“Do you ever wonder how many times your life is gonna end? Like how many people you’re

Men’s bobsled competitors head down the track and the Sanki Sliding Center during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, Sunday, February 16, 2014.

It’s been just over two months since I returned from my trip to Mother Russia to document the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, a trip that will always be among the top experiences I’ve had in my life. And, if you can keep something between you and me, it’s been roughly the same amount of time since I developed all 34 sheets of the Kodak Tri-X 320 4×5 film I shot throughout the games. This begs the question, “Why did you wait two months to share those images here?”

There’s two reasons I sat on these bad boys for a couple of moons. 1. I’ve been busy (thankfully) with paying gigs for clients, putting a lot of my personal projects on the back burner. Even when I have time to dabble with personal work, it’s a quick thing here or there. 2. A lot of these images didn’t live up to my expectations, and there was some disappointment experienced once I finally had the whole take scanned.

What did I expect? I’m not quite sure. I struggle with my perfectionism on the technical end of everything I do, and many of these images are technically flawed in one way or another. Some of them are flawed due to timing, some of them are flawed due to motion blur or other format limitations beyond my control.

I finally made peace with these images when I reminded myself why I signed up for the 4×5 film format in the first place. I wanted to “let go” of the sharp perfection that digital photography affords so easily. I wanted to escape 10 frames-per-second bursts, instead slowing down to one frame per minute, if I’m working quickly.

Another desire I had when I started shooting, developing, and printing 4×5 film one year ago was that I wanted to be humbled by the process itself. Despite using my digital cameras in full manual mode 99% of the time, the digital format is still very predictable for me. While this is a godsend in tricky lighting situations and with paying clients waiting on deadline, I actually wanted to experience extreme difficulty once again on the technical end of photography through the 4×5 film format. Let me tell you, if you want difficulty, film with a view camera doesn’t disappoint!

There’s nothing like setting up a shot of a competitor on the course at the Winter Olympics, waiting 10 minutes to get a single frame of that competitor blowing by you, then flying halfway around the world a week and a half later to develop the shot and discover that it’s soft. Humbling, eh?

Skiers on course in the men’s 4×7.5km relay during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Laura Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Center.

Regardless of those images that got away (and the ones I’m fairly proud of that are displayed here), shooting each and every frame was a blast! The vintage Crown Graphic camera I use always draws a lot of interest from people nearby, and I made new friends each time I set it up. In fact, I was able to successfully (and more than once, I might add) ask other photographers to momentarily move out of my way so that I could get a clean frame with the Crown Graphic! Try that with a digital camera, and let me know how quickly you’re involved in a shouting match.

Due to safety rules with tripods not being allowed on the courses at the Olympics, the Sochi games also marked the first time I had to use the Crown Graphic as a handheld camera. I instantly felt like Weegee or some other 1940’s press photographer, minus the cigar and fedora. Shooting 4×5 handheld (with a broken focus rangefinder, mind you) is a complete exercise in patience and visualizing the image in your mind long before you trip the shutter.

Switzerland’s Curdin Perl competes in the men’s cross country skiing 4 x 10km relay during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Laura Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Center.

What’s my favorite image of them all? Probably the one of the two Russian officers with the AK-47’s around their necks. It’s amazing to me still that they posed as long as they did for me to shoot the photo, and followed all of my directions precisely (all via Google Translate from my colleague JD Mercer’s cell phone – the officers spoke no English).

When it’s all said and done, my 4×5 film images from Sochi all contribute to my larger goal of creating a body of work by hand that exists completely outside of a computer. To have such a high profile event as the Winter Olympics in that fray is pretty neat, and I’m proud of the work I did as a whole.

Competitors warm up prior to the men’s halfpipe snowboarding semifinal of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park.

Katie Tsuyuki from Canada on her qualification run in the ladies snowboard halfpipe event.

The village of Rosa Khutor, Russia. The clock tower pictured above was less than a block from the apartment where I stayed during my time at the games.

A woman in traditional Russian dress poses in Rosa Khutor.

Of course, when I stumbled upon a “light pocket” as sweet at this while on a location scouting trip, I had to turn the 4×5 camera on my USA Today Sports Images colleagues Kevin Jairaj (left) and John David Mercer.

A forerunner checks course conditions prior to the men’s halfpipe snowboarding finals.

France’s Clemence Grimal on her qualification run in the ladies snowboard halfpipe event.

The second of two forerunner bobsleds leaves the starting line of the Sanki Sliding Center.

Men’s bobsled competitors head down the track and the Sanki Sliding Center during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.

Visitors walk near the Olympic Cauldron in Sochi, Russia, during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

Men’s aerials practice during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park.

Australia’s Sam Hall crosses the finish line during men’s moguls qualifications during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park.

Yours truly setting up a shot with the Crown Graphic of two armed Russian officers on the streets of Rosa Khutor. Note my “dark cloth” around my neck, which is actually just a black t-shirt. (Photo by John David Mercer)

The resulting image. I love how the officer on the left is strictly business, whereas the one on the right seems to be cracking a smile. They both have AK-47’s around their necks, however, so don’t let the affable demeanor fool you.

