In 2026, seventy years after the Winter Olympics were last held in Cortina, Getty Images photographers took to the slopes with vintage Graflex 4x5 press cameras adapted for modern digital capture and transmission using ObscuraFlex.
I was first contacted by Ryan Pierse, Chief Sports Photographer for Getty Images in November 2025. He wanted to put together three full ObscuraFlex large format digital adapter kits, including sourcing three vintage 4x5 cameras... by January.
At the time I didn't connect the dots, but of course he and his team were gearing up to shoot the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics for Getty.
It's been 70 years since the Winter Olympics were held in Cortina... so Ryan gave his team a challenge: Use period accurate vintage cameras... for realtime sports photography... with the whole world watching.
After a few emails back and forth Ryan decided to get three Graflex 4x5 Crown Graphics, and equip each with a dedicated iPhone 17 Pro and its own ObscuraFlex large format digital adapter back.
In addition to all the features we know and love about the Graflex (tilt-shift, vintage lenses, shallow depth-of-field, and so on) by using an iPhone Pro camera as a substitute for film the team were able to shoot back-to-back events and deliver results in close to real time, editing and transmitting images in seconds. They could shoot as rapidly as they liked, with whatever modern advantages they cared to employ. Tools like RAW and HDR, even slow-mo video were obviously nowhere to be found in 1956.
This process is of course a far cry from the process used seventy years earlier; carrying stacks of 4x5 film holders, maybe taking minutes to set up each shot, shooting one picture at a time, processing negatives on-location, and so-on.
"It’s a reminder that each image can be a deliberate choice and not just a burst." - Pauline Ballet, Getty Photographer (quote from PhotoTrend)
The demands of today's time-sensitive sports and event photography makes shooting even 35mm film a non-starter. With time-consuming processing and scanning adding hours (or days) to the turnaround.
Learning curve aside, some specific challenges included sub-zero temperatures, condensation (causing either fogging and ice crystals), dimly lit indoor events, and of course some extremely fast-moving subjects.
The resulting homage to the photography of a bygone era is technically impressive, frequently stunning, and deeply refreshing in a genre usually obsessed with maximum sharpness and resolution.
"It doesn’t look like it was captured today; it looks like it was captured years ago..." – Paul Gilham* Getty Images Senior Director of Photography
In retrospect I wish I had known the scale of the challenge Ryan and the team were undertaking. I think I would have suggested some longer lenses than the 135mm f4.7 Graflex stock lenses used. A 200mm f2.8 Buhl projector lens (aka: the poor man's Aero-Ektar) for example would have provided an extra couple of stops of exposure while getting closer to the action. But then again... that wouldn't have been true to the mission of period accurate equipment.
Getty Images Director of Sports Content Matthias Hangst* described the workflow as bringing “a little bit of imperfection in a perfect world” and I wholeheartedly agree. This is exactly what I love about the decision to use ObscuraFlex to capture an event like this. Being able to use these vintage cameras in almost the same way we use digital cameras today is a compelling reason to use ObscuraFlex.
The Graflex idea was just one part of Getty Images' brave experiment in using both cutting-edge and vintage photography to record the Games in a fresh and exciting way. In addition to the Graflex idea, they used thermal imaging, infrared photography, and multiple-exposure layering to create some really stunning shots and getting a fair amount of acclaim in the world of sports photography and photography in general (see press links below). Amy Davies from Amateur Photographer went so far as to say "I hate sport, but I’m totally in love with these gorgeous photos from the Winter Olympics".
Congratulations to Everyone Involved!
Hats off to Ryan Pierse, Pauline Ballet, Hector Vivas, David Ramos, Matthias Hangst, Paul Gilham, and everyone at Getty Images. They took a high-stakes creative and technical risk on this unique concept, and it really paid off. Seeing Graflex cameras return to mainstream press coverage is something I never expected to see, let alone help make possible. I am honored to have been part of the process.
Curious About the Equipment?
The Getty Images team used three vintage Graflex Crown Graphics equipped with ObscuraFlex large format digital adapter systems and iPhone 17 Pro cameras. If you'd like to learn more about the workflow, start here.
The Photography
To see 200+ images by @ryanpierse and his colleagues from the Winter Olympics, go to gettyimages.com
For the 100+ images by @davidramosgetty from the Winter Paralympics, go to gettyimages.com
Press Coverage
TheGuardian.com — Back to the future: a vintage look at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics – in pictures.
PhotoTrend — Interview: From infrared to Graflex, Pauline Ballet and Getty Images offer an alternative perspective on the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics by Louis Royer
PetaPixel — Three Photographers Captured the Winter Olympics Like Never Before by Jeremy Gray
“It has this very vintage, very old feel — you look at the imagery we create using it and it immediately takes you back. It doesn’t look like it was captured today; it looks like it was captured years ago, which brings a kind of timeless element to it that you just don’t get through the really clean digital photography that we see nowadays.” *
— Paul Gilham, Getty Images’ Senior Director of Global Sports Content
Amateur Photographer — I hate sport, but I’m totally in love with these gorgeous photos from the Winter Olympics by Amy Davies