Some Olympics numbers from my 18-day stay north of the border.
Total data used – 174.23 GB
Total frames shot – 41,837
Total worked photos – 285
Most frames shot in a day – 4,896
Fewest frames shot in a day – 757
Longest work day – 22.5 hours
Pounds lost– six (Even though I ate 18 straight days of unhealthy restaurant food.)
15 sport disciplines at the winter games – 10 shot by me (not shot: biathlon, luge, Nordic combined, long track speed skating, ski jumping)
10 total Olympic venues – nine visited (only one I didn’t get to was the Richmond Oval – long track speed skating)
One of 10,800 media representatives
3.3 million pairs of red mitten sold – two pairs bought by me
Most shuttles ridden in one day – 14
Breakfasts eaten at White Spot – 6
Most common type of food eaten – Japanese (4 times)
Meals eaten at McDonalds – ZERO (even though after 11pm, the only dinning choice at the media center was the golden arches)
Number of days shooting my own cameras – one (the rest of the time I was shooting borrowed Mark IV’s from Canon)
Price of a bottle of PowerAde at BC Place – $6 (and the machine took credit cards)
Trips to Whistler – 4
Trips to Cypress Mountain – 2
Times to Pacific Coliseum – 4 (3 times for speed skating and once for figure skating)
Number of hockey games shot – 6 (including the gold medal game between the USA and Canada)
Olympics memories:
Carrying 45 pounds of gear for 18 days will wear you out. You will feel physically and mentally more worn out then you ever have in your entire life. You will get sick.
The guys and gal at the Canon Professional Service counter, although quirky, are your best friends. They will let you borrow Mark IV’s and lenses to your hearts content for the entire games. Be nice to them. (I will miss you Mark IV’s.)
The USOC ticket guy, Bill, is also your best friend. Even though you belong to a paper that couldn’t be lower on the pecking order, Bill will hook you up with media tickets to the gold medal hockey game if you wait for the waiting list. (I showed up at 8:30am to the USOC offices to wait for the re-allocation of media tickets that wouldn’t begin until 10am for the gold medal hockey game between the USA and Canada. Bill knew I was the first person waiting and after he arrived at 8:50am, gave me my photo ticket at 9:05am. You rock Bill!)
If you are a Russian journalist and you leave the country, the government will issue you a red snow suit that you must wear for 17 days straight. It will be so hot that you will sweat all over a photojournalist from the Everett Herald the night of the Opening Ceremony. She will not be happy with you.
Techno ring tones on a 6am shuttle to Whistler are not appreciated.
The most unusual way to get to a venue is to ride a chair lift.
Dinners after midnight are common. Take your at home schedule and throw it out the window.
When you are at the Olympics, you hear and see nothing but Olympic news. There are thousands of televisions EVERYWHERE, but the only channels they broadcast are Olympics related.
In Canada, Sportscenter is Sportscentre and the Olympics are LIVE on nine different channels. (NBC anyone? No?)
Canadians LOVE their hockey. Americans could not care any less. Same with curling and it’s not super exciting to shoot.
Shooting bobsled and skeleton is hard and really, really fun at the same time. As a fellow photographer said, “It’s like trying to photograph a cruise missile.” Basically, you need to start laying down on the shutter button once you hear the rumble and even then, you might get the sled in two of twenty frames.
It sucks to be a short photographer at the Olympics, you fit in the seats, but you can’t see over the shooters in front of you.
Get to you venues early, so you get a photo position that you like and can see in front of you. (On average, I arrived at venues, especially Pacific Coliseum for speed skating and figure skating, about three hours early.)
Eat and drink when you can. I spent $150 LESS than I thought I would even though food was much more expensive than I thought. Some days I only ate one meal a day because I didn’t have time.
Get use to being the only woman photographer at many events. During the women’s downhill, there were TWO women photographers, including myself, on a photo riser with about 200 dudes.
Things I will do next time I shoot the Olympics:
1.Bring enough gear to set remote cameras.
2.Get on course during alpine ski events.
3.Be part of a photo team, rather than just one person.
4.Don’t get sick.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