The Western Caucasus Mountains near the village of Rosa Khutor, Russia, following the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, Monday, February 24, 2014. For a sense of scale, note the trees along the ridge which starts at the bottom left of the image. These trees are easily 100 feet tall.

Visitors to the Olympic Cauldron and rings at the Olympic Park in the coastal cluster of Sochi / Adler.

It’s great to be writing one of my last 2014 Winter Olympics blogs from the comfort of my own bed in the United States. So what if it’s 2:40 pm? Judge lest ye be judged! After going nonstop for three weeks, this time to recharge my batteries was much needed and earned.

I initially set out to do a blog per day while I was in Russia, but things during the last week started to get really tiring. Late night finishes followed by early morning wake-ups for the next event left me with a choice of getting four hours of sleep, or getting two and posting a blog. To keep my health and sanity in check, I chose the former.

While I had to forego a few interesting tales and images that I would have shared in those skipped blog entries, there is one story that I do want to share with you here after the fact. It’s one that gave me a new perspective on covering the athletes, as well as a renewed appreciation for the skill they possess as Olympic athletes.

Yours truly, learning how to ski for the very first time on the Olympics Alpine Course (albeit in a very, very flat area).

After days of watching course workers and athletes alike glide past me on skis, I decided to ask Nick Carter, our network administrator, to take me up for an introductory skiing lesson. Nick, who’s very laid-back and patient, is a lifelong skier who’s grandfather managed a ski hill. Conversely, with my upbringing in the rust belt of the Midwest, I’ve never had skis on once. What better place to learn then at the Winter Olympics?

Nick took me to a fairly flat spot on the Alpine course where I’d be able to slowly glide around for a few hundred feet at a time. I’m proud to report that I only fell once, and I found the skis to be far more stable than ice skates (the only other remotely similar winter sport that I’d tried previously).

Skiing was a lot of work. While gliding down inclines is pretty much gravity’s responsibility, there is a lot of muscle use involved to stay upright and to keep yourself going in the direction you want to go. Moving across flat ground (like the cross country skiers do) can be flat-out exhausting. I left my skiing experience humbled and appreciating the prowess that the Olympics athletes demonstrate each time they take the course.

Anais Caradeux (FRA) in the ladies freestyle ski half pipe during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park. (This image was created by rapidly rotating my camera in my hands, set to a slow shutter speed, at the same time the athlete rotated out of the halfpipe.)

Later that evening, when I arrived at Extreme Park to cover the Ladies Freestyle Ski Halfpipe event, I was excited to pay closer attention to some of the techniques the skiers would use that I’d gotten to try earlier that day. I got in position up on the halfpipe deck to photograph the competition up close, where I’d come within ten feet of the competitors as they performed their tricks.

While the ladies put forth the same amount of effort and drive as their male counterparts on the halfpipe, it quickly became apparent that they weren’t getting as much air as the guys did a few nights prior during their competition. Some of the ladies were barely leaving the pipe, prompting a few photographers shooting alongside me to laugh out loud as the athletes passed them.

Despite their best efforts, many of the ladies did not get as much air on the halfpipe as their male counterparts I’d photographed previously.

I felt embarrassed as those photographers carried on like immature youngsters. First of all, I know the athletes can hear us on the pipe if we can hear every grunt and yelp from them as they pass by. Can you imagine being a 17-year-old athlete at the Olympics, having a bad run, and hearing people laugh at you on top of it?

Secondly, with my fresh perspective on how difficult it was to ski, I remember thinking that even the worst of the athletes that day still had far, far more skill that I’ll ever have with a pair of skis, and that made watching even the smallest scoring runs that night impressive. It was a sobering dose of perspective (and also a reminder of what professionalism isn’t).

The sun sets over the Sochi Airport.

My time at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics was peppered with these doses of perspective. From being thankful that (for the most part) clean, running water isn’t a rarity in the United States, to realizing that the rudeness I sometimes experience from people back home in “The Region” doesn’t necessarily reach across oceans.

Visitors to the Olympic Cauldron at the Olympic Park in the coastal cluster of Sochi / Adler.

I learned that the world is filled with many more friendly, helpful individuals than the opposite – Olympics volunteers greeted us daily with huge smiles and hello’s. I learned (or re-learned) that the American media tends to hype-up and sensationalize things – I felt safer in Russia than I do on the streets of Chicago. I re-learned that critical planning and people skills are responsible for some of my best images – my full moon through the Olympics rings wouldn’t have happened without them.

Visitors to the Bolshoy Ice Dome at the Olympic Park in the coastal cluster of Sochi / Adler.

Having a front-row seat to athletes making the runs of a lifetime, and being able to share those moments captured through my lens with the entire world, is something that I don’t take lightly, and something that never gets old. I still get the chills when I photograph a flowers or medals ceremony, seeing athletes in tears of joy at accomplishing their life’s work. And, in some ways, I’m accomplishing mine right alongside them.

