I was working a double header for the Montreal Canadiens a few weeks back where I was first capturing images during a custom hat design session with the team at Tricolore Sports, New Era Caps and Josh Anderson, Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki of the Habs. I mean, I could stop right there and my day would of been great.
But I was also asked to stick around as a few F1 drivers might visit the Bell Centre. When? Not sure (it happened a few hours earlier than planned). Who? No idea. While I know some tid bits of F1, I’m not up to date on the driver lineup. But the tour ended up being for only 1 driver, the 2x world champion and often referred to as one of the top 5 drivers of all time, Fernando Alonso. I mean, even neophyte me knows the name Alonso.
The day went from a fun gig with players, working alongside the Habs video crew, to a mini scrum and hectic event with the addition of Alonso / F1’s photographer, video crew, managers, PR. It always impresses me the amount of entourage you don’t see on camera when sport legends go somewhere.
Trying to stay out of shots all the while ensuring I get mine is the name of the game. Being respectful of the faces AND the crews, and for my first time photographing in the Habs locker room, making sure not to step on the logo.
Below is the video from the amazing Habs video crew. I love seeing how others capture moments, not only so I can see the full story around my own images, but also trying to see where my face pops up and how that related to the moment I got. You briefly see me half a dozen times in the video.
And now for a small selection of my fave images of this once in a lifetime kind of shoot. All in all, it lasted under 30 minutes from time of arrival to the final handshakes. Not much time to hustle for position, get your settings down in the ever changing lights in each area (locker room, gym, hallways, ice level,…)