Thanks mate.

A lot of the credit has to go to Dave though.

Yeah, I noticed the slomo was wide on Peacock and zoomed in over the last third. I was looking dead close cos I figured it was your shot, and only cos you mentioned about the out of focus being a worry did I notice the focus on Peacock being a little soft as he covers the last 20 meters - but it clears and I thought it was in focus again as he crosses the line and caught his "fuck YEAEAAH!" perfectly

Anyways, I was only so much attention cos it was you - would never have noticed if you hadn't mentioned it


Epic night of athletics though.

Thing I like most about it is the paralympians seem to be a lot friendlier and happier for their competitors than the olympians. I mean, they're all uber-competitive people like the olympians, but after crossing the line there seems to be more hugs and genuine smiles from the folk that didn't win - hardly any sour grapes, so many of them seem genuinely happy for the person that won, even though that means they beat them! Seems more sporting. Maybe it's a smaller competitive field so they know each other better or something.

Saw Greaves come over to congratulate Peacock as well! The American had a hell of a throw to beat him, but looks like Greaves had a great night anyway - he was doing celebration photos with the american guy, they both had flags, like you say, nice to see the camaraderie.

Morning of rest again. Back off to the stadium to do the evening shift now. Going in early to check the camera is actually working this time.
These two mornings off have been counterproductive. While its nice that they went to the trouble of organising it, I'm actually more tired because the adrenaline has dropped so much.
Feel like I'm on my last legs now. Tonight will doubtless be another slog, but I'm quite looking forward to the last day of competition tomorrow then the closing ceremony on Sunday.

dazed and confused

g.man

Indeed mate. Indeed.

Sadly I won't have the opportunity this time mate.

someday

g.man

It's the big one tonight. Pistorius v Oliveira in the men's 400m. Final race of the games. They're side by side in the lanes and there's been a lot of intrigue about the Brazilian's fitness going into the final.
Personally I think he's playing mind games with Pistorius and come the race will smash him.

time will tell

g.man

Last morning session in brilliant sunshine over. The lack of Brits running this morning gave me the opportunity to really push the ultramotion to the absolute limits. Amazing fun.

absolutely smashed it

g.man

You seem to be able to focus on the genitalia with ease.

Our director nearly screwed me again last night. There was a young Brit lad in the farthest corner of the stadium competing in the javelin last night. OBS weren't covering it, so he makes the unbelievably stupid decision to pull me off covering all the track finals and instead have me point half a million dollars of hi speed camera equipment at a guy sitting in a wheelchair doing absolutely nothing for an hour. Boy was disqualified and I ended up parked on a static shot of him sitting on his own looking miserable for an absolute eternity.
It was a nice enough shot tbh, but for fuck sake, use the standard camera right next to me, not the fucking ultramotion.
Reason this fucked me off so much is because the light alters constantly throughout the evening and I absolutely have to keep my eye in on the races to have any idea what the current state of play with the depth of field is. If I don't have a rough idea, then chances are good I'll be soft as old boots and spend at least a couple of races chasing focus and recalibrating my brain. Not a good situation to be put in when every race is a final.
I think I only had the one race prior to the 400 to get my eye back in, and that was a wheelchair relay. Completely different pace to the runners. Not ideal.
I'm fucking worried now. It's the men's 400 next. The last race of London 2012. It's a grudge match of Stallone like proportions between Oscar Pistorius and Alan Oliveira that's been building for the last week.
Is the Brazilian playing mind games or is he injured? Can Pistorius pull it out the bag and finally win individual gold at these games?
My money is on Oliveira. I'm not a betting man.
The build up is good. It's the 400, so the start is right in front of me. Director's doing a good job calling the shots as they line up.
At the last minute he tells me to iso Oliveira. Now my money is on him to smash it, but my spider sense tells me I should be on Oscar.
I frame up on Oliveira and decide that once the race is underway all bets are off and I'm just going to completely ignore the director and instead do what I should be doing.
This is the single most important shot of my entire career. The culmination of 20 years of blood, sweat and tears.
It's death or glory.
The race begins, and Oscar is off to a brilliant start, they're neck and neck all the way down the back straight so I keep it on a two shot, but into the bend Oscar hits the button marked Nitrous Oxide and streaks into a commanding lead. As he passes Oliveira, I make the executive decision to go with him.
Into the final bend and I'm tight on Oscar's blades. It's a great shot, but I'm a actually doing it to refine my focus for the final straight.
Oscar comes thundering down the final 100 metres and I tilt up to a mid shot for the final 75. I hold my breath and manage to keep him in focus all the way down and across the line. This is the shot.
The crowd go mental. I'm banging off reaction shots left right and centre, but I'm waiting to see the replay.
I have Rachel's replay output on my camera and I'm constantly toggling it, watching her spool through my footage, selecting the replay. I see Oscar coming over the finish line to take the win at 400 frames per second and he's absolutely pin sharp. I'm swearing with joy into the viewfinder and snappers are looking at me like I'm mental.
I have absolutely fucking nailed it, and I've got a pretty good idea how Oscar feels right now. This was the one.
It doesn't get better than this.



cometh the hour

g.man

GOLD FOR WEIR IN THE MARATHON!

YEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!

g.man

Final medal ceremony at the closing ceremony tonight is going to be unbelievable!

can't wait

g.man

The man is simply incredible.

different class

g.man

The British athletics team have been utterly brilliant this year but it's also been a brilliant effort by everyone else involved too.  As a nation we've done ourselves proud, especially with our staging of the paralympics.

Cometh the hour, cometh the g indeed.  It's really heartening to know that there's guys like you out there who really get what it's all about.  This summer of Olympic sport has been simply amazing in every respect and it's owed in no small part to people like you whose tireless dedication and skill have made it such an amazing experience for people like me who just sit on the sofa at home and lap it all up.