Olympus Offers Fans Free Photos of 2008 US Open

As every fan of the US Open knows, the DirecTV blimp hovers high overhead at the US Open for the duration of the tournament, broadcasting a unique, birds-eye view of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center below, with a fully-lit Arthur Ashe Stadium as the centerpiece. Now, Olympus offers fans the opportunity to preserve this memory on their own computers.

Olympus, which is a sponsor of the US Open and the title sponsor of the US Open series, wanted to make their images available on usopen.org for fans to download for free, to keep as permanent mementos. Click here to view and download these images.

“It was incredible,” said Steve Woods, CEO and President of EMG3, Olympus' event marketing group, and the photographer who took those pictures. “It was one of the most unique photojournalistic experiences I ever had in my life.”

Capturing these particular photos presented challenges, which makes them even more special and exciting.

“There are only so many ways to do aerial photography,” explained Woods. “At night there’s not a lot of light and photography is about the manipulation of light. When you’re flying in the dark and you’re shooting into the light there are challenges. You need special equipment. Without the right lenses, it would be difficult to capture this much detail.”

However, after eight hours of flying from this one-of-kind vantage point, Woods came away with these breathtaking shots that will now forever preserve the 2008 US Open.