competition. My position at a high vantage point allowed me to take advantage of the location of the course in Greenwich and to show the cloudy London sky in Figure 9.12.

These horse competitions are more about stamina and grace than they are about power and speed. All four elements are certainly present, but style is the most important aspect of these images.

This is another sport that is more about beauty than about speed or power, but speed and power are necessary to achieve the beauty. Showing the combination of the three elements and demonstrating how they work together is critical.

I had one chance to make the image in Figure 9.14. Alexei Nemov was expected to win the gold in the 1996 Olympic Games, so I wanted to make a special, different picture of him in action. Because you are not allowed to use tripods or strobe during the Olympics, I arrived at the location hours in advance to give myself time to find my spot and figure out how to steady my camera. I then set up with a long lens, camera, and monopod in a small space that would allow me to capture Nemov against a black background. The ten exposures show the strength, speed, and accuracy of Nemov’s performance that day.

With each of the disciplines, you’ll need to work with the organizers of the meet to be sure you are shooting from a place that is safe for the athletes and for you, and does not cause a distraction. Flash is strictly forbidden. In addition, you should not move once the athlete starts a routine. Motion can create a distraction and cause an athlete to lose concentration while in motion, which can result in a poor performance, or worse, an injury.

Clean sight lines are tough to find because multiple events will be going on at the same time. For the image in Figure 9.15, I positioned myself carefully to include the background. By using a shorter lens and slightly more depth of field, I was able to include more information in the photo.

Also, the gymnastic apparatuses clutter up the backgrounds, so shooting wide open with the longest lens possible will help reduce the clutter (Figure 9.16).

This is a wonderful sport to experiment with. The games are frequently long with repetitive action, they take place on a small surface, and they have very few key moments. This gives you a chance to try blurs, pans, and multiple exposures.

I love photographing table tennis, because it allows me to make images I simply can’t make in other sports (Figure 9.17). The courts are full of color and graphic lines.

Multiple exposures and blurs work really well in table tennis, because everything but the athletes is stationary.

Using a long lens to isolate the athletes’ expressions as they serve can lead to intense and humorous photographs (Figure 9.18 and Figure 9.19). Also, backgrounds can be very cluttered and ugly during table tennis tournaments. By shooting with a telephoto lens at a limited depth of field, I was able to concentrate all action on the athlete and reduce the background in Figure 9.19.

By getting as close to water level as possible, you should be able to get a good look at the swimmer’s face as he moves toward you.

Being elevated is often an advantage because not only can use the lane markers as graphic elements in your composition, but you can also easily see who is in front. Shooting from the side at pool level, you can only see the leader because the splash will obscure the other swimmers (Figure 9.21).

If you want to get emotional reactions in pictures, look for the timing clock that is visible from the pool. The swimmers will turn to look at the clock to see theirs and others’ times, and often the order of finish. Then they’ll react. You need to position yourself so that you can see their faces when they see the clock (Figure 9.22).

The object of the competition is to lift the most weight. It’s very straightforward. Usually, you will have great shooting positions on both sides and the front of the athlete. Because it is a solitary sport, the sight lines will be direct and typically very clean—nothing will get in the way (Figure 9.23).

When the weight is lifted quickly, you will see explosive ballistic movement. But there is very little side-to-side or front to back movement, so focus will be easy. These athletes exhibit great grace even under maximum exertion (Figure 9.24). In addition, the light will be consistent, making exposure simple.

The two athletes compete on a mat. Most mats are colorful, and the center ring provides opportunities for pattern pictures. Elevated positions are very important when you’re shooting wrestling matches.

Wrestling almost always takes place indoors, so the weather and the light are not factors.

Because the athletes are often alone, it is easier to compose portraits while they are on the field of play.

This is what I bring to every Olympic sport discussed earlier:

• At least two Nikon D4 bodies to use as handheld cameras

• At least two Nikon D4 bodies for remotes

• 600mm f/4 lens

• 400mm f/4 lens

• 300mm f/2.8 lens

• 200mm f/2.0 lens

• 50 mm f/1.4 lens

• 35mm f/1.4 lens

• 12–24mm f/2.8 lens

• TC 1.4x teleconverter

• Four PocketWizards and connectors

My gear list is inflated greatly by the number of remotes I use at the various events.

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