Visions of China: A 2008 Olympics Picture Blog : Picture of the Day

Picture of the Day: August 24, 2008

Donald Miralle — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 16:24:51 GMT

Photograph by Donald Miralle for NEWSWEEK

The Olympics are over, and the sports event has generally been considered an entertainment triumph. What will quickly come back into sharp focus, however, is that China is a world power whose politics will continue to loom large. This communist nation is getting ever more powerful. Its political, economic and humanitarian actions—and inactions—will be a major factor in shaping our world. This picture, by Donald Miralle, while acknowledging the sporting spectacle, also conjures up the uncertainty about what lies ahead. For me, as Picture of the Day, it is an appropriately ominous image on which to close. —Simon Barnett, Director Photography, NEWSWEEK

See a gallery of NEWSWEEK's photography from Day 16 of the competition

Picture of the Day: August 23, 2008

Vincent Laforet — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:20:15 GMT

Photograph by Vincent Laforet for NEWSWEEK

Vincent Laforet shot this image of China’s Liang Huo during the men's semifinal of the 10 meter diving competition using a 300mm at f2.8 (wide open) at 1/2000th of a second. Vince photographed this image on a clear, sunny day in Beijing with lots of light streaming through the translucent “Water Cube,” the venue housing the diving competition. He describes capturing this frame simply as being at the right location at the right time of day to utilize the light. The circle of water droplets streaming from Huo’s hair, frozen in time and accentuated by light, make this image my choice for Picture of the Day.
—Susanne Miklas, Deputy Director of Photography, NEWSWEEK

See a gallery of NEWSWEEK's photography from Day 15 of the competition

Picture of the Day: August 22, 2008

Donald Miralle — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:21:36 GMT

Photograph by Donald Miralle for NEWSWEEK

Some sports are notoriously difficult to photograph. Handball comes to mind; it's a sport in which the action is so fast and unpredictable that you need more than a little good fortune to make a great picture. Then there are the sports that so naturally present good opportunities for photographers that you can pretty much guarantee getting something memorable. One such sport is rhythmic gymnastics--where beautiful images present themselves to the photographer at a fast and furious pace. My choice for Picture of the Day is an excellent example, shot at Friday's group all-around qualification, and shows Aliya Garayeva of Azerbaijan. Donald Miralle captures this intriguing picture from an overhead position, using a zoom set at the 115m focal length, 1/100th of a second at f2.8. It succeeds as a piece of sports art; the fact that the gymnast's face is obscured by her foot actually adds to the abstract quality of the image, making you linger over it a little longer. Good images from "easy sports" are fairly common, but spectacular ones, like this shot by Donald demand a little something extra. —Simon Barnett, Director of Photography, NEWSWEEK

See a gallery of NEWSWEEK's photography from Day 14 of the competition

Picture of the Day: August 21, 2008

Vincent Laforet — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:26:16 GMT

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

Picture of the Day: August 20, 2008

Mike Powell — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:56:28 GMT

Photograph by Mike Powell for NEWSWEEK

There is no question, Usain Bolt of Jamaica is now the undisputed "World's Fastest Man." Today he added the 200m gold medal to the gold he had already won in the 100m. Mike Powell made this image as Bolt soaked up the cheers from the ecstatic crowd. Using a 300 f2.8 lens, set at 1/1000th of a second at f3.2, the effect of the lens and aperture is to throw the background out of focus sufficiently so as not to be too distracting, but at the same time, also retaining enough information to make out the reaction of the crowd. This picture illustrates how sometimes you don't need to see an athlete's face in order to make a telling photograph of their big moment. And for that reason, this is my selection as Picture of the Day. —Simon Barnett, Director of Photography, NEWSWEEK

See a gallery of NEWSWEEK's photography from Day 12 of the competition

Picture of the Day: August 19, 2008

Mike Powell — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:59:40 GMT

Photograph by Mike Powell for NEWSWEEK

Mike Powell made today’s Picture of the Day at the start of the men’s triathlon. Timing the photograph in what might be considered unconventionally late (at least, in sports news photography terms), Mike used a 70-200m zoom, set at 170mm focal length, with a shutter speed of 1000th of second at f6.3. The picture is energetic and unexpected in the way it conjures up summer sports. Its about a photographer making a picture in a moment that someone else might not see. A truly unique and refreshing image from the summer games 2008. —Simon Barnett, Director of Photography, NEWSWEEK

