Photograph by Mike Powell for NEWSWEEK 

 

It's 1 a.m. in Beijing and our photographers are still up, giving me various bits of information over the phone and, hopefully, unwinding a bit.  I've known these guys a long time from days of working together at Allsport (back when there was an Allsport), and it's like deja vu all over again hearing their voices on the other end of the line.  I chatted with Vince Laforet for a minute about my Picture of the Day selection.   I was torn.  Then Vince handed the phone over to Mike Powell and the choice was pretty clear, listening to him talk about this picture of Brazilian Ana Paula serving in the beach volleyball competition.  Shot on an 85mm f1.2 at a 1000th of a second, it's a perfect moment of grace captured.  For me, I'm a huge sports fan and I love action shots as most fans do, but I also love moments of stillness.  In this picture, I think you get the best of both.  —Beth Johnson, Photo Editor, NEWSWEEK

See a gallery of NEWSWEEK's photographs from the third day of competition