Most of what passes for “content” these days is disposable. Made fast, optimized for whatever invisible math decides what people see today, and forgotten about five minutes later.
That never interested me much.
I’m Kennyatta, and what I care about are the stories that stick. The ones rooted in culture, in places, in the messy, contradictory reality of how people actually live, work, and make things.
Curiosity: How does an Olympian get ready to compete again? Category: Photography
Working with Alysha Newman and photographing moments during one of her training sessions before her return to competition was a sobering reminder that success stems from intentional action and is never an isolated effort.
That day’s training session focused on reacclimating her body to the demands of training after taking some time off following her Bronze Medal win at this year’s Summer Olympic Games where she earned team Canada their first medal in Pole Vaulting. As we were going through her training Alysha explained to us how essential it is not to shock the system back into routine but instead to reawaken it properly. In doing so, you reconnect with the physical and mental sensations of the process. At this level of competition, the interplay between mental and physical connectedness can’t be overlooked.
For the training, I aimed to capture moments that could tell the story of the entire day on their own—or, when combined with one or two other photographs, narrate the complete experience.
I drew inspiration from Nike advertisements, especially the newer ones with slogans that emphasize “WINNING ISN’T FOR EVERYONE”.
I also thought of training montages from sports movies, something I’ve always loved for how effectively they reveal everything about the athlete: their motivations, inspirations, and the hard work behind their success.
I wanted these photographs to feel like stills from a real-life montage about an Olympian returning to claim it all.
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