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O, Canada

The 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver were Bernard Brault's 9th Olympic adventure. He knows the ropes, and he knows just where to be to get the best photo opportunities. And he always takes his Lowepro pack along.

Bernard Brault is a staff photographer for La Presse in Montreal, one of the largest French language dailies. His assignments include sports, politics, current events, food and even fashion. And through it all, he focuses on conveying the ingredients that make his images memorable: humor and emotion.

In his 33-year career, Brault has covered nine different Olympics, from the Lillehammer Games in 1994 to the most recent 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, where he found some favorite memories as well as challenging conditions.

In the 2010 Games in Vancouver, it rained almost constantly during the mountain events he covered, making just getting into position tough. Fortunately, his past Olympic experiences had given him keen insight as to where the best photo opportunities would be, an advantage he had over some of the less experienced photographers.

Being a staff photographer for a daily publication brought its own set of challenges. With Montreal three hours ahead of Vancouver time, and many of the events lasting until late into the night, it took some fast maneuvering to make the next day's edition.

In all, Brault shot over 24,000 pictures. While his job required him to remain objective, his images are filled with emotion — like the one of Jasey Jay Anderson, gold medalist in the Men's Snowboard Parallel Slalom, during the touching medal ceremony. The day's competition had been fraught with adversity — severe cold, rain, even hail — plus it was Anderson's last competition of his career. But after getting his medal, Anderson reached down and gathered his two daughters in his arms. He closed his eyes and beamed with joy. It was a moment — one that Brault captured for the world.

And then there was the Men's Hockey final. Spoken like a true Canadian,

“That was the cherry on the sundae for us,”

says Brault. And even though he missed seeing Canada's last-minute winning goal, he was down on the ice for the presentation of the medals to document the elation of this home-turf win.

Perhaps the most touching moment was when Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette stole our hearts — and the bronze medal — with a highly emotional performance just days after losing her mother. Brault again showed his mastery, finding the right moment, the perfect angle and capturing an image that speaks volumes.

So many great Olympic moments have been preserved in Brault's images — the excitement, the courage, the color and the emotion. From the opening ceremonies at Lillehammer, to the first Canadian gold medal won on Canadian soil by mogul skier Alexandre Bilodeau, all the way through the closing ceremonies in Vancouver; he is now almost as much a part of Olympic history as those he has photographed.

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Bernards' Gear

“When I shoot skiers on the snow hill, I use my Toploader Pro 75 AW to carry my Nikon D3S with a 70-200mm F2.8 zoom. It makes skiing down the hill very easy and it's really quick to get to my camera. The skiers don't want to loose time when there is a lot of fresh powder!!

The ProRoller x200 is the best carry-on case I have ever used. It's perfect to carry two bodies and couple lens when you travel by plane. It fits perfectly above my seat. I've never had a problem carrying it with me.

Depending on the assignment, I also rely on my Lens Trekker 600 AW and my Stealth Reporter D200 AW.”

Bernard Brault