The life of a photog is at least occasionally a circle. I photographed the wonderful Lopez family years ago, leading up to the Olympics in Sydney, where Steve, who is second from left in the foreground of the picture above, won his first gold medal in taekwondo. Here in Rio, Steve will attend his fifth Olympics, at the age of 37, and try for his third gold. (He won gold in 2000, 2004 and the bronze in 2008.)
They are a terrific family, and I made the above in a studio, with a 617 pano camera, the only time I believe I tried to drape a photo studio in black and use a medium format pano camera. It was a double exposure, done in camera, from their start position, traversing to an action pose across the studio floor. So, I flashed once, with the camera focused on them. Then I shifted the focus to their action mark. And then I opened the shutter again while they made their way quickly (as taekwondo martial artists tend to do) to the forward position, transitioning through a zone governed by hot lights. At the end of that second exposure, I popped my flashes with a manual trigger. Done. Fun, if a little exasperating. Open shutter. Flash once. Adjust focus. Turn on hotlights. Action! Move aggressively to new marks. Flash again. Close shutter. Repeat.
We also did a whimsical, fun picture in the kitchen of the ever patient Mrs. Lopez, with her talented brood battering various kitchen appliances, refrigerated foods, and a pizza delivery.
Steve returns to the Olympics here in Rio, and will attempt to make history. And here I am, still with a camera in hand, again on assignment for SI, which is something I have done, at least occasionally, since 1984.
I’m hoping we can make another picture. And this time not trash the kitchen.
More tk from Rio…..
I’ve not been at the photography game from a professional point of view for that long. I have seen the folks I’m blessed to work with, reach new heights & achievements which I don’t believe I’ll ever get tired of seeing.
Totally love to hear your stories from your point of view ( not like you have anyone else’s I suppose) but all the same.
Thanks also for doing the shots which are, potentially, a pain in the U-no-wot, not difficult to understand, yet demonstrating the persistence often needed to obtain a stunning image.
Thanks for your stories and inspiration
What a great opportunity to document history through photography! I love the whimsical and moving nature of the Lopez family kitchen shot. Good Luck in Rio!
The expression on the dog is priceless. “I live in a house of wackos”. The attention to small details that reinforces the story is what we photographers need to alway be cognizant of. Your blog is greatly appreciated by many of us as it illustrates how your personality (sense of humor) can be expressed in your photographs. As always thanks for the effort in assembling this for us.
Haha, that photo in the kitchen is great.
“Jimmy what did I tell you about karate chopping the eggs!?”
So funny pics, hope that you can win at RIO this year . 😀