athlete

Six Years Into My CrossFit Photography Journey

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Female athlete, executing a back squat with barbell during a CrossFit WOD
 

This is one of my very first CrossFit photos (still one of my favorites), taken in the distant year of 2015 at the Ironbox (today IronBox CrossFit Jamor).

It launched my project Life In a Box, that recently received an Honourable Mention at the IPA (International Photography Awards).

More importantly, it sparked my passion for CrossFit, as a photography subject and sports discipline.

I began practicing about a year after I took this photo and today CrossFit is an important part of my life. I can even go as far as saying that it is part of me,  given the number of marks it has left on my body!😄

I found what I had long been looking for: a broad and complete training system that would serve as a base for my sports activities (Climbing, Aikido, Windsurf...) and for my health in general. Training alone always bored me and the Health Club's "Body Stuff" (Body Pump, Body Balance, Cycle, Spartans...), though intense, seemed incomplete.

With CrossFit, I felt that, for the first time, I had a balanced and complete training programme, full of new skills to learn (olympic weightlifting was and still is one of my biggest challenges). Moreover, I discovered that which makes CrossFit so unique: the Community. All the people who get together everyday for a dose of "joyful suffering". Who truly support each other, with healthy competitiveness, cheering you on, or just giving you an exhausted fist bump at the end of a workout.

CrossFit Alpha Den in now my second home. This box is the paradigm of high quality training in a safe and friendly environment. I can't give them enough praise, they hugely contribute to my physical and mental sanity, especially during this never ending pandemic.

It builds top notch athletes, but more than anything, it is a place of inclusion and solidarity.

Female athlete, executing a back squat with barbell during a CrossFit WOD

Back to the photo, I thought it would be interesting to also display the "out of camera" version, with no post-production, as a way of showing that the photographic process need not end with what we see, but rather with what we want to see.

Ironman 70.3 Cascais 2019 - Swim

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Sep 29th 2019, Cascais Bay. At 6:50 AM the first light begins to show in the horizon and every photographer knows what that means: less than 30 minutes to make pictures that are unrepeatable at any other time of the day. These are the images at the edge of the light, where everything seems imbued with a serene and abstract quality. The quiet before the storm which, in this case, will be the burst of energy of the sunrise combined with the takeoff of hundreds of swimmers.

Even the start of the small groups of pro athletes, before the sunrise, can look pictorial and mysterious. But everything changes after the sun climbs over the horizon. Wave after wave of triathletes, the water is filled with arms and heads, and the serpent of swimmers travels through the bay. The magic that precedes the start of this Ironman Triathlon will only be back next year.

The CrossFit Games Open - Cátia

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Last, but certainly not least, Cátia.

I’m not sure what best characterizes her, a heart of gold or a will of steel, but if you’re one of us who can call her a friend, you have one more thing to be grateful of.

(Also, she looks great in front of the camera, but that’s just an extra.)

Workout 19.5

33-27-21-15-9 reps for time of:

65-lb. thrusters, Chest-to-bar pull-ups

Time cap: 20 minutes

I did my own little workout during this shoot, climbing up and down a stepladder, hauling a 70-200 mm on a Canon 5D Mk IV.

Not that I wanted to punish myself, but in order to "clean up” the background I had to get extreme angles, from above and from below.

The CrossFit Games Open 2019 - Andreia

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Andreia is the next one up in my photo series of athletes in the CrossFit Games Open 2019, at AlphaDen CrossFit.

I’m a big fan of this coach's classes! Her "tough love" both in class and in competition (took several no reps from her during the Open!) remind me that training is not just the act of moving the body, but setting and meeting goals, big or small.

And because there’s nothing like teaching by example, when competing she shows that focus, resolve and excellence are not words, but actions.

Specifically, these photos show a wod (workout of the day) where the athletes had to complete the following list of exercises, as fast as possible (up to 10 min):

60 m dumbbell overhead lunge, 50 dumbbell box step-ups, 50 strict handstand push-ups, 60 m handstand walk

The CrossFit Games Open 2019 - Coach T

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“What was that?!..."

“That”, was Tiago going by, leaving everyone behind!

Tiago Lousa (Coach T) is an absolute machine when it comes to endurance and speed wods. He is also the engine behind Alpha Den CrossFit, having co-founded it almost 3 years ago and leading it by showing what a true athlete should be.

Over the years, I’ve developed my photography skills just by trying to keep up with him. After “321 GO!” I know there will be no mercy, as he devours the reps, going relentlessly from one exercise to the other, until the wod is done. You blink, you missed it!

The CrossFit Games Open 2019 - Phelps

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The CrossFit Games Open 2019 is over (the first one that is, because exceptionally there is going to be another later on this year, but that’s not why I’m writing this).

I had the opportunity to shoot a lot of pictures at CrossFit Alpha Den (when I wasn’t doing the wods myself) and ended up with a few small series that I’m really happy with, showcasing athletes that I truly admire. Like my dear friend Nuno “Phelps”, who's the very definition of a CrossFit athlete - focused and competitive, but always ready to support everyone around him.

Nuno is one of the most experienced crossfitters at the box, and a long time athlete before that, with a wealth of knowledge that he is always happy to share.

Life In a Box - Photographing CrossFit Athletes

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“I have a good feeling about this”. That’s what I thought when I walked into a CrossFit box for the first time.
I was looking for a theme for a sports related photography project and had found it!

 

 

CrossFit has all the ingredients that I was looking for: the intensity, the interaction between people and the raw quality of the environment and the equipment that enhances the emotional charge of the images.

Also, I had a free pass to shoot, thanks to the amazing friendliness of the instructors and members at Ironbox, who have been putting up with me for the past few months!

 

I had seen (and felt) some really strong fitness programs before, but this was a whole new level, mostly because of the variety and high intensity of the workouts.

“What is CrossFit?” is answered in many articles all over the internet, including this one (in Portuguese), on the In Shape website. But I prefer to use photographs to show the dedication, the intensity, the sacrifice and the power of these athletes.

You can see more of my CrossFit photos in this gallery - Life In a Box - which will be updated as I go along.

Vanessa Pereira - The girl behind the athlete

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It was a great day, the one I met up with Vanessa for a cup of coffee to discuss “making a few pictures for her”.

Not only did the (5x) triathlon national champion give me total creative freedom, but she also agreed to let me turn this into a longer project, with several sessions in different situations, that would illustrate the girl besides the athlete. An irresistible challenge for me!

Over the next few weeks, expect to see a lot of triathlon photos both here and on my social media. So get ready!