Skiers navigate a course in the mountain cluster at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

With the opening ceremonies for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics still two days away, there isn’t much in the way of actual competitive events happening just yet. Sure, there’s practice sessions to be had, but these obviously don’t count for anything, and the images aren’t as storytelling when there’s nothing on the line.

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Freestyle skiing athlete Heidi Kloser (USA) falls during a training session at the Rosa Kuhtor Extreme Park.

Even at the Winter Olympics, where athletes and photographers alike gather with their “a-game” ready to shine, practice still makes perfect. And so, with today being a day for athletes to take the courses and try things on for size, us photographers took a similar approach. My day was spent scouting the Rosa Kuhtor Extreme Park, figuring out which angles and positions would work best for the events I’ll be shooting there, as well as shooting a practice session of ladies and mens freestyle moguls.

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Half marathon runner Emily Dalton of Chicago, Ill., warms up with jumping jacks prior to the first annual Dawn of the Dunes Marathon held at Marquette Park in Gary, Ind., Sunday, October 27, 2013. The marathon, the first in the city’s history, began at Marquette Park Pavilion and took runners through the park and surrounding Miller neighborhood.

In an era of steadily declining freelance news photography work, it’s nice to end up with an assignment that covers something of a historic nature

Girls varsity basketball team member Linnae Harper poses outside Whitney M. Young Magnet High School in Chicago. Harper, a 5 foot 7 inch senior who plays the point guard position, is set to attend the University of Kentucky in the fall.

When I received my requests to shoot portraits of members of the USA Today All-USA High School Basketball Team, I was given little more than each player’s contact information and a deadline date. With everything up to me (including scheduling the shoots themselves) and no specific look to follow, the creative wheels in my brain started turning on how I could make each portrait unique and polished without necessitating a grip truck in the process.

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