Photographer shows gold-medal grit—and humility
In today’s newsletter, a 10-time Olympic photographer; the art of highlining; American football in Ukraine
This article is an adaptation of our weekly Photography newsletter that was originally sent out on August 7, 2021. Want this in your inbox? Sign up here.
By Whitney Johnson, Director of Visual and Immersive Experiences
“I’ve just learned to keep my head down, work hard, plan ahead and eventually preparation will meet opportunity,” writes photographer Donald Miralle from Tokyo, where he is wrapping up covering his 10th (!) Olympics.
Donald isn’t one to rest on his laurels. “You’re only as good as your last photo,” he tells me. “And if I can get a photo or maybe even two a day that I am proud of, then my mission is accomplished.”
Well said. As COVID-19 has limited the number of spectators at the Games, Nat Geo has been giving sports and photography fans a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to get the shot. Pictured above, Donald's time exposure of Simone Biles performing the vault early in the Games. Below, we dive to the bottom of the pool as Donald spends hours setting up a camera in underwater housing to capture photos during competition. (Donald’s TikTok video on this topic had more than 2 million views in six days.)
As photographer and Nat Geo Explorer David Guttenfelder comments: “@donaldmiralle is the one who set the new standards / redefined what underwater sports photography could be. Donald’s perseverance and optimism are contagious."
Donald puts it this way: “You can’t be everywhere at once, but you can plan to be in hopefully the right place at the right time!”
Here are some of Donald’s favorite moments from the Games:
Day 1, the Men’s Cycling Road Race and Mount Fuji: “I was working on one hour of sleep on a bus for five hours to get to a scenic overlook of Mount Fuji on the course, with no guarantee that the weather would cooperate so we could see the iconic mountain. The additional catch was if we went to this part of the course we would miss the start and the finish, which are both the best parts of the race to shoot moment wise. Long story short, after waiting on the side of this hill for hours with just one other photographer and almost getting pushed out by police and spectators, I got one shot I was happy with and I’m pretty sure no one else got it.”
Butterfly triumph: ”Another shot that got a lot of play and went a bit viral was an action shot of the American swim phenom Caeleb Dressel. Swim action photos with long lenses are a dime a dozen these days, but this was a particular shot I tried to capture two years ago when he first set the world record in the 100-meter butterfly in the South Korea World Championships. Dressel is hands down the fastest man in the water, and his starts and breakouts are something to behold. During the finals, the water is glassy because they do introductions and the pool has a chance to calm down; there is a split second after the start, where the water tension still hasn’t been broken and Dressel explodes out of the water. The hardest part is finding focus with a 600mm lens, but if you can freeze it with a super-fast shutter speed and get it tack sharp, the water makes crazy shapes. In the case of this photo, he appears to have spines like Godzilla on his back, and you can see all his tattoos through the crystal-clear water.”
Pure joy: High jumper Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy pointing to his coach in the stands en route to an extraordinary night. In a historic show of sportsmanship, Tamberi and his friend and fellow competitor Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar, who had tied in the 100-meter finals, decided to share the gold medal rather than hold a jump-off.
Like what you see? For more of Donald’s Olympic coverage, be sure to check out what he’s been posting to @natgeointhefield stories and on TikTok.
TODAY IN A MINUTE
New York between waves: Over eight weeks between May and July, 40 photographers and nine reporters for the New York Times documented performances, house parties, bars, dance floors and all the chaos that makes New York come alive in the dark. See the portfolio of the city’s party scene.
Don’t touch the pictures! For 106 years, the New York Public Library’s vaunted picture collection has been open to the public. Andy Warhol and Maus illustrator Art Spiegelman were among those who leafed through the images. Now it’s closing to walk-in traffic from the public, and is moving because outreach administrators are taking over the space, the New York Times reports.
A photographer’s cheeky take on the rich: L.A.-based art photographer Buck Ellison hires actors and models to populate his stage-managed scenes. “The markers we’ve come to associate with a particular brand of buttoned-up, Ivy League, East Coast Waspish wealth are omnipresent,” the New Yorker writes. Ellison is of that world, and his images may often be caustic, but they are occasionally playful as well.
INSTAGRAM OF THE DAY
Just keep walking! We know—it’s a long fall—but that hasn’t quelled the art of highlining. Much more than an adrenaline sport, it's performance art within the stunning cathedrals of the natural world. Spencer Seabrooke walks the iconic gap, spanning over 500 yards between rock towers outside Moab, Utah. Here are nine great places to highline (aka slackline) in the United States.
THE BIG TAKEAWAY
Football fans in Ukraine: American football is often seen as a uniquely national sport, but after more than a year of distancing, a devoted community of amateur athletes in Ukraine is renewing their passion for the game. (Pictured above, Dale Heffron, head coach of Vinnytsia Wolves briefs his team after an away game against the Kyiv Slavs. Heffron retired from Florida to Ukraine in part to coach football in the country.)
IN A FEW WORDS
I think there are a lot of meaningful stories that come out of expeditions because they represent the positive sides of humanity. Perseverance. Overcoming challenges. Teamwork. Trust. These are the things I feel and appreciate.
Jimmy Chin, Climber, photographer, Nat Geo Explorer, From: Photographer Jimmy Chin on mastering the art of chill
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On Monday, Debra Adams Simmons covers the latest in history. If you don't get the daily newsletter, sign up here for Robert Kunzig on the environment, Victoria Jaggard on science, George Stone on travel, Rachael Bale on animal and wildlife news, and Rachel Buchholz on families and kids.
THE LAST GLIMPSE
In the field: Korean farmers, whose parents immigrated to Crimea in the 1930s, rest with their Russian workers after harvesting watermelons in the town of Krasnoperekopsk. This photo appeared in a September 1994 story titled "Crimea: Pearl of a Fallen Empire."
This newsletter has been curated and edited by David Beard and Monica Williams, and Jen Tse selected the photographs. Amanda Williams-Bryant, Rita Spinks, Alec Egamov, and Jeremy Brandt-Vorel also contributed this week. Have an idea, a link, or a story to share? We’d love to hear from you at david.beard@natgeo.com. Thanks for reading!
