A look back at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics
As the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia approach, it’s hard not to reflect on the amazing time that Vancouver had just four short years ago.
For me personally, it was a highlight of my lifetime. I took six weeks off work and was basically a freelance photographer during the both the Winter Olympics and the Paralympic Games.
The city was alive with so much positive energy and everyone seemed genuinely happy. I miss those times a lot. Spending time with friends, making new ones, and doing amazing things that you can’t normally do.
Like Ziplining over Robson Square, watching live sports in the middle of the street with strangers, riding along in the torch relay, witnessing and participating in some amazing cultural experiences, and wondering what the next day would hold as today was pretty damn awesome. I even got to fly to the Yukon to experience it first hand rather than just in a local ‘house’.
2010 was really the year I learned a lot about my photography. I honed my skills and workflows so that I could post the day’s captures as fast as possible. I began to have fans from around the world cheer ME on as they were witnessing the Vancouver games through my lens.
I ended up shooting tens of thousands of photos and countless videos during that time. I managed to kill my DSLR while shooting events in the cold rain on Cypress (despite having a rain cover). Fortunately, Nikon repaired it for free and loaned me a bunch of gear to finish the games with.
Things started off a little rough though. Many people left the city because they feared it would be chaos (it wasn’t). There was even a riot in the days leading up to the start of the games.
In hindsight, it seemed like a minor event compared to the positively that eventually flowed through the city.
I’ll finish this post with some selected favorite moments from that February four years ago and the wrap up video I made afterwards.
Truly a wonderful time in the city.
