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Capturing Olympic emotions
Wednesday, 15 December 2021
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Cameron Spencer (OKG96), Chief Photographer for Getty Images, shot around a quarter of a million photos at Tokyo 2020, his 7th games as an official media representative recording Olympic action. In the 16-day competition, he moved from the triathlon, to rowing and the new freestyle events including the BMX, before spending nine days covering Track & Field. Like most professional sports photographers, Cameron started out snapping “lower profile sports”, before working his way up to join the Getty team responsible for covering International Athletics Events, just in time for Rio 2016. As Thistle readers may recall, it was in Rio where Cameron took an iconic photo of Usain Bolt smiling at his camera. That career-defining image led to Cameron taking on more responsibility, and mentees, while he also continued to strive to improve. “My coverage overall in Tokyo was better than it has ever been and the way I operated felt better too. I didn’t get an iconic image like the Bolt one, but it’s pretty rare for that to happen.” It may be rare, but Cameron always hopes to catch defining moments, recognising that favourite moments do not necessarily translate into favourite photos. At any Olympic Games, Cameron’s role includes fulfilling requests of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), sports governing bodies including the Australian Olympic Committee and corporate clients, while simultaneously documenting the games for the IOC. “A lot of what we document, you realise later on, becomes historic with time.” Capturing victory celebrations One such potential moment Cameron witnessed in Tokyo was the awarding of a joint gold medal in the men’s high jump (to Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi and Mutaz Barshim of Qatar). See Cameron’s photo in The Guardian, where he captures this “most heart-warming” moment. Other moments Cameron believes were amazing included the Australian showdowns in the pool and performance in the field events. “Kelsey-Lee Barber came back from injury and placed [in the javelin], and in women’s high, jump we [Australia] got 2nd.” Generally at sporting events, but even more so in Tokyo with the COVID restrictions, professional photographers cannot interact with athletes, Cameron explains. “Social distancing was drilled into us. We had to ensure we were seen doing the right thing on the global broadcast.” “At the track though, we were amongst them. As part of our job is to record the emotion and the victory, you end up chasing an athlete… Kelsey-Lee might hear my Aussie accent and then give me something more, like holding up the Aussie flag.” (See Cameron’s photo on the ABC news website) “You watch the competition unfold, then when an Australian does something awesome, it evokes emotion.” It was not until Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah won gold in the women’s 100m, however, that Cameron felt he could relax a little and enjoy himself, because capturing the winner of a blue-ribbon event such as the 100m always adds pressure and challenges. “You can’t be creative in the 100m when you only have 9-10 seconds [compared to the long distance, where you can be creative because you have more time].” Cameron recalls living those 10 seconds: “I am on the bend, and my role was to get a reaction. I have to make a split second decision quickly. I am watching out of the corner of my eye, trying to see who is going to be a winner and hoping when I commit to an athlete with my camera that I am on the right person as they fly by.” “I took a picture of Elaine running straight at me celebrating victory – it looks like she is screaming down the barrel of my lens.” To cover the short races, Cameron also set up multiple remote cameras. “If I’m in the head on position, I have three or four cameras I pick up to shoot; and several additional remote cameras fixed in position. When I shoot my camera, they fire too.” A COVID-19 Olympics Cameron felt there was minimal disruption to the Tokyo Games, which in the context of COVID-19 was “incredible”. Having been an official photographer at six previous Olympic Games, he found having no crowd at Tokyo 2020 was a “surreal experience with a very different atmosphere”. For most of the competition, Cameron functioned on about four hours’ sleep a night, as he travelled in a strict bubble to venues, worked to Olympic protocols (including daily COVID-tests and tight security), set up multiple cameras and studied competitor lists – all before the morning action commenced. With movement restricted under COVID safe plans, Cameron and the team took only short breaks at their venues before preparing for night sessions. “There were so many things we had to do just to get to the venue. Every day I had to get a COVID test, take my temperature and scan a QR code. I had another app tracking me. I was not allowed to go anywhere except my hotel and our venues. I had a mask on the whole time and couldn’t get a coffee from a cafe. It was very strict, but you did not want to step out of line and risk everything. If I go down, we [the team] all go down.” Getty had 100 people in Tokyo, including seven in Cameron’s Track & Field team, plus editors, and commercial photographers. “Part of the big events is the camaraderie, but in these games, we didn’t get to have that social aspect. There were very limited opportunities to interact which was tough.” Cameron was able to obtain permission to travel to Tokyo from the Federal Government because he was attending to represent Australia, and to document Australians’ achievements. While he had “some dramas” with flights, Cameron was able to get on one back to Sydney, and then had to do two weeks in hotel quarantine. Fortunately, as Getty has a team of remote photo editors who handle content live from camera, he could spend his time in quarantine in Sydney editing photos of the Paralympics. “I was watching the Paralympics on the big TV in my room and on the 7Plus app. It’s cool how you can do it.” For most of 2021 Cameron was unable to shoot AFL or Rugby League, as he normally would because most winter domestic sports moved from Cameron’s home base (Sydney) to Queensland and Western Australia because of COVID. “To not be able to do that has been tough as I miss being on the tools.” No doubt, he also misses being close to the action, for Cameron follows various sports, and teams such as the Sydney Swans and GWS Giants closely, watching how individuals play and what they do. “I know what almost every top tennis player does in terms of their technique and how they react. You know where to be and what lens to have on.” “We are judged every day, competing against other agencies. There is a lot of expectation, and we all want to get the best pictures possible. To help with this pressure, Getty Images employed sports psychologists to help its photographers prepare for the Tokyo Games. “We need to be ready mentally and learn how to harness nervous energy and focus.” Despite the pressure, Cameron says he loves what he does. “It’s one of those random professions. Like any career, if your heart is set on something, to reach the ultimate pointy end is pretty rewarding. It has taken 20 years to get here, but I love it and I wouldn’t change what I do in a million years.” In January, Cameron will cover the Winter Olympics in Beijing, the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon, and he hopes to go from there to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. As an extreme park specialist, Cameron is excited to see several Australian athletes compete, including Scotty James (not the Headmaster!), a half pipe snowboarder, whose “time to win gold”, Cameron believes, has arrived. Image: Cameron Spencer, Getty Images Date posted: 15 December 2021 |