Agence
France Presse photographer Olivier Morin explains how he captured an amazing
image of sprinter Usain Bolt winning a race in Moscow.
AFP
sports photographer Olivier Morin took this amazing image of Olympic champion, Jamaican
sprinter Usain Bolt, as he won the final in the world championships being staged
in Moscow. By a
quirk of fate Morin snapped one of a series of shots near the finish line which
captured a lightning strike around the same moment Bolt crossed the line. The
incredible image was flashed around the world and used extensively by
newspapers and websites.
Morin said, “The photo was taken with the final remote
control camera out of five set up on the edge of the field, this one back
behind the finish line.” He was counting on getting a shot of the winner coming
through the finish line, arms in the air, with the stadium as the background. But
Usain Bolt won the race and crossed the finish line without a display of emotion.
Olivier Morin continues, “I nevertheless pressed the remote control button to
set off the cameras’ triggers.” Olivier reviewed his shots without seeing
anything exceptional at first. “I didn’t notice the lightning, because the
image was so small on the preview panel.” He then saw four shots with lightning;
two were useable, as the cloud was lit up and the bolt was perfectly clear. “I realised
then that I might have something pretty good, and with a bit of luck, it would
be the right photo. But I completely underestimated the media storm this image
would generate.”
He added, “In the 25 years of my career, I’ve never had an
outside, uncontrollable element make the shot. And I think if I tried for
another 50 years, it would never happen again. I really can only take 1% of the
credit for this photo.” Nevertheless, the photo went viral across the social
networks, particularly Twitter, where it has been re-tweeted more than 12,000
times.
It has also achieved great international media acclaim. The UK Daily
Mail newspaper has claimed this shot could become one of the greatest sport
photographs of all time. Eurosport called Morin’s image “career defining” for
Usain Bolt. Other sites emphasised the once-in-a-lifetime nature of this photo
and its author’s talent, such as News.com (Australia),
Daily Relay (US), Slate.fr (France),
Bigbrowser.blog. lemonde.fr (France), 20minutes.fr (France), PureMedias
(France), Rue89.com (France), Tempsreel.nouvelobs.com (France), Sport24.com
(France), La province.be (Belgium), and Nordeclair.be (Belgium), amongst
others.
Morin, 47 years old and an AFP photojournalist since the age of 20, is
currently based out of Milan
and is one of the agency’s sport specialists. With a network of around 500 photographers
who often win prestigious international awards, AFP releases more than 3,000
photos every day, and is known for its photo coverage. AFP is a global news
agency delivering coverage around the world from wars and conflicts to
politics, sports, entertainment and the latest breakthroughs in health, science
and technology.
Lightning does strike twice: Lightning strikes as the world's fastest man, Usain Bolt, crosses the finish line to win the final of the 100 metres at the World Athletics Championships in Moscow (August 2013). Photo by Olivier Morin, AFP.