While most of the of journalists who covered the Winter Olympics went home once the games ended, Chang Lee remained to cover the Paralympics, the games for athletes with impairments.
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — After parking his car at the Paralympics Alpine skiing venue, Chang W. Lee climbed 40 steep steps, scaled a hill with an imposing gradual incline, passed through security, climbed some more steps, walked up another hill, climbed two more sets of metal steps labeled “Caution: Slippery Surface,” trudged across a flat expanse of snow, scaled another small hill to ride a chair lift, climbed still more slippery steps, trudged across more snow and then finally lumbered down a ramp.
Chang Lee, a staff photographer for The New York Times, recounts how he covers the drama, the spectacle and a unified Korean team at the Winter Olympics.
Chang W. Lee cried as he photographed the opening of the Winter Olympic Games.
He had grown up in Busan, South Korea, where his parents rarely spoke about the war that cleaved his homeland in two. His mother had fled the North, leaving behind family members; his paternal uncle was never seen again after being taken prisoner by the North. In elementary school, his teachers had him draw posters and write essays against the communists.
Being a top photographer at the Olympics takes meticulous planning, razor-sharp instincts, visual virtuosity and the ability to recognize drama – attributes that Chang Lee, a staff photographer for The New York Times, has in abundance. This week, he is in Rio de Janeiro covering his eighth Olympic Games. Despite that experience, he says he has found it more difficult to shoot each successive trip.
Making a different picture is one thing, but making a great picture is another.
You can use techniques like slow shutter speeds that will make photos look different, but the best pictures are always about the human story. For me, the best picture doesn’t necessarily have to be different. The Olympics is about enduring hardships for one goal, for that one moment
Chang W. Lee, a staff photographer for The New York Times, aspires to a 1.000 average. “In the playoffs, you have to succeed 10 times out of 10,” said Mr. Lee, 42, who has covered all of the New York Yankees’ postseason games since 1996.