See a gallery of NEWSWEEK's photography from Day 11 of the competition

Picture of the Day: August 18, 2008

Mike Powell — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:50:34 GMT

Photograph by Mike Powell for NEWSWEEK

Mike Powell made today’s Picture of the Day, using a technique to create an impression of the action from the Laoshan velodrome. Using a very wide angle lens, a 14mm, he set the shutter to 1/15th of a second with an aperture of f7.1. He picks up the solo cyclist and moves the camera to follow him, making a single focal point of near-focus, while the rest of the scene becomes a pastiche of color. The result is a stunning image that you would be unlikely to see in your daily newspaper—more one that you might hang on your wall.—Simon Barnett, Director of Photography, NEWSWEEK

See a gallery of NEWSWEEK's photography from Day 10 of the competition

Picture of the Day: August 17, 2008

Donald Miralle — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 17:33:53 GMT

Photograph by Donald Miralle for NEWSWEEK

Sometimes you have to have a little luck. And in making this picture, Donald Miralle certainly got some. After Michael Phelps won his historic 8th gold, he clambered through the photo positions to hug and kiss his sisters and mother. Shooting the scene on a hand-held 300mm, at 1/60th of second wide open, Donald had a challenge to keep it sharp. Then, a flash of good fortune intervened—another photographer’s flash went off during Donald’s exposure, freezing Phelps and his family in the center of the frame while all around is a blur of activity. The resulting image beautifully captures the chaos and excitement of the moment, and, with a flash of luck, is my choice as Picture of the Day. —Simon Barnett, Director of Photography, NEWSWEEK

See a gallery of NEWSWEEK's photography from Day 9 of the competition

Picture of the Day: August 16, 2008

Donald Miralle — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 17:25:53 GMT

Photograph by Donald Miralle for NEWSWEEK

Not a photo from the the big events, no 100m final, no Phelps...today’s Picture of the Day comes from a relatively low profile event, the women’s heptathlon, and was shot by Donald Miralle. This was the scene after the runners crossed the line of the 800m which concluded the medal contest. The picture captures, in one frame, so much of what the Olympics aspires to be. In studying it, I see relief, exhaustion, compassion and loss, joy and pain….I could go on. A fascinating—and near-perfect, Olympics photograph. —Simon Barnett, Director of Photography, NEWSWEEK

See a gallery of NEWSWEEK's photography from Day 8 of the competition

Picture of the Day: August 15, 2008

Vincent Laforet — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:23:35 GMT

Photograph by Vincent Laforet for NEWSWEEK

Today's choice for Picture of the Day was a tough decision. By a hair's breadth, I've chosen Vincent Laforet's overhead picture from the weightlifting competition, over Donald Miralle's action picture from badminton (2nd image down, player in yellow). Full disclosure: The deciding factor was that yesterday's Picture of the Day was a similar type action photo to Miralle's, so providing visual variety from yesterday to today was the tie-breaker. In this picture, Laforet has captured a celebration by Andrei Rybakou of Belarus as he broke the world record in the men's 85kg competition. Shooting straight down on a zoom lens at the 73mm focal length he has created a wonderfully graphic celebration image. Interestingly, I decided to make the crop square, while Vincent saw the picture cropped in two different ways,which you can see on his post. This is an example of how subjective photography can be, with different opinions between photographer, editor, and perhaps, you the reader.
—Simon Barnett, Director of Photography, NEWSWEEK

See a gallery of NEWSWEEK's photography from Day 7 of the competition

Picture of the Day: August 14, 2008

Vincent Laforet — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:06:15 GMT

Photograph by Vincent Laforet for NEWSWEEK

Here's a picture that I think you'll want to keep looking at. These airborne combatants were captured by Vincent Laforet in the Greco-Roman 84kg class wrestling competition. The match featured Andrea Minguzzi of Italy (in red) who defeated Hungary's Zoltan Fodor for the gold medal. Shot from up high to give a pleasingly graphic background on a 300mm lens, set at a 1000th second at f3.5, it is a perfectly timed moment that makes for an intriguing puzzle of athleticism.—Simon Barnett, Director of Photography, NEWSWEEK

See a gallery of NEWSWEEK's photography from Day 6 of the competition

Picture of the Day: August 13, 2008

Mike Powell — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:04:15 GMT

Photograph by Mike Powell for NEWSWEEK

The agony of defeat. Now there's a cliché I haven't