I taken Pics in the last weeks – please tell me what you think:

Fotoabzüge Tell me if you like them – i love to discuss the photos with you!

from: Jereks Blog
Shianns Site
Calidans Site

Steve Russell/Staff Photographer

With Canada in the hunt for medals in the Men's and Women's skeleton we decided to double team the final runs.

Bernie got to the track early while I covered the women's cross country 15 km pursuit and then raced out of there to make it to the sliding track to find a back up angle to Bernie.

Bernie had arrived at the track very early to stake out a spot in an ideal position were he had a view of the athletes coming in, breaking, walking back with their sleds and then going to the finish house to watch the other riders.

I grabbed a spot that covered a couple of Bernie blind spots.

I positioned myself with a view straight down the braking chute, so when the athletes passed Bernie I still had a view of their faces. And when the camera man chased them down the course, blocking Bernie, the Star still had a view of the athlete. My position was a challenge, I arrived near the end of the women's third run, late!

Kerstin Szymkowiak of Germany crosses the finish line and sees that she is guarenteed a medal, she ended up with silver.

There were already about 20 some photographers in that spot. 

I could have been a little closer to the track but I was looking for a straight on view to make the most of my positioning and the pictures a little cleaner.

Mellisa Hollingsworth is consolled by her coach, you can see the camera man that blocks Bernie on the left. 

Thankfully there was a road behind the photo position and I walked up about 10 metres behind the photo pit and was high enough to have a clear view of the finishing track. 

After finishing the third run, the area began to fill with photographers and I had to maintain my photo position to protect it from the late comers who would try to set up in the gap and block my view.

The position worked well for the women's final run, unfortunately our Canadian did not. I filed from my position so I could keep an eye on late comers.

A lot of photographers left after the women's final but it was dark and the temperatures began to drop. The photographer in front of me put on a toque that increased his height by about ten centimetres, I could not see as much of the track as I would of liked.

I did not want to move further up the hill, I was already pretty far back for the 400 with a 1.4x converter.

So I ran to the side and picked up some rock to stand on. 

I had to stand on those shaky rocks for the entire third and fourth runs.

In the end it worked, Bernie scored A1 with a tight picture of men's gold medalist Jon Montgomery, I scored the sports front with a picture of him breaking!

Canadian Jeff Pain hits the braking padding at the end of his track in his last competitive run, he retires after the games.

Jeff Pain greets the crowd, for the most part all the skeleton athletes get up from their rides and celebrate, maybe its the adrenaline left over from going down the track at 145 km/h with their chin inches from the ice.  

Adam Pengilly of Great Britian hits the pads after his final run, you can see the little spikes in his shoes that they need for the start.

Kazuhiro Koshi from Japan slide into the finish  in the final run of the men's skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre.

Italian Nicola Drocco hops on his sled surfer style in the run off area.

Kiwi Ben Sandford is not impressed with his final run of the men's skeleton.

Jon Montgomery arrives with a Gold medal winning time in the final run of the men's skeleton.

Jon Montgomery celebrates winning the gold medal  in the final run of the men's skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre in Whistler.

The stone that I used to improve my photo position.

Steve Russell on the Rocks! I guess it is fitting, I am from Sudbury, What we can't see is the main pit up front. Thanks to John for the pictures.

See a gallery of Jon Montgomery winning

-srussell@thestar.ca

 

 

Kodak’s in-store photo-printing kiosks are now able to print images directly from Google’s Picasa, Kodak Gallery and Facebook photo albums. New software enables users to print out cyber-space-bound images from albums previously unavailable for in-store printing. 

New desktop printing software, greeting card templates, and business card services are all part of Kodak’s most recent revamp. The shift in services is designed to keep pace with the shift to digital media that has negatively impacted Kodak’s market share.

“With all of these features connected together in an integrated and cohesive approach, keeping quality of delivery at theforefront, we are providing what we believe is the most comprehensive, trackable and growth-oriented solution in the industry, helping our retail partners large and small to capture more business and significantly grow their profit potential,” said Kodak VP in charge of retail systems Nicoletta Zongrone.
(i4u)

Pets can be our best friends. Upload a photo of your favorite pet for a chance to win $200. Photo should be artistic and creative, have fun!

Upload your photo contest entry before December 16th ,2009.

Join the pet photo contest.

Hull Media has announced the Most Transporting Photo Contest, a promotion that encourages members to share their most compelling travel photos on WereYouThere. Entries will be judged on the overall quality, originality and creativity of the photo and accompanying caption. One Grand Prize winner will receive a 16GB iPod Nano; three First Prize winners will each receive an 8GB iPod Nano. Register at the website below to enter, then upload a travel photo along with a descriptive caption of least 100 words. Each submission must be the entrant’s own original work and may not have been published commercially elsewhere. Multiple submissions are allowed, provided each is unique. The contest continues through to Sunday, 14 March.

Website: WereYouThere Photo Contest

Hull Press Release

Every Picture Tells a Story: WereYouThere’s Most Transporting Photo Contest

MILL VALLEY, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Hull Media, Inc. announces the Most Transporting Photo Contest, a promotion that encourages members to share their most compelling travel photos on WereYouThere. “We all have stories and photos that deserve a larger audience,” says Founder and CEO Jonathan Hull. “With the launch of our first contest, we intend to bring more of these experiences to light where they can be enjoyed and passed on, be they moving, humorous or just memorably offbeat.”

Entries will be judged on the overall quality, originality and creativity of the photo and accompanying caption. One Grand Prize winner will receive a 16GB iPod Nano; three First Prize winners will each receive an 8GB iPod Nano. Register at http://www.wereyouthere.com/contests/travel.php to enter, then upload a travel photo along with a descriptive caption of least 100 words. Each submission must be the entrant’s own original work and may not have been published commercially elsewhere. Multiple submissions are allowed, provided each is unique. The contest continues through Sunday, March 14. “WereYouThere was created in the belief that there is no better way for us to understand each other and our world than by sharing the experiences that define us,” says Jonathan. “And who knows? By sharing a travel photo now buried on your hard drive, you might just form a connection that lasts a lifetime or grant someone a transforming glimpse of a moment they would never otherwise experience.”

Enter WereYouThere’s Most Transporting Photo Contest
http://www.wereyouthere.com/contests/travel.php

Founded in 2008, WereYouThere is a social archive that brings people together through shared experiences, from the places we’ve traveled to the events that shape us. Together, these stories, photos and videos form an important conversation about both our lives and our collective history. WereYouThere encourages noncommercial use of the content posted by its members and hopes to provide a valuable resource to students, researchers and historians.

Jonathan Hull spent ten years at TIME magazine, serving as bureau chief in both Jerusalem and Chicago and winning the Society of Professional Journalists’ prestigious Sigma Delta Chi award for magazine journalism. He is also the author of the bestselling novel Losing Julia and The Distance from Normandy. Hull Media, Inc. is a privately-owned corporation based in Mill Valley, California.

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PAYMENT OR PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. Enter the WereYouThere Most Transporting Travel Photo Contest by 11:59 Midnight Pacific Time March 14, 2010. Entrants must be U.S. residents 18 or older at time of entry. Professional photographers are not eligible to enter or win. Entrants must have all necessary rights, including intellectual property and publicity rights, to their photos. There is no limit to the number of entries, but each entry must be unique. Contest is subject to the Official Rules. Contest Rules. Contest void where prohibited by law.