Alena Zavarzina (RUS) reacts after her second run of the ladies’ parallel giant slalom small final during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park. Zavarzina won the bronze medal.

Anders Soedergren (SWE, 21) and Noah Hoffman (USA, 22) lead the field as they approach a tunnel in the cross country skiing men’s 50km mass start free event during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Laura Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Center.

Iivo Niskanen (FIN) leads the field in the cross country skiing men’s 50km mass start free event.

A technician disassembles a gyro-stabilized rail camera system following the cross country skiing men’s 50km mass start free event. Some of the gear at the Olympics used in my other disciplines fascinates me, and (over the years) I’ve managed to figure out when I’m one question away from being annoying when pestering these crew members about how things work!

The USA Today Sports crew wraps up operations on their final day of work. (From left) Editor Shanna Lockwood, network administrator Nick Carter, editor Bob Rosato, photographer Jack Gruber, editor Angie Walton, and photographer Nathan Bilow all put in many long hours to make our coverage a success! Any Olympics images you saw in USA Today from me flowed through this office and team.

A cableway enshrouded in fog is illuminated just above the Rosa Khutor village we called home.

Colleague John David Mercer photographed me having a delusional episode featuring visions of ice in drinks, constant-temperature showers, and of forgetting my credential back home where it isn’t necessary. I came to shortly after this image was taken and finished packing.

My colleagues waiting for our airport shuttle at 1am along with enough baggage for a party more than quadruple our size.

Elena Osmanova of Russia cries while watching the closing ceremony at a live site in the mountain cluster.

Fireworks explode in the sky over a live site in the mountain cluster.

Anton Shipulin (RUS) nears the finish line in the men’s 4×7.5km relay during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Laura Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Center.

Despite all the negative, sensational news stories you’ve probably read about Sochi (and despite there being some truth to a few of them), there’s one thing that can’t be argued with about Russia: The citizens here have an immense amount of pride in their country, and are extremely proud to be hosting the Winter Olympics.

This can be felt everywhere from the cafeteria at the Gorki Press Center, when the chef asks you to wait a few moments longer so you can have a fresher serving of food, on up to all the Russian volunteers who greet us each day at the venues with a smile, a wave, and a hello. You won’t go a day here without a Russian citizen reminding you, in some way, that they’re happy you’re here.

This pride is most evident, however, from Russian spectators at events, who make up the majority of those in attendance here. Whenever a Russian athlete is in the lead, the cheers from the stands are defining. I’m going to hear chants of, “Russ-eee-uh! Russ-eee-uh!,” in my sleep for weeks to come.

Tonight, I covered the men’s 4×7.5km biathlon relay, where Russia would go on to take the gold medal. The energy in the stadium was electric as Anton Shipulin crossed the finish line. During the medals ceremony that followed, even the volunteers keeping us photographers in the right place couldn’t hold back their tears of pride.

A general view of the Laura Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Center during the men’s 4×7.5km relay.

Skiers on course in the men’s 4×7.5km relay.

Skiers transition into the shooting range area. When I first covered biathlon, I didn’t understand what shooting guns at targets had anything to do with skiing. Then, it was explained to me that these athletes have just cross country skied for over a kilometer (no easy task), and must instantly transition to calm breathing to be able to shoot at tiny targets correctly! Once I understood how difficult this was, the event became much more impressive to me.

Skiers practice their marksmanship prior to the men’s 4×7.5km relay.

Lowell Bailey (USA) competes in the men’s 4×7.5km relay.

The sun sets behind the grandstands at the Laura Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Center during the men’s 4×7.5km relay.

Austrian team member Dominik Landertinger pushes towards his last lap.

Russian team members (from left to right) Alexey Volkov, Evgeny Ustyugov, Dmitry Malyshko, and Anton Shipulin celebrate on the gold medal podium after the men’s 4×7.5km relay during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Laura Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Center.

Photo assistant Kseniya Artemyeva of Russia is overcome with emotion during the medals ceremony.

Austrian team members (from left to right) Simon Eder and Dominik Landertinger check out their bronze hardware.

Even the flower presenters could barely hold back their tears.

Detail view of the Russian team holding their new gold medals.

This is how tonight (and most of my events) ended for me, with my cameras plugged into a network cable sending my photos off to our USA Today Sports editors. A special button on the camera allows us to select which photos we want to send. If you’re in a shooting position that has a network cable ran to it, this can be done in real time as the event is going on. If you choose to roam around the course like I did, however, you have to go find a cable “drop” and send your photos all at once, which can take a while. This system is known as the “VLAN” (pronounced Vee-Lan), which in computer talk, stands for Virtual Local Area Network. Everyone that participates in the VLAN here has a unique color of network cable (ours is pink).

Guy’s Russian Word of the Day is, “??????,” pronounced, “Zooletuh,” meaning, “Gold,” as in, “The Russians were proud of their countrymen who took the ?????? medal tonight.”