China's Liang Huo competes in the men's semifinal of the 10 meter diving competition. Photograph by Vincent Laforet for NEWSWEEK
Sometimes, the Olympics throws you a bone. Today the sky was clear and the sun was beaming down on the translucent roof of the Water Cube venue where the 10 meter diving semi-finals were taking place. This made for a beautiful day of shooting, both from overhead and from the side angle. The bone in this case, is not only the nice light but also the fact that the one guys who was favored to win the competition had the longest hair of the group and tended to keep it wet before he dove. Therefore, when he did, water drops would shoot out over an almost perfect black backdrop–a photographer’s dream. There wasn’t a single photographer worth his/her salt who wasn’t looking to take advantage of this convergence of factors and make a nice frame. Here is another version of Liang Huo. Read the rest of this entry »
A tilt shift view of the first ever BMX Olympic Competition. Photograph by Vincent Laforet for NEWSWEEK
Today, for the first time ever, a gold medal was handed out in BMX at the Olympics. It was also:
* The first time that I saw a perfectly clear sunset in Beijing.
* The first time that I was able to sit down for lunch at our hotel.
* The first time that I took a nice mid-day nap.
* The first time that I experienced a completely random act of kindness: a volunteer walked up to me out of the blue and gave me two Olympic bracelets.
* The first time that I’ve made it two weeks without the need of antibiotics to fight off a severe cold or flu at the Olympics.
* The first time that I did not have to run in a mad dash to catch the bus at the end of the day.
* The first time that a good friend of mine ate scorpion and centipede.
* And today was the first time that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Read the rest of this entry »
Photograph by Vincent Laforet for NEWSWEEK
Photographers don’t generally relish shooting podium pictures because they so rarely yield a good image. Typically, they reluctantly shoot the ceremony so they can say they “have it” should their bosses back at the office ask for it later. But on occasion, a picture of real quality presents itself, as it does here. In my selection for Picture of the Day, by Vincent Laforet, you see a wonderful version of the podium picture, showing the American beach volleyball duo of Misty May-Treanor (right) and Kerri Walsh as they enjoy their moment of gold-medal glory. Adding to the dramatic quality of the picture is the wonderfully dense color palate, which is the result of the heavily overcast cloud conditions of the day. It’s perhaps not the most technically challenging picture Vince has made, but it is a moving and memorable photograph of athletic accomplishment nonetheless.—Simon Barnett, Director of Photography, NEWSWEEK
