We have closed the book on the Rio Summer Olympics, but there were images captured during the 16 days of competition that will live on for a long time. Agencies like Getty, the Associated Press and more sent huge groups of photographers, editors and technicians to Brazil to ensure that they would capture the best possible images. Wires, cables and robots were installed and set up weeks and months in advance; the planning stage dates back years. So what did all of this hard work produce? A ton of fantastic photos, and below you can see some of the best.

While there are only a handful of images in this article, Getty alone averaged around 83,000 shots per day. Over the course of the Olympiad, that’s over 1.3 million images! All of which are transferred via 62 miles of fiber optic cables, allowing Getty to move images from capture to client in under a minute, according to their Vice President of Sports Ken Mainardis. Getty even enlisted the help of underwater robots to capture iconic images from Rio’s pools.

But that’s enough background on how it was all accomplished: Just sit back and scroll through the excellent images below!

Volleyball #rio2016 #olympics ��

A photo posted by The Olympic Games (@olympics) on

Aug 17, 2016 at 4:47pm PDT

You can see more excellent images from the 2016 Olympics in this article at Fstoppers. To read about some of the most popular photographic equipment used to shoot the games, see here. While not laying down as much cable as Getty, the Associated Press had a lot of prep work to do as well.

(Seen via Fstoppers. Index image)

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As the sporting world closes the book on the Rio 2016 Olympics, the images captured during the 16 days of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad will live on. How were these images captured? We know that around 70% of photographers captured the Olympics with Canon gear and that zoom lenses were a popular optic of choice. We also know that Getty enlisted the help of underwater robots to capture iconic swimming images. And thanks to a new video from the Associated Press, we now know the technology they utilized in Rio, too.

With eight robots, dozens of remote cameras and 61 photographers in Brazil, the AP was well-prepared to capture the images seen around the world. Each day, they selected around 3,500 shots to distribute. The images were remotely captured and transferred via 35 miles of cable which took a month to install. After traveling via the networks, 16 photo editors sorted through the images to pick out the winners.

You can get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how the Associated Press captured the Rio Olympics in the video below.

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If you’ve watched any of the Rio Olympics, you’ve surely seen a ton of white lenses along the sidelines of the biggest events. A Canon survey from earlier this week found that an average of 70% of professional photographers on assignment in Brazil are using Canon equipment. Canon Professional Services (CPS)Â along with over 70 trained technicians and support staff have been providing services to Canon shooters in Rio this month.

The CPS team has been tracking the gear they’ve been loaning out and provided us with the top 10 list of most loaned products this week in Rio. The most loaned product? Canon’s latest flagship DSLR, the EOS-1D X Mark II, which has been loaned out 362 times from August 6-10. Not to be forgotten, its predecessor is still being heavily used in Rio, coming in at the sixth-most loaned piece of equipment with 123 loans.

The Canon EOS-1D X Mark II proved to be a very popular request by CPS shooters in Rio this week. Not ready to retire just yet, the original 1DX still proved quite popular, as well.Â

Versatility is clearly the focus for professional sports photographers these days as three of the four most popular lenses are zoom lenses rather than the exotic prime telephotos that often fill the press boxes of major sporting events. Save for one additional loan of the 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens, the top three most-borrowed lenses by CPS professionals would’ve been zooms. The top dog was the EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x telephoto zoom optic which was loaned out 231 times. The venerable 70-200mm focal length is still very popular as this was the second-most popular lens, far ahead of the 400mm.

The most popular lens, the EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x, offers photographers a lot of telephoto versatility with its 2x zoom and built-in 1.4x teleconverter.

Somewhat surprising to me was the inclusion of a fisheye lens, although we know that it has seen some use in Rio’s swimming pools, along with the aid of underwater robots. For the full list and number of loans CPS made from August 6 through August 10, see below:

1. EOS-1D X Mark II (loaned 362 times)Â

2. EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x (231)

3. EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM (211)

4. EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM (131)

5. EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM (130)

6. EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM (126)

7. EOS 1D-X (123)

8. EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM (105)

9. EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM (84)

10. EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM (77)

Canon Professional Services clearly has a massive arsenal of equipment on hand in Rio. For more information on the highly popular Canon 1DX Mark II which has been capturing many memorable images in Brazil, see our review of the DSLR.

Canon storeroom in Rio. Image credit: CPS

Readers, are there any surprises on the list for you above? What do you think a top 10 most-loaned gear list would look like for the other camera manufacturers? Let us know in the comments below.

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Getty Images photographer Al Bello is well-known for his sports photography, having been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Fox Sports, Yahoo Sports, New York Times and many more publications over his career. At this year’s Olympics in Rio, Bello’s 11th Olympic Games, he enlisted the help of underwater robots.

Reuters utilized underwater robot cameras to photograph swimming during the 2012 London Olympics, but this is Getty’s first rodeo with the technology. Speaking to CNN about underwater photography, Bello remarked that the robot has helped remove some of the guesswork. With a “submerged static remote camera, you’d have to visualize the photos you wanted ahead of time and think about the race and stroke you want to capture. It was limiting…” You couldn’t hop in the pool between heats and adjust your camera if you didn’t like the shots you were getting, but with underwater robotic cameras, you can adjust them in real-time.

Submerged in the high-tech underwater housing is a Canon 1DX Mark II. During a race, Bello stands near the finish line watching a live view from his 1DX II on a camera screen and uses a video game controller to access the camera. Bello and his team all have their SCUBA certification, allowing them to do routine checks on the gear each day. When asked about whether or not a robot may one day diminish the need for human photographers at the Olympics, Bello replied that “The robots are just another tool for me to get better photos. [It] doesn’t think on its own or come up with ideas. But it can help us get photos more efficiently than ever before.”

