Rio Olympics - Day 7 by Robert Hanashiro
My mood Friday was much better after (finally) getting my two missing bags ... which included my clothes for the 21-day stay in Rio.
My day started out with two weight divisions of judo at 9AM and finished with the night session of swimming that ended about 11:45PM.
I have not shot swimming at the Olympics since the '92 Games in Barcelona and I remember well my USA TODAY colleague Porter Binks telling me after I admitted being a bit nervous: "Now don't worry Bert, I'm there shooting too!"
This was my very first and probably my last time photographing Michael Phelps in competition and like the very first time I covered swimming at an Olympics, I admit being a bit nervous.
My colleague Rob Schumacher assigned me the "end zone elevated" photo position, which required the longest glass I could get. Luckily the good folks at Nikon Professional Services had a Nikkor 600mm and a TC-14 available.
(THANK YOU Mark Suban!)
Phelps event was the 100m butterfly, so the endzone spot was nice to capture some action. But my best image from the night had to be Anthony Ervin celebrating after winning the men's 50m freestyle.
The other thing the endzone photo position gave me was a nice spot to look for some feature-type images.
Judo is one of those sports that you really don't hear (or see) much about between Olympic years. But as with all sports, once you get to understand it a bit, you can make some really nice images …but the key was capturing the faces and emotion. The Nikkor 200-500mm zoom was the perfect lens to get in tight for faces and back off for throws.
As always ...thanks to my good buddies Robert Deutsch and Jack Gruber for keeping me sane ... and to Rob Schumacher for giving me a chance for my first "Michael Phelps Moment!"
My mood Friday was much better after (finally) getting my two missing bags ... which included my clothes for the 21-day stay in Rio.
My day started out with two weight divisions of judo at 9AM and finished with the night session of swimming that ended about 11:45PM.
I have not shot swimming at the Olympics since the '92 Games in Barcelona and I remember well my USA TODAY colleague Porter Binks telling me after I admitted being a bit nervous: "Now don't worry Bert, I'm there shooting too!"
This was my very first and probably my last time photographing Michael Phelps in competition and like the very first time I covered swimming at an Olympics, I admit being a bit nervous.
My colleague Rob Schumacher assigned me the "end zone elevated" photo position, which required the longest glass I could get. Luckily the good folks at Nikon Professional Services had a Nikkor 600mm and a TC-14 available.
(THANK YOU Mark Suban!)
Phelps event was the 100m butterfly, so the endzone spot was nice to capture some action. But my best image from the night had to be Anthony Ervin celebrating after winning the men's 50m freestyle.
The other thing the endzone photo position gave me was a nice spot to look for some feature-type images.
Judo is one of those sports that you really don't hear (or see) much about between Olympic years. But as with all sports, once you get to understand it a bit, you can make some really nice images …but the key was capturing the faces and emotion. The Nikkor 200-500mm zoom was the perfect lens to get in tight for faces and back off for throws.
As always ...thanks to my good buddies Robert Deutsch and Jack Gruber for keeping me sane ... and to Rob Schumacher for giving me a chance for my first "Michael Phelps Moment!"
160 Likes18 comments
Victor Puig Vilarrubis and 159 others like this.
Jenn Jedynak
Awesome images, as always Bert! Glad to hear you finally got your missing bags! 😄
7 yrsReport
Michael E. Keating
I like so much that you always thank those who have assisted, facilitated and otherwise enabled your success. It speaks to your professionalism
7 yrsReport
Jason Neubert
I have to say, your swim photos are much better than mine. My cell phone and 8x digital zoom just can't keep up. Good job!
7 yrsReport
Ronda Churchill
Outstanding work! How have you been solving your clothing situation problem before now?!
7 yrsReport
Michelle Moriarty Lonergan
As always Robert, these pictures are incredible! I LOVE seeing all of your work!
7 yrsReport
Peter Horikoshi
Great pictures, Robert! Really captured the moments and the emotions! I especially liked the Anthony Ervin and Maya Dirado shots.
7 yrsReport
