ITU Photographer’s Best of 2017 Gallery: Tommy Zaferes

15 December, 2017

At ITU, we are so lucky to work with some of the best triathlon photographer's in the world. Capturing events such as the World Triathlon Series, World Cups and the Multisport World Championships, their images showcase the beauty and power of our sport. So we are so pleased to draw the attention over to them and put them in the spotlight to allow them to share with triathlon fans across the globe what their favourite photos were from the 2017 season.

This week we are so pleased to showcase the work of our newest photographer to join the ITU team, Tommy Zaferes!

Tommy Zaferes (pronounced zah-fear-es) is the newest member of the ITU Media Team. Zaferes swam at the USA Olympic trials in 2008, took a year leave from sport and began his ITU career in 2010. While he still travels and trains full time with his wife (WTS star Katie Zaferes), and occasionally races himself at the ITU "cup level", his main focus has shifted into the sports photography world. Both Tommy's parents were wedding photographers, so he grew up around photography, but it wasn’t until Christmas 2015 when Katie bought him his first camera and his new passion took off.

Most recently Zaferes has spent the 2017 season “interning” with the other ITU photographers and helping to provide athletes with content to showcase themselves and triathlon to the world. For the final World Cups of the 2017 season (Tongyeong and Miyazaki) Zaferes worked as the official ITU photographer.

Zaferes’ explains his style as "storytelling”. He enjoys the challenge of capturing an individual image, from a unique perspective, that makes the viewer feel like they're experiencing the moment in real life.

Here is a collection of fifteen photos that Zaferes has selected to showcase from the 2017 season. Enjoy the gallery and make sure to see his past, present and future work shared on the @worldtriathlon social media channels and follow Zaferes on Instagram and twitter @TZaferes.

ITU Photographer’s Best of 2017 Gallery: Tommy Zaferes
As a triathlon fan, a sprint finish is the most exciting way a WTS season can be kicked off. This moment from Abu Dhabi will forever be imprinted in my mind, not just because Andrea Hewitt sprinting past Jodie Stimpson in the final meters was epic, but I never would have gotten this image from the standard photographers “finish platform”, but because I went the wrong way heading to the finish area I ended up on the VIP deck and had the perfect angle.
ITU Photographer’s Best of 2017 Gallery: Tommy Zaferes
I like this image from Abu Dhabi because it seems to suspend the urgency that ITU athletes experience when first coming out of T1. A bike mount can make or break a race, and capturing a moment like this without the athlete looking awkward is actually quite a challenge.
ITU Photographer’s Best of 2017 Gallery: Tommy Zaferes
Normally the ocean is a beautiful setting for color photos, but at the World Cup in New Plymouth, New Zealand the weather was completely grey, cold and rainy. Seeing the rocky background (which was also dark grey) I knew in advance this image was going to be black and white. The combination of black and white and the fact it was low tide and the athletes looked like the were running on the water made for a powerful visual.
ITU Photographer’s Best of 2017 Gallery: Tommy Zaferes
“When a fan yells ‘Good job, you’re almost done!’ On the first lap of the bike…” In Gold Coast I ended up having to stand in the same area for the entire race and I was afraid I wasn’t going to get any show stopping images. But that all changed when Jonas Shomburg rode through transition and for a split second looked directly at me. After he rode past I just prayed I got the shot. When I reviewed the image I actually let out a verbal “Oh, nice!&q
ITU Photographer’s Best of 2017 Gallery: Tommy Zaferes
Yokohama was the coldest, rainiest, most challenging event of the year to shoot. Because my cameras were getting wetter and wetter throughout the race some of the functions stopped working and I wasn’t able to review any photos I was taking. I knew from earlier on that most of the pictures I had were fairly dark and showcasing the rain, so I decided to over expose some shots to make the day feel brighter and try and get rid of massive drops that were dominating all my previous pics.
ITU Photographer’s Best of 2017 Gallery: Tommy Zaferes
Taking advantage of random pockets of light is one of my favorite things to experiment with. The Yokohama run course has tons of trees and bushes which creates a really cool contrasting environment.
ITU Photographer’s Best of 2017 Gallery: Tommy Zaferes
I have trained with Mario and Richard since 2013 so being able to photograph their epic accomplishments means a lot to me. Not only is this an awesome “champagne shower” photo, it gives the viewer a glimpse into the personalities of both these athletes.
ITU Photographer’s Best of 2017 Gallery: Tommy Zaferes
No one gets quite as excited to see a puddle as a photographer. Every puddle I see before a race exponentially ups my excitement and gets my creativity juices flowing.
ITU Photographer’s Best of 2017 Gallery: Tommy Zaferes
The only negative to a puddle pic is that you have to wait in the same spot, typically in an uncomfortable position, for the exact split-second that the moment you’ve been imagining happens.
ITU Photographer’s Best of 2017 Gallery: Tommy Zaferes
It was so crowded in Montreal that for this shot I had to get to the top of the “walkway bridge” 30 minutes before the start of the race. Once I established my spot the crowds filled in around me. The other challenge from this position was that the clouds kept changing every second, which changed the shot I was envisioning. Luckily when the gun went off no one bumped me, and the dark clouds didn’t suffocate the picturesque scene.
ITU Photographer’s Best of 2017 Gallery: Tommy Zaferes
When I walked past this random driveway/garage in Montreal, the idea for this shot immediately popped into my mind. The hardest part of executing it was not knowing when the athlete was coming, and getting them in focus as they passed this small opening at 40kph. Somehow I managed to get this image first try.
ITU Photographer’s Best of 2017 Gallery: Tommy Zaferes
Stockholm has some seriously amazing buildings and architecture, yet my favorite photo from that race was using the shadows from those buildings to get this image.
ITU Photographer’s Best of 2017 Gallery: Tommy Zaferes
In Rotterdam there were so many world championship races on the same course it was challenging to come up with unique photos. I made it my mission for the elite races to try and get photos that no other photographers had, and to go places on the course no other photographers were.
ITU Photographer’s Best of 2017 Gallery: Tommy Zaferes
Individual diving pictures (opposed to mass start shots) are an art in themselves because to get the unique angles which make them special and different the photographer has to be in a very specific position when the racers are heading in. Tongyeong World Cup was my first ever event as the official ITU photographer so I was able to position myself out of the way of the racers and get a shot I’ve never been able to get before.
ITU Photographer’s Best of 2017 Gallery: Tommy Zaferes
I’ve always wanted a photo of myself grabbing water from an aid station. There’s just something about the action that is trapped in that split second that says so much. In Miyazaki I made it my goal to get an aid station photo that if I were the subject of the photo I would be stoked.