Feb 24th 2017

Location: Crossfit 77

Nikon D750  70-200mm and D600 50mm with Alien Bees Strobes

      Happy Crossfit Open Everyone!!! This year I decided to link up with numerous local boxes and cover their athletes crushing the Open.  17.1  was booked by Crossfit 77. When I first moved here from Northern VA I entered a competition hosted by CF77, however it was a completely different facility. I have followed CF77 for a while on IG and was aware of their outdoor setup. I was hoping that they would utilize that part of their facility for 17.1. Dave Castro announced the workout which consisted of...

Workout 17.1
For time:
10 dumbbell snatches
15 burpee box jump-overs
20 dumbbell snatches
15 burpee box jump-overs
30 dumbbell snatches
15 burpee box jump-overs
40 dumbbell snatches
15 burpee box jump-overs
50 dumbbell snatches
15 burpee box jump-overs

Men use 50-lb. dumbbell and 24-in. box

Women 35-lb DB and 20-in. box

Time cap: 20 minutes

I don't have many images of athletes performing DB snatches so I was very excited for this WOD. When I arrived at the facility I was stoked to see everything setup outdoors. The only decision I had to make was to use strobes or not. For a start time of 5:30pm we were good on light however I knew that I would lose sunlight very quickly. I set my strobes up and fired them off my D750. I would shoot natural light with my D600. I got there a little early so I started testing my settings with a group of athletes knocking out 17.1. The weather was amazing which made the evening perfect.

 Since there were only 2 movements I knew there wouldn't be to many angles to shoot from. CF77 was generous enough to let me use a ladder so that I would be able to shoot over the crowd and get some different viewpoints. There was plenty of room to roam walk around which was great.

After some testing and getting some great shots, it was then time for Friday Night Lights. Ken Crowder had everyone come together and discuss the standards of the workout. It was so great to see so many people coming together to perform the Crossfit Open 2017. So many different fitness levels and a variety of age groups covered. There was a great moment where an athlete asked "OK Ken so what if we arent doing the Open Workout?" Ken responded with .. "Everyone is doing the Open Workout".... HAMMER DROPPED!!!   Once all the standards were covered it was GO TIME!!!!!

Judges Briefing...

The first heat was underway and the lighting was still great. I went back and forth shooting with both bodies. The great thing about 20 min workouts is that there is plenty of time to capture every athlete.

Around the 8-10 min mark it started to get very intense. Crowd started to grow and the atmosphere became more electric. Huge reason why I love shooting Crossfit comps.

 Once the second heat started I realized I would be fighting light. It was time to bump up the ISO on both cameras and let these Nikons go to work.

Below is one of my favorite images of the night... A Coach and Athlete's love for each other!!!!

By the time the final heat started it was very dark. I attached my on camera flash on my D750 also for some additional light. Love how they turned out.

These athletes were crushing 17.1. Remember that athlete I referenced earlier who asked about not doing the Open workout? Well here she is below!!!!

This heat finished it with a bang. Numerous athletes were sprinting at the end to finish under the time cap. It was impressive to watch.

Overall 17.1 was a blast to cover. CF77 showed me so much love and I will for sure schedule a drop in to come and WOD at their facility. With 17.2 just being announced last night, I will be covering at my home box of Crossfit Harrisburg tonight. I plan to blog about each open event I cover so please stay tuned for 17.2 write up. I want to thank the Crossfit community and CF77 for having me and it was a pleasure.

Be blessed everyone

http://www.crossfit77.com/