Long Jump

"I Am..." An Olympic Long Jumper

He's at the top of his game, which is a good job when you consider that jumping is his living.

JJ Jegede is one of Britain's elite competing at this years Olympic Games in London with high hopes to take home the gold in the Long Jump event. Twice English Champion and 2012 UK Indoor Champion, if JJ isn't leaping over three minis or twelve brides, he's coaching and mentoring as a personal trainer and speaker.

Being born less than one mile from what is now the Olympic park, and his first passion being athletics, JJ has his sights firmly set on achieving his dreams of a gold medal at his home ground. With an incredible personal best of 8.04 metres in the long jump i'm sure we'll all be cheering him on come the summer. You can check out his personal website here.

I was lucky enough to get in contact with JJ and arrange a photoshoot for the "I Am..." Series. An honour to meet and feature someone at the height of their career, I was out on location all day to grab just five minutes shooting time with JJ because of his hectic schedule.

That in mind, I needed to be quick and organised. Simple three light setup and a good chance to test out my Elinchrom Quadra kit with the Deep Octa. The athletics track was undergoing refurbishment ahead of the this years games, so I wanted to shoot wide open at F2.8 on my 70-200mm lens to minimise any distracting objects and keep the focus on JJ.

Silver reflector inside the octa, no diffusion, two kickers (speedlites @ 1/4 Power, 105mm) and wide open with a Tiffen 77mm VariND filter (set at ND4) we have our first frame in a matter of minutes, job well done.

Really enjoyed my brief time shooting with JJ, and after suggesting a few creative ideas it had us both inspired to do more. Fingers crossed in the summer we'll be able to do a full shoot together, albeit this time with a gold medal around his neck. Rooting for you JJ!

Athletics and photography go hand in hand. If anyone is reading this and is interested in being featured for the "I Am..." series, feel free to get in touch.