I have been blessed with (or cursed with, depending on the situation) what I lovingly refer to amongst my friends and associates as a

I didn

Aug 17, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; A BMX demonstration group performs prior to competition at Olympics BMX Centre during the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

One of the most challenging aspects of covering a major sporting event for a professional photographer is coming away with images that are unique to you. Back in August, during my coverage of the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, things were no different. I often found myself in photo positions shoulder to shoulder with 20 or more photographers, most of them shooting on the same digital camera bodies and using the exact same lenses as myself. The result? Everyone walks away with essentially the same photo. For tightly-cropped finish line jubilation or dejection, sometimes being in “the pack” is a necessary evil at the games. To walk away from the experience with something unique, however

As with my first Olympics blog from Rio, I’m penning my final one from an aircraft 38,000 feet somewhere over the Caribbean. Admittedly, I’m not returning from Rio on this flight, however, but from a lighting design gig with Anthony Hamilton in Cura