It isn’t always easy doing something that hasn’t been done before. When figuring out how to create this rowing book, I’ve spent an awful lot of time making up as I go along. And when I really have no clue as to what the next step is, this is the movie that usually has the answer.

Almost Famous is Cameron Crowe’s semi-autobiographical film about his journey documenting a rock band. I relate to this movie more than I’d like to admit.

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It’s often said that training for the USA national team in Princeton, NJ, is a bit like living in a pressure cooker. The pressure of the training process builds up inside of you, and if you don’t want to explode, you have to find a way to blow off steam. Everyone does it in their own way, and whether it’s just watching TV, playing video games, or hanging out with friends, finding a distraction from the training process is essential to staying sane.

This book will feature a section on “Staying Sane” and here is a preview of the cover page for the staying sane section.

View Rowing Book Preview

Rowing Book Background

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I began photographing the US National Team guys at the Princeton Training Center in June 2006, with the idea of documenting their training leading into the August World Championships in Eton, England. I realized pretty fast that much of the preparation for Worlds had already been done way before I had showed up and I would have to spend more time with the team if I truly wanted to do it right.

So what started as a fun summer idea has now turned into a three year project, and what was supposed to be a simple photo essay is now shaping into a 400 page book, developed out of 97,000 pictures and 40 interviews, each about 3 hours in length.

The photo-documentary is now in its final stages. I have to choose and get approval for the individual quotes taken from the interviews, and finish laying out the book. Oh, and also come up with a title. Yes, it’s still a lot of work, but I can finally see the finish line now, and that’s a relief.

For some background, the book follows 16 people, 8 lightweights and 8 heavyweights (one of whom is Mike Teti) from 2006 through the beginning of 2009. The book consists of lots of behind-the-scenes photographs and lots of quotes. It’s not meant to be a glory book by any means. Instead it’s a book about the realities of training for the Olympics. This means looking at on the water training, VO2 max testing, erg testing, injuries, seatracing, making the boat, not making the boat, winning races, losing races, getting married, having children, earning money, etc. The full experience, through the eyes of 16 different people.

I know many people have been waiting patiently for a very long time for the book to come out. So I have decided that every other Monday, starting next week, I will be offering a sneak peak at the book. Basically a one or two page preview of the final book, which should be coming out in January 2010, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

In the meantime, I’m still taking title suggestions . . .

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