Olympic Level Sports Photography

Outex was started by two outdoor enthusiast photographers, including an Olympic swimmer, JR deSouza, who competed in Barcelona in 1992 in 3 different events.  You can learn more about him here. 

Photo credit @Brett Stanley

JR and his cousin Roberto both loved photography from an early age, and were both water & outdoorsmen. JR grew up swimming, surfing, and water skiing, while Roberto, who is a mechanical engineer, loved hiking and camping. Roberto developed the original Outex concept in his garage out of necessity, and the desire to develop a better outdoor and underwater housing system for camera gear. JR and Roberto collaborated on the idea and patented several inventions associated with the product. Outex's intellection property has been growing ever since, as has its following.

Because of its athletic background and connections, Outex has been actively involved with Olympic athletes as well as photographers looking for ways to improve their imaging capabilities in any environmental condition.

Because Outex is lightweight, compact, and travel friendly, it's ideal for sports photography. It's super travel friendly, so it's easy to transport. And it's universally compatible, so a content creator can make the same Outex Pro Kit work for multiple/different cameras and lenses for different situations. It's a super versatile and convenient solution.

As a result, Outex is used by professionals from around the world in all types of Atheltic situations, including the Olympic Games. Several Outex customers and ambassadors representing multiple countries and publications have been to several Olympics, Tour de France, World Championships, and other world-class sporting events making historical movements unforgettable. 

@Jonne Roriz 

"Outex was in part inspired by my Olympic swimming background and experiences. And watching the games is exciting enough for the inspiring, jaw-dropping performances by the athletes themselves. As you can imagine many of my old friends and acquaintances have become coaches, administrators, or now have kids competing at that level.  Some of my coaches are coaching today's top athletes still. And now, adding the photography dimension has been increasingly rewarding, as the number of Outex-related sports photographers lending their skills to the Olympic story-telling continues to grow. Their perspective makes it that much more fun to watch - specially in a year without spectators.  I can't get enough." (Outex co-founder JR deSouza)

@Satiro Sodre

Several sports photographers have become Outex friends over the years.  Some work for top publications in various countries around the world in both sports and photojournalism; swimming, diving, sailing, triathlon, athletics, newspapers, blogs, and sports.  Examples include Jonne Roriz, Olivier Morin, Bryan Keane, Satiro Sodre, Jack Spitzer, and Mike Lewis, representing various countries like Brazil, France, Ireland, the UK, and the United States.  We're lucky to count on their input, feedback, and constructive criticism over the years. And some of this feedback makes its way into our innovation and patented design. You can visit their profiles in our Ambassadors pages, with links to their profiles and social media.

@Olivier Morin

 

@Olivier Morin

Like many of the athletes, many of these professionals have fascinating stories themselves.  Varied backgrounds and paths that lead them into where they are today. Interestingly, some of them began their careers as athletes themselves.  Jack Spitzer was a collegiate swimmer, and Bryan Keane competed as a triathlete for Ireland at the Rio Olympics before switching sides behind the camera.

 

@Bryan Keane

@ Bryan Keane 

@Bryan Keane 

@ Bryan Keane

In addition to profiles, we have featured some of these stories in our Blog and Outdoor Photo Series (OPS).  You can watch a 45 minute interview with Bryan Keane on our OPS page to hear about his path from athletics into story-telling and photojournalism. As he tells it, some of the distinct advantages of a former athlete turned photographer includes

• An inherent trust from past relationships with current competitors and coaching staff
• Insight and access to backstories and behind the scenes details
• Foresight into points of interest, routines, or races that may result in dramatic, game-changing, or decisive stages of the event in question

And those perspectives often carry into additional sports as well, in both obvious and sometimes less obvious ways.  For example, a triathlete will obviously have above-average instincts for swimming, biking, and running, which carries into multiple other sports.  But they can also appreciate the blood, sweat, and tears that have paved the way to most competitors at this level in any event.

 

 

@Cameron Spencer 

Reversely, the same characteristics that may give former athletes insights, can work as biases or blind-spots to the beauty and the agony of summer Olympic sports from a spectator's perspective.  The most memorable images often need no context, explanation, or even backstory, precisely because the capture the essence of the summer games spirit.