Stellar jube, shockingly bad sportsmanship, and the worst pizza in the world!
As with most days since the Olympics began I started my day off shooting gymnastics. This time it was the men’s individual all around competition. And once again it was an ass whipping by the China team.
Nikon D3, 14-24mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/1000th
Nikon D3, 80-200mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/1250th
The China team put on a great performance but it sure seemed like they had the judges on their side as it has appeared the whole time here in Beijing. But hey what do I know!
Nikon D3, 400mm with 1.4 convertor, 5000iso, f4, 1/1250th
After I finished editing the award ceremony from gymnastics it was off to go shoot wrestling. With the pouring down rain outside I decided to travel lightly and left my 400 at the media center. It was probably not the best idea once I got to wrestling to find out the floor was too crowded with shooters so I was relegated to shooting from the stands.
Nikon D3, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor, 2500iso, f4, 1/1000th
It wasn’t too bad as with the help of fellow American shooter Matt Detrich, who coaxed a photo marshall to move a bench into an walkway, we ended up in a solid lower grandstand spot with a semi good view of the championship mat.
Anyone who has shot wrestling knows that regardless of where you shoot the dreaded referee can ruin a good shot.
Nikon D3, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor, 3200iso, f4, 1/1000th
Nikon D3, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor, 3200iso, f4, 1/1000th
During one of the finals the gold medal winner provided a memorable Olympic moment for me when he went crazy after winning the match.
First came his winning move.
Nikon D3, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor, 3200iso, f4, 1/1000th
Then came out his coach cheering and he hugged the coach and started to wrestle him.
Nikon D3, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor, 3200iso, f4, 1/1000
Then he busted out a back flip with pretty good form for his size. (Carl Edwards would be jealous)
Nikon D3, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor, 3200iso, f4, 1/1000
Then he grabbed an Italian flag from his coach and ran a victory lap around the arena.
Nikon D3, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor, 3200iso, f4, 1/1000
Good times! Then came an unexpected gem to shoot as a Swedish wrestler who had won the bronze received his medal and immediately jumped off the podium and proceeded to the center of the mat where he dropped his medal and walked off the stage right in the middle of the ceremony. We were all stunned.
Nikon D3, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor, 3200iso, f4, 1/1000
Nikon D3, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor, 3200iso, f4, 1/1000
Nikon D3, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor, 3200iso, f4, 1/1000
The medal remained there for a good 15 minutes then after the ceremony a Olympic worker went out there scooped it up and walked off the stage with it.
Nikon D3, 80-200mm with 1.4 convertor, 3200iso, f4, 1/1000
With that finished it was back to the media center to drop gear off and then head out to dinner with my co-workers.
We walked to a nearby place that got rave reviews from others at our hotel. It was about a halfmile walk so I brought my camera to attempt to find some interesting feature pics.
Nikon D3, 14-24mm, 320iso, f2.8, 1/10
Then I found a puddle from the all day rainstorm and turned my camera upside down (that allows you to get lower to the ground by an inch) and waited for a bus to come through my shot.
Nikon D3, 14-24mm, 6400iso, f2.8, 1/100
Almost to the restaurant and I stopped once more to take a pic much to the dismay of my hungry friends.
Nikon D3, 14-24mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/2500
Finally we were at dinner (and drinks!) Manager and boss Dan Helms enjoyed his whiskey shot.
Nikon D3, 14-24mm, 6400iso, f2.8, 1/25
And I was excited for my long island ice tea, which tasted much more like coke than alcohol. (my lack of buzz later confirmed this)
Nikon D3, 14-24mm, 6400iso, f2.8, 1/25
Then our great (looking) but bad (tasting) pizza arrived. It was huge but as any girl will say (but never to me) size doesn’t matter if you don’t know how to use it, and the cooks definitely didn’t know how to use the ingredients they had.
Nikon D3, 14-24mm, 6400iso, f2.8, 1/20
On our way out I stopped to shoot a t-shirt hanging on the wall that was the most honest shirt I think I will ever see!
-Mark J. Rebilas is a freelance sports photographer based in Arizona. His work is seen regularly in Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine, USA Today and many others around the country. Visit www.markjrebilas.com to learn more about his work.
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