BEST of On The Road

September, 2004

Welcome to the September issue of On The Road. It has been a long road indeed as the month of August placed me on assignment for Newsweek magazine in Athens, Greece at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. This was my 11th Olympics and was far and away the most demanding yet most rewarding Games ever. Rick Rickman, Chris Trottman and myself were the Newsweek team and let me say that it was a pleasure to work with these guys every day. We never stopped shooting beginning with the Opening Ceremony and right up to the last day. Athens was ready and waiting despite rumors of incomplete venues with the most impressive facilities on the planet. The Greek people were wonderful hosts and were a delight to work with. So let's get to some images...

	Michael Phelps...The teenager displayed his tremendous swimming abilities and won.........well,.......lots of GOLD medals. With an outdoor pool for the first time since Barcellona in 1992 the swimming was in a word...HOT ! I wanted to have a lower angle for this image so I sat down on the metal floor that supported the photographers seating area. That lasted about 15 seconds at which time I jumped up after nearly burning the seat of my pants. I placed a towel down for the Phelps race and captured this image. Nikon D2H, ISO320, 1/1250th sec f7.1, Nikon 600mm f4 lens, WB Cloudy, Lexar 1G Flash Card.
Marion Jones...The media descended on the Women's Long Jump Final to see if Marion Jones still had what it takes to win gold. I had decided to do a sequence from the side. Rick Rickman had remotes up close so I backed off to include some of the stadium architecture and media coverage...the entire scene. This six frame composite image is the result of about 45 minutes of Photoshop as the digital cameras do not have multiple exposure capabilities. The six individual frames are layered into one composite image illustrating Marion's jump sequence. Nikon D2H, ISO1600, 1/800th sec, Nikon 12mm-24mm at f4. WB 6300K, Lexar 1G Flash Card.
	Whitewater Kayak...The Whitewater venue was fantastic for several reasons. 1.Great access,...we could sit next to the waters edge. 2. Great water,...the water from the Aegean Sea was pumped in and provided beautiful color and foam unlike traditional courses of river water. 3. Great action ! Nikon D2H, ISO250, 1/5000th sec, Nikon 200mm-400mm G VR lens at f4, WB Flash, Lexar 1G Flash Card.
Paul Hamm...The Gymnastics venue was my assignment and passion for 6 evenings. Paul Hamm became the first American male to win the GOLD medal in the All Around. A difficult venue to photograph in due to busy backgrounds lit with TV lighting, I occasionally found my way to the highest vantage point to clean the background and give the viewer a since of location. Nikon D2H, ISO640, 1/640th sec, Nikon 400mm lens at f2.8 (hand held), WB 6300K, Lexar 1G Flash Card.
	Equestrian Cross Country...This event was wonderful to photograph. Horses, Water, Sunlight, and Action with the element of Danger. I had positioned myself more profile to the water hazard boat jump for earlier competitors but decided to move to a head on position after rider #50. To my surprise, there was no other photographer there. I could no longer see the other three jumps as all the other photographers (including myself) could before moving and was now committed to just the one boat jump. Next rider.....and disaster for Pawel Spisak of Poland and Weriusz. Nikon D2H, ISO250, 1/2000th sec, Nikon 200mm-400mm G VR lens at f6.3, WB Cloudy, Hand Held, Lexar 1G Flash Card. This image is a reminder that getting away from the "pack" is sometimes key in capturing a unique moment.
Justin Gatlin...The big event in Athletics (a.k.a. Track and Field to Americans) is the Men's 100m Final. With Rick Rickman covering the finish line it was my task to find a position that would be very different from the rest of the crowd. Most photographers avoid the profile image as the TV "bullet camera" that runs along side the sprinters is a large obstacle and can block your shot at exactly the key moment. I studied the "bullet camera" during some of the qualifying races and realized that there was a "window" of clear viewing during the race. I decided to test myself further by shooting at a slower shutter speed and panning for a "FAST MOTION" look. My hope was that either Gatlin or Crawford would be ahead at the "window". Not only was Gatlin ahead but the race favorite, Crawford, was caught looking at Gatlin taking the lead and the GOLD medal. Nikon D2H, ISO400, 1/200th sec, Nikon 200mm-400mm G VR lens at f5.0 ( VR set on normal), WB 5600K, Hand Held, Lexar 1G Flash Card. Here again I was away from the pack and was able to capture something different.
	Carly Patterson...The USA Women's Gymnastics Team captured the Silver medal as did the USA Men, and like Paul Hamm's GOLD in the Men's All Around, Carly Patterson also won the GOLD medal in the Women's All Around competition. Gymnastics was the most difficult venue in Athens to capture clean pictures. I used Nikon's NEW 200mm f2 G VR lens at nearly each venue I worked in. The f2 aperture helped clean the backgrounds while allowing me to shoot at faster shutter speeds and or lower ISO than my colleagues. I love this new lens as it is tailor made for so many sports I shoot. It works beautifully with the TC 14E 1.4 teleconverter, has the VR modes and is easy to hand hold. Nikon D2H, ISO640, 1/1250th sec, NEW Nikon 200mm f2 G VR, WB Cloudy, Lexar 1G Flash Card. This lens made all the difference in the world to me at so many venues and is a reminder that technology and equipment improvements are an important aspect to the photographer's success in the photographic industry today.

Well, this is just a few moments within the thousands of images that that I captured at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Each day was an adventure. I have never pushed myself so hard at any other Olympics. The weight and heat and miles of walking and hours of standing took its toll on me. I gaffer taped my feet and toes every day, took naps on buses, and drank an average of 20 bottles of water each day. There were moments when I thought I was too old for Olympic coverage but kept on going. Anyone who was there will tell you similar stories. I was pleased with my results as was Newsweek. I hope that you have enjoyed this edition of On The Road. See you next time.

Adios, Dave

WORKSHOPS and PRESENTATION Schedule

June 27- July 2 ... Sports Photography Workshop, Colorado Springs, Co. www.sportsphotographyworkshop.com

August 1-5 ... Long Island Photo Workshop, Long Island, NY. www.liphotoworkshop.com

August 12-15 ... American PHOTO Mentor Trek to Acadia National Park, Maine. www.mentorseries.com

September 9-12 ... American PHOTO Mentor Series Trek to Tetons, Wyoming. www.mentorseries.com

October 3-8 ... Photography at the Summit, Jackson Hole, Wy. www.photographyatthesummit.com

December, 2008 (click here)
Memory Lane