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Winter Sports 2018 Blog

Behind the Camera: “Freedom to be Creative!” by Matthias Hangst

Akwasi Frimpong of Ghana practices during Men's Skeleton training ahead of the PyeongChang2018 Winter Olympic Games at the Olympic Sliding Centre, Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. Nikon D5 | AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR | ISO 2000 | 1/2000 s | f/4 Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images

Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea - Matthias Hangst, Getty Images Chief Photographer based in Germany: “I am proud to be part of the Getty Images team covering the Winter Games. We have a staff of over 80 here in PyeongChang and some of us been on the ground for many weeks to get everything in place.

I arrived a week ago and my job started immediately. Our basic mission during the first few days is to check out our venues, make sure that everything is in place and first of all: to start taking photos! We go out to have a look for the best position, to get a feeling for light situations and to make sure that we all know the challenges of each venue we will cover.

Many setups change last minute and it takes a while to get used to the tracks, routes or the media bus transportation system. It's a real challenge to be an “organizer” and to find the freedom to work on preview shots. Some of them will be unique, because photo positions during competition are limited. So the athletes preparation and training are also an excellent opportunity to play around a bit, and allow for more freedom to be creative.

During competition much comes down to moments, the journalistic stories and also the challenges to deliver our photos to clients within under a minute from some of the important medal moments”.

Alexander Gassner of Germany practices during Men's Skeleton training ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the Olympic Sliding Center, Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. Nikon D5 | AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR @92mm | ISO 100 | 1/15s | f/10 Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images
Jaclyn Narracott of Australia practices during Women's Skeleton training ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the Olympic Sliding Center, Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. Nikon D5 | AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR @125mm | ISO 1250 | 1/8000 s | f/5 Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images
An athlete trains during the Snowboard practice session during previews ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Phoenix Snow Park, Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. Nikon D5 | AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR | ISO 400 | 1/2500 s | f/20 Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images
A detail as biathlete Erik Lesser of Germany trains ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Alpensia Biathlon Center on February 8, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. Nikon D5 | AF-S NIKKOR 800mm f/5.6E FL ED VR | ISO 3200 | 1/1600 s | f/5.6 Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images
A biathlete from China trains ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Alpensia Biathlon Centre, Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. Nikon D5 | AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR @122mm | ISO 100 | 1/2500 s | f/4.5 Copyright: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images
Biathlete Roman Rees of Germany trains ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Alpensia Biathlon Center on February 8, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. Nikon D5 | AF-S NIKKOR 400mm f/2.8E FL ED VR | ISO 2500 | 1/2500 s | f/2.8 Copyright: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images