The Journey to Tokyo 2020

The day I got my notification from the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) I had to read and re-read the email to make sure it was really true. Through Speed Media we had dared to dream big, and it had paid off. That was back in April 2019 and despite the global pandemic interrupting every part of our lives and the inevitable rescheduling of the games to 2021, it felt and still feels like we won lotto.

That day was also the start of the biggest logistical and administrative project I’ve ever been involved in. How big I hear you ask? Well, at times it felt like a marathon effort – literally hundreds of emails ranging from updates about every aspect of the games and compliance with the COVID safe playbook requirements through to communiques from the Australian Chef de Mission and also direct requests from the Japanese government complete with links that didn’t work and locked spreadsheets. After numerous flight cancellations, accommodation changes, AstraZeneca jabs, endless media coverage about how bad COVID was in Japan and a very worried partner who questioned if I should go -I was through the departure gates and on my way.

The best bit about the flight was that the plane was half empty so lots of snacks, attentive staff and three seats to myself. The worst bit about the flight was nine and a half hours wearing a mask and arriving at Haneda airport realising I forgot to pack my raingear and it was monsoon season.

Arriving in Tokyo

Remember that bit about requests from the Japanese government with emails and links that didn’t work? I arrive in customs with my Pelican case chock full of my Canon gear and ready to get in and amongst it. Six hours later, the paperwork is completed, I have a negative Covid test result and I’m allowed to enter Japan. That Japanese health app OCHA didn’t work for me and there was a ton of stuff I needed to do before getting through arrivals.

No time to lose so I go straight to the Media Press Centre (MPC) to grab my photographer bib. I was expecting something in the high vis range and instead receive a thoughtfully designed bib with lots of pockets in two tones of brown. No longer Pete Dov, I’m now number 3075. After that I scout around the MPC looking for the Canon Professional Services team. Hot tip for anyone contemplating doing a big international sports event – Canon provide a fantastic service; they have all the latest camera gear you can borrow and are a super problem solver tech heads as well as being really nice people (if you’re a Nikon or Sony photographer you are also well looked after).

The Challenges

When I booked my accommodation, I figured there was a good chance it might be on the small side. Turns out I was right, it was really small, just fitting the bed and leaving some floor space for my camera gear and luggage. Being overseas media, the restrictions were tough. I had to quarantine in my hotel room for 14 days apart from Olympic games duties. No shopping, no wandering the streets of Tokyo, no going to bars or restaurants. So basically, no fun apart from going to official Olympic events each day although we were allowed to stock up on essentials from the local supermarket, which made the restrictions a little more bearable.

Easily the daily breakfast box from reception was the highlight of my day. A bento box with lots of little offerings, its contents were a complete mystery. Wanting to cater for the widest range of western breakfast options, it would be crammed with the craziest combinations of hot dogs, deep fried garlic prawns, broccoli and kiwi fruit mixed together, fish and chips, potato salad and boiled pumpkin with smoked salmon and the occasional scrambled eggs with a side of chilli con carne. Because of the 1-hour time zone difference between Japan and Australia, I would do a breakfast box reveal with my partner most mornings over a video chat and have a laugh. It was great.

Gaining access to events involved daily planning, strategy and administration. We had to apply online through an advanced ticketing system, 24 hours before each event. This worked out surprisingly well but left no room for spontaneity. Being Australian overseas media, I was pretty much well guaranteed access to those events where an Australian team was competing. But for the really high demand events like the swimming, gymnastics, athletics and even the tennis, there were limited tickets only made by the IOC available through the AOC. Unfortunately, I could not score swimming tickets.

Getting around Tokyo was a breeze, well sort of. The Media Transport Mall (MTM) provided a vast network of buses to all the venues, and they ran like clockwork. Which meant you had to plan everything in advance all the time. Miss your bus and you have to wait 30mins – 1 hour for the next one. I learnt this the hard way coming home from the opening ceremony. 1500 media en-masse trying to get on their buses back to the MTM. After queuing and then missing my bus, I found myself waiting an hour for the next one plus the 45-minute trip, which meant I didn’t get back to my hotel until 3am and then up again at 5:30am for my first event. We were given 14 taxi vouchers as part of our induction at the media centre. These were free and I ended up using them all, a great back pocket option for those late nights when no buses were around. There were lots of volunteers everywhere to help you reach your destination and answer questions. Everything was done with a smile, no request too small or trivial for these helpers who were keen to just be a part of the Olympics and practice their English.

Tokyo in summer is punishing. I knew it would be hot, but the heat and humidity still took me by surprise. Most days were 35+ degrees with 85% humidity, I don’t know how the athletes were able to perform at the outdoor events to the level they did. I’m a huge fan of the tennis so naturally it was high on my list of sports to photograph. I’ve photographed the Australian Open but even in the shade, I could only shoot one set of Daniil Medvedevs match and even Novak Djokovic had to request time changes for his matches due to the heat.

One of the challenges for a small agency is competing with the big agencies like Getty and sending images out to our media outlets as fast as possible. Fortunately, back home in Australia I had a great team of editors at Speed Media sending my images out fast! I think both Steve Markham and Dave Hewison needed more of a break than I did staying up late every night, processing my images. Most appreciated guys.

Disappointments

No crowds allowed due to the COVID-19 state of emergency in place. Would have made a huge difference to the Japanese athlete’s ability to win more medals with a huge vocal crowd behind them.

I was hoping to shoot an Australian or Australian team win a gold medal, but I had no luck.

My Canon Gear

My Pelican case was packed to the brim with pretty much well every combination of gear I thought I might use. I had my Canon 1DX Mk 3 and Mk 2 camera bodies and 6 x lenses: a 400mm ver2, 70-200mm, 24-70mm, 11-24mm and 16-35mm plus my 85mm f1.4. I also borrowed from Canon, 1DX mk3 body as my second camera, lenses 400mm ver3 and 600mm ver3, both super lightweight at various times during the Olympics.