I hate sport, but I’m totally in love with these gorgeous photos from the Winter Olympics

Amy Davies
Amy Davies 17 February 2026 / 10:00 BST
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Even if like me you’ve got absolutely no interest in anything sport related, you probably won’t have failed to notice that the Winter Olympics are currently in full swing.

And though I’ve got no interest and no real knowledge of what’s going on in any given event, I’ve been awe-struck by some of the seriously gorgeous photography that I’ve been seeing over the past couple of weeks.

Perhaps in a world where perfect photos are often seen as being “too real” or more worryingly, likely to have been created by AI, sports and news photographers are looking for new and inventive ways to make their reportage stand out.

As such, there’s some beautiful techniques on display in the images below. I’m not here to comment on the sporting prowess on any of the athletes involved (I’m confident they’re all highly skilled and wonderful people), but the photography is pure beauty.

There’s the photographers who have been capturing high-speed events using motion blur for some lovely colourful abstracts. There’s some who have been using interesting image capture devices with a twist, such as infrared or thermal imaging cameras.

Layering together multiple frames to give the appearance of many athletes in one place is a lot of fun, while creatively incorporating things like lens flare gives erm, real flare. I also like the shots which show just a small detail of a sport – such as the edge of a skating blade.

My favourite though has to be the photographer who’s using a vintage Graflex camera – the type of camera that would likely have been used the last time the Olympics were hosted in Cortina, Italy (1956). The cameras have been adapted to allow for the recording of images on smartphones so that we can see the results instantly.

So there we have it, scroll down to see some amazing images – and keep an eye out for some more creativity as the rest of the Olympics progresses for the rest of this week.

An athlete participates in slopestyle training on day minus two of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Livigno Snow Park on February 04, 2026 in Livigno, Italy. “Back to the Future” is a series of images captured using vintage Graflex cameras, paying tribute to the type of camera that would have been used 70 years ago when Cortina previously hosted the games in 1956. In a modern twist, these cameras have been adapted to record images on smartphones, enabling live transmission of the content captured. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
A Luge athlete trains on day minus one of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Cortina Sliding Centre on February 05, 2026 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. “Winter Heat” is a series of images taken using a thermal imaging camera to show the extremities of temperature experienced by athletes at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. (Photo by Ryan/Getty Images)
Mathilde Gremaud of Team Switzerland competes during the Women’s Freestyle Slopestyle Qualification on day one of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Livigno Snow Park on February 07, 2026 in Livigno, Italy. “Infrared” is a series of pictures taken at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics with mirrorless cameras that have been modified to capture the electromagnetic spectrum beyond what’s visible to the human eye. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
Stefan Babinsky of Team Austria competes during the Men’s Team Combined Downhill on day three of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at Stelvio Alpine Skiing Centre on February 09, 2026 in Bormio, Italy. “Infrared” is a series of pictures taken at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics with mirrorless cameras that have been modified to capture the electromagnetic spectrum beyond what’s visible to the human eye. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
Competitors on track during Men’s Doubles Luge Training on day four of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Cortina Sliding Centre on February 10, 2026 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. “Back to the Future” is a series of images captured using vintage Graflex cameras, paying tribute to the type of camera that would have been used 70 years ago when Cortina previously hosted the games in 1956. In a modern twist, these cameras have been adapted to record images on smartphones, enabling live transmission of the content captured. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Ice skate detail photographed in Men’s Single Skating – Short Program on day four of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 10, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Joosep Martinson/Getty Images)
General view of the Women’s Snowboard Halfpipe Final on day six of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Livigno Snow Park on February 12, 2026 in Livigno, Italy. “Layers of the Games” shows, through the combination of multiple images from a fixed camera, the quickfire drama that unfolds in a game or a day of competition during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics Games. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
Vilho Palosaari of Team Finland jumps during the Men’s Large Hill Individual Trial Round on day eight of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium on February 14, 2026 in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Laurence Fournier Beaudry and partner Guillaume Cizeron of Team France compete in the Ice Dance – Rhythm Dance on day zero of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 06, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Joosep Martinson/Getty Images)
Ruka Hirano of Team Japan States warms up prior to the Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe Qualification on day five of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Livigno Snow Park on February 11, 2026 in Livigno, Italy. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

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Amy Davies

Amy Davies

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