黑料吃瓜网

It started every morning at 5:45, Tokyo time.

Patrick Smith would roll over and immediately spit into a test tube, filling it with saliva. Then he鈥檇 affix a barcode to the tube, use his phone to register the barcode and then use a different app to answer questions about how he was feeling. 

This was just one of the safety protocols Smith 鈥�09 took each day while he was covering the 2020 Olympic Games as a photojournalist for Getty Images. Smith has been snapping shots professionally for 15 years, but not even the three weeks he spent in Rio documenting the 2016 Summer Olympics could have prepared him for the pandemic version of one of the world鈥檚 most prestigious sporting events. 

After waking up each morning, Smith would leave his hotel by 6:15 a.m. Once he arrived at the day鈥檚 venue, he and his colleagues would spend time getting through security, dropping off their saliva samples for COVID-19 testing and setting up their gear. 

COVID-19 precautions also included wearing a mask or other face covering all day, every day. The only time Smith took his mask off, he says, was in his hotel room.

But when the action started, he was ready to capture it. Over the course of three and a half weeks, he took roughly 102,000 photos, covering sports that ranged from skateboarding to track and field.

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鈥淭he camera is one of the few things in my life that takes everything away,鈥� Smith says. 鈥淚t puts me in that moment, to be mindful when I鈥檓 there. To know it鈥檚 my job to document history . . . when that camera comes to my face, there鈥檚 not much else that I鈥檓 thinking about, other than being there.鈥�

In some ways, once the competitions started, his experience in Japan was similar to the work he did in Brazil. In other ways, the differences were stark.

In 2016, Smith says, a Getty client could get a photo in about a minute. During the Tokyo Games, one of his photos from the 100-meter final was available just 16 seconds after he took it. 

But perhaps the biggest鈥攁nd most obvious鈥攄ifference between the Rio and Tokyo games was the distinct lack of a crowd. To protect the health of athletes and those working at the Olympic venues, no spectators were allowed. 

鈥淭here is not one person, not one family member, not one spouse cheering the athletes on. I can鈥檛 imagine what it felt like for them. These are the most historic games we will ever cover,鈥� Smith says. 鈥淚t was cool to document it. As sad as it was, it鈥檚 an incredible opportunity.鈥� 

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Smith鈥檚 photojournalism career began at The Towerlight, 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 independent, student-run newspaper. He can still remember walking into the newspaper鈥檚 office in the University Union and asking then-editor-in-chief Brian Stelter 鈥�07鈥攏ow an anchor on CNN鈥攈ow to join the staff.

鈥淚鈥檝e had a camera in my hand for the rest of my life,鈥� Smith says. 

While he doesn鈥檛 remember his first assignment, Smith does remember an early one: to capture photos of a star on the football team. One problem: the player showed up without shoes.

鈥淪o in the picture, he鈥檚 on the 50 yard line in socks,鈥� Smith says, laughing.

There isn鈥檛 one particular photo from his time on staff at the student paper that defines his college career, Smith says. He remembers covering football games and student protests and sweating in the office of a university administrator because he was nervous.

鈥淲e worked really hard, we laughed, we pushed the envelope too far at times,鈥� Smith says. 鈥淭hose kinds of things live with you forever.鈥�

鈥淲e were learning every day. You鈥檙e in a university setting, but without the guidance of a professor. It wasn鈥檛 like sitting in a classroom waiting for a grade. If you did something wrong, 
you learned from it.鈥�

Since then, Smith has gone on to become a Pulitzer finalist and won recognition from organizations like the National Photographers Association and the White House News Photographers Association. 

Smith has three older brothers, and his dad coached soccer and lacrosse, so everything he did was competitive, 鈥渨hether it was running up the stairs to beat my brothers or actually competing in a game,鈥� he says.

Now Smith, who says he is his own biggest critic, pushes himself as a photographer every day.
鈥淗aving a challenge is what keeps me coming back,鈥� he says. 

Even if he goes to a stadium or is sent to cover a team that he has before, the circumstances are always different, giving him an opportunity to hone his craft. He鈥檚 been documenting local teams like the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Capitals since he was a student, and regularly since 2011, so he鈥檚 鈥渟een teams completely change.鈥�

Rob Carr, Smith鈥檚 boss at Getty Images, says Smith has a unique eye.鈥淗e鈥檚 very much a perfectionist, in everything that he does,鈥� Carr says.

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So what makes a good photo?

鈥淓voking emotion is what I鈥檓 going for,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 want a photo to make me feel something. I want it to make me laugh. Make me cry, make me smile, make me want to ask questions, or make me say 鈥榳ow鈥� out loud.鈥� 

That鈥檚 not to discount the importance of knowing the technical skills of how to operate a camera, Smith says, or understanding what makes an ethical photojournalist. 

Kanji Takeno, 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 former longtime director of photographic services, is one of Smith鈥檚 mentors. In addition to discussing photography with Takeno, Smith recalls taking a Japanese language course with him and traveling to Japan with Takeno鈥檚 encouragement.

Takeno says Smith has an amazing talent for capturing colors in photos and for making his subjects feel comfortable. Smith, Takeno says, was always dedicated and friendly, even when learning the difficult language. Seeing Smith succeed鈥攁nd travel to Japan, where Takeno is from鈥攈as been incredibly rewarding, Takeno says.

While in Tokyo for the Olympics, Smith put some of Takeno鈥檚 teachings to use. He revisited some of the cuisine, including sushi and dumplings, that he was introduced to by Takeno as a 
student. He knew his way around town鈥攁t least a little bit鈥攁nd could speak some Japanese as well. Phrases like asking for the bathroom or saying a meal was delicious came in handy, Smith says. His journalism professors, too, left their mark on him, he says. 

鈥淭hose bonds and relationships that I got at Towson are so important to what I am today,鈥� Smith says. But, when it comes to the feel of a good photo, which he says is key, that鈥檚 not something he thinks can be learned from a textbook or lecture.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a lifetime of learning,鈥� Smith says.

鈥淚 can teach you how to use a camera; I can teach you the fundamentals of composition. But I can鈥檛 teach you how to walk into an environment鈥攁ny kind of situation鈥攁nd get a feel on where to stand. That鈥檚 what breaks good photographers from great鈥攖he ability to read a situation and move about the environment they鈥檙e in.鈥