To see more of Al Bello’s work, visit his website and follow him on Instagram.

Getty Images aren’t the only ones using unique gear to capture photos of Olympic athletes. You should check out what Los Angeles Times photographer Jay Clendenin is up to. He’s been capturing portraits of athletes in Rio using an 8 x 10 inch Tachihara wooden view camera. You can read about his process and see a video here.

(Seen via DIY Photography)

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Photographer Brett Costello had his carry-on luggage packed with $40,000 worth of camera gear cleverly swiped shortly after arriving in Rio last week. The elaborate heist involved multiple people and was well planned out. However, one of the thieves wasn’t intelligent enough to not wear one of Costello’s jackets that he stole.

In what is best described as a massive security failure on the part of personnel on-site at an archery event, the thief walked through security into the event without proper credentials. Coincidentally, Costello was there too and recognized his jacket. He alerted the authorities and the thief was brought to justice as he sat in the press box. You can view the video in this article.

As a reddit user points out, this incident emphasizes the importance of insuring your camera gear and also utilizing LensTag. You can download LensTag for Android or iOS, sign up, add all of the gear you want to protect (with serial numbers and photos of the gear) and your equipment will be more likely to be recovered in the event of theft. Best of all, it’s free, so go check it out!

(Seen via Reddit)

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Every two years I have the good fortune to photograph the Olympic Games for Team USA. As exciting as this is, it also comes with a great deal of responsibility and planning to make sure that I can deliver the best images possible. This means that I need to choose the right equipment to take with me, and I need to prepare both mentally and physically for the long month of work.

I have had many people say to me, “Wow, that is a great photo. You must have an amazing camera.” Well, as any photographer knows, it isn’t the camera that makes the photo, but the person working the camera. Having the right equipment and knowing how to control it, however, can make it easier for you to express what makes your photography unique. In my case, I need the perfect gear for the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

The Gear

The Camera

When photographing the best athletes in the world, it is imperative to have a fast camera that will allow me to fire off many shots per second. I am using the new Canon 1D X Mark II because it will let me shoot at 14 frames per second, and it achieves focus very quickly. You may be wondering why I need to shoot at 14 frames per second: for fast action, it is difficult to time the photo at the very peak of action. Taking numerous sequential photos lets me choose the optimal image where the action is at its best.

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The Memory

Most people do not think about the memory cards and readers that they use in their cameras. But since I am working under very tight deadlines (usually less than 15 minutes after the competition has ended), I need the fastest memory cards I can get. I will be using the new Lexar Professional 3500x CFast cards in my Canon cameras. Using these cards, combined with the new Lexar CR2 CFast readers, I can move massive amounts of data in seconds.

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The Glass

One of the big challenges of the Olympic Games is that there are so many different sports to capture, and many of these sports requires different lenses. There are times when I will be mere feet from the athletes, and other times I might be half a mile away. For this reason, I need to have an extensive collection of lenses at my disposal. For most of my close up shooting I will rely on the Canon 16-35mm and the Canon 24-70mm lenses. For mid-range shooting, I will use one of my favorite lenses ever, the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS. For the long-range shooting and events, where I want to get in close, I will rely on the Canon 200-400mm lens. I love that this lens has a built-in teleconverter, allowing me to have one lens that can go effectively from 200mm to 560mm. All of these lenses are very sharp, and I know that they will give me the best quality images for the team and for my portfolio.

Also, since the action happens so quickly, there is no time to change from a long lens to a wide lens in the middle of a competition. For that reason, I will have two Canon 1D X Mark II cameras with me at all times, one with a wide lens and one with a long lens pre-mounted.

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The Settings

When photographing smaller events at home, I usually prefer to shoot in aperture priority mode, since this lets me determine the depth of field while allowing the camera to set my shutter speed. But at the Olympics, we generally have very consistent lighting in the venues, so I will shoot in manual mode. When trying to freeze the action, I will keep my shutter speed at a minimum of 1/1000th sec. Remember, these athletes are the best of the best, and move much faster than your high school kids at a track and field event. However, there are other times when I want to be more creative (after I have my “safe shots”), and I will slow the shutter speed way down (maybe 1/50th sec) and try motion panning with the athletes.

Like any other photos, focus is critical. For 90% of my photography in Rio, I will be in AI Servo focus, having the camera and lens tracking my subject for me. This is critical for any athlete moving toward or away from me. I also use a technique called “back button focusing” when I shoot. This takes the auto focus off of the shutter release button and puts it on a separate button on the back of the camera. This way I have more control of when the camera is focusing, and it allows me to easily focus and recompose.

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The Accessories

Of course, I have to bring a lot more than just the cameras and lenses to an event this big. I have to have the right camera bags, computer equipment, and other accessories to perform my job. I will have my ThinkTank backpack and ThinkTank rolling bag to hold most of my gear. I will have my MacBook Pro laptop, with Photo Mechanic and Photoshop installed, to handle all my workflow.

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To speed up my retouching, I will bring a small Wacom Intuos Pro tablet so I don’t have to use the laptop’s trackpad the whole time. I rely on my Gitzo monopods to save my back when using the longer lenses, so much so that I bring two of them in case I were to lose one. Even though the Olympics do not allow tripods or flash to be used during any event, I always bring these along with me. I use the Canon 600 EX-RT flash during the press events before and after the competition, and I use my Gitzo travel tripod for night shooting outside of the Olympic venues.

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What gear do you favor for major events? Share with us below.

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Jeff Cable is a San Francisco-based photographer and photography instructor, best known for his striking collection of images captured at the 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014 Olympic games. Learn more about his work and courses at www.jeffcable.com. Also, follow along with Jeff during the Olympics over at his Blog.

(All images copyright Jeff Cable Photography.)

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