MILAN (AP) 鈥� Francisco Seco is a chief photographer for The Associated Press based in Istanbul. These are his fourth Olympics after Japan, China, and France.
Why this photo?
Because everything is in the right place. This particular move is called the 鈥渄eath spiral,鈥� and every photographer鈥檚 goal is to freeze the female athlete鈥檚 face in an upside-down position really close to her male partner鈥檚 skate blades. This is the first time I managed to show her face positioned between her partner鈥檚 legs while they were spinning in a very fast movement.
How I made this photo
I was at ice level using a 400mm lens and a high-speed shutter (1/2000). I always bring a minimum of three cameras with different lenses so when I saw this pair was going to perform the 鈥渄eath spiral鈥� move I switched from a 300mm lens to a 400mm to get a closer shot. Our camera鈥檚 focus system is super fast and it helped me catch the woman鈥檚 face in focus as they were moving very quickly.
Why this photo works
As I said before I think everything is in the right place. The photo catches your attention because it鈥檚 a 鈥榬are鈥� situation. It鈥檚 a nice compositional photograph. The combination of the upside-down face near the skate blades and the scratched ice background makes you ask yourself, 鈥淲hat鈥檚 going on there?鈥�
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