Men’s Health photo editor Joe Rodriguez approached Los Angeles-based portrait photographer Ramona Rosales with an assignment to take a simple portrait as well as a fun, conceptual shot of four different Winter Olympic athletes. But there was a twist: The location was a large suite, with low ceilings, that she would have to share with a team from Women’s Health. “They know I can work really fast in unorthodox situations, but still keep things fun,” Rosales tells PDN about the assignment. The photographer only had 20 to 30 minutes with each athlete during a 14-hour window because the shoot took place in late September at the Media Summit in Park City, Utah. “It’s a huge press junket for Team USA. Every athlete from each winter discipline makes the rounds with hundreds of media outlets, all in one hotel. It was a cluster of madness. I swear we got the last rental C-stand in all of Salt Lake City.” Rosales’ images appeared in the January 2014 issue of the magazine.
These are fantastic and unique shots. Love the humor, but also the athleticness of the Olympic stars captured by Ms. Rosales.
These images, shot in familiar settings most Americans know, are intimate and yet convey the sense that anything is possible.