AMNA NAWAZ: The final ratings for these Olympics aren't in yet, but the Winter Games have been on a solid pace with an average of nearly 24 million viewers watching daily on NBC's platforms.

Of course, televised coverage is just part of the way that we experience the Games.

Often, it's the indelible photographs that stay with us, capturing a moment in time that can help shape our memories and Olympic history.

Our team spoke with several photographers behind some of the Games' most iconic images.

JACQUELYN MARTIN, Associated Press: I'm Jacquelyn Martin.

I'm a photojournalist of the Associated Press, and I'm here covering the Winter Olympics in Cortina, Italy.

It's very physically challenging to cover downhill skiing.

So, as one of the people that skis, I'm mostly on the Hill.

And, of course, Lindsey Vonn was the story because of this kind of comeback kid story.

So, we were going to be covering her no matter what happened.

And so I locked onto her with the camera and I was following her through.

And as she was coming towards the gate, she kind of hooked the gate with her right pole and I just gasped out loud and said, oh, my God, I didn't know exactly what had happened.

But I knew that it was a really bad crash, that it was going to be a really huge story, and that I had to really do my utmost journalistically to document what was happening.

HECTOR VIVAS, Getty Images: I'm Hector Vivas.

I work for Getty Images as a staff photographer.

We know how to tell the stories about the Olympic Games.

We know how to photograph the Olympic Games.

But we want to try to tell the story in a different way.

We are using this vintage camera for a tribute of the last big Games in Cortina in 1956.

They're like all cameras.

They have imperfections.

So we have the vintage look, but real.

It's not a filter.

It's not a Photoshop.

RICHARD HEATHCOTE, Getty Images: I'm Richard Heathcote.

I'm one of the chief sports photographers for Getty Images.

Generally, the skeleton athletes have fantastically decorated helmets, but the Ukrainian athlete had portraits of people on it, and saw it the first run.

I looked at it.

I was like, OK.

And then you kind of put two and two together and think, hang on a minute, is this people that have been unfortunately killed in the war?

So, do a little research, find out, yes, it is.

And then all of a sudden, the story starts developing very fast that he could be potentially banned or disqualified if he tries to ride with the helmet.

But he quite rightly stuck to his guns and said, no, I'm not going to race unless I can wear it.

As a photographer, you're looking to capture everything in front of you.

But when something important happens like that, you need really to concentrate on the details.

ELSA GARRISON, Getty Images: I'm Elsa Garrison.

I'm a staff photographer with Getty Images.

I knew Alysa Liu was kind of a young phenom coming up and then she retired at 16.

So this was kind of her comeback tour.

She just kind of found a new sort of joy and purpose in skating again.

And that was pretty evident in her gold medal routine.

You just see, like, the big smile on her face.

She was just having such fun out there.

And as a sport photographer, I'm pretty neutral about a lot of things, but I did kind of get a little bit of chills just because the atmosphere was so electric.

ASHLEY LANDIS, Associated Press: My name is Ashley Landis, and I'm a staff photographer for the Associated Press.

With Ilia Malinin, he's so dominant and we really wanted to capture his back flip particularly in his long program.

He came out and fell once and then he fell twice.

And all the photographers, of course, while we're concentrating on it, we all we don't respond and we just keep going because this story is unfolding.

One thing about the Olympics is that all of the athletes, it's their lifelong dream to be there.

And so it plays out in very dramatic fashion and super high highs and super low lows.

So you see this whole range of emotions.

ALEKSANDRA SZMIGIEL, Reuters: I'm Aleksandra Szmigiel, and I'm working for Reuters.

For me, covering Olympic Games is one of the hugest moments for a photographer's career.

One of my favorite shots from this Olympics comes from luge.

I photograph Julia Taubitz from Germany when she achieved a gold medal.

She is amazing, but her journey to Olympics wasn't so easy.

We always see the athletes in the moment of glory.

But I think that in this image is also her behind-the-scenes story.

Like, she was really struggling, and she finally get it.

So she's crying and smiling.

BRUCE BENNETT, Director of Photography for Hockey Imagery, Getty Images: I'm Bruce Bennett.

I am director of photography for hockey imagery for Getty Images.

I look forward to the women's matches every year and it's always Canada against the U.S.

are usually the two best teams.

The crowd was the loudest that I had heard it throughout these Olympics, chanting "USA, USA."

And I'm telling you, they spurred the players to rise to the occasion.

Megan Keller came in and scored the gold-medal-winning goal against Team Canada, and immediately spins away for me.

So you're thinking, oh, this is a disaster, but I stuck with her as best I could.

It's kind of a weird shot that got all the attention because it's the back of her celebrating.

You can see the American fans in the background starting to stand up and celebrate, and by chance as a Canadian player laying on the ice in front of her.

So you have exactly what you need to make the perfect sports photo.

You have celebration and dejection in the same frame.

ELSA GARRISON: My last assignment for the Olympics was covering the gold medal men's hockey game between the U.S.

and Canada.

And overtime games are always incredible.

And once a goal was scored, they all just piled out of the bench.

There were like the gloves thrown and helmets thrown in the air.

It was just chaos and mayhem.

And it was such joy on all of their faces.

And there was a picture that I shot of Jack Hughes.

He's got a bloody lip.

He's missing a tooth.

I mean, that's pretty much hockey in one photo there.

And you got the flag drip over his shoulders and just celebrating with his family.

And I just think it's great.