There are few things that delight me more than the Olympics. I’m a sucker for the stories and the fanfare and the ceremony of it all. I just have to hear Jimmy Roberts voice and I get goose bumps.

So, over the next two weeks, my DVR will be full of hockey, snowboarding, skeleton & speed skating. I love cheering for Team USA, but this year I have a friend from Finland who will be participating in the games, the captain of the Dallas Stars (and my favorite hockey player) is playing for Team Canada and I have no doubt Jimmy will tell a story about someone whose name none of us know – and the story will tug my heart and ask me to cheer for them as well, no matter their homeland.

JereJere Lehtinen will be playing in his 5th Winter Olympics for Team Finland.

You can imagine my excitement when the Dallas Stars called two weeks ago, asking me to shoot their four Olympians. I knew immediately that I wanted a simple setup because time – and patience – would be in short supply. But more than anything, I wanted something simple because I wanted the colors of their country (and the pride these guys take in wearing them) to be the focus of the images.

I used a 9′ seamless roll (in the very versatile arctic white) & a couple of mono heads. I love how the white turns gray from lack of exposure. It seemed the perfect way to show off the sweaters & the pride.  Needless to say, these are my favorite images from the day.

My thanks to Jere, Brenden, Karlis & Loui – and to the Stars who are graciously allowing me provide you with the following desktops. Just click on the size you want and enjoy.

Brenden Morrow – Team Canada

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Karlis Skrastins – Team Latvia

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Jere Lehtinen – Team Finland

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Loui Eriksson – Team Sweden

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Dallas Stars – The Olympians

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EDIT: It seems that people using Internet Explorer were having some issues. I have made a few changes to the images & the links. Please let me know if there are still any issues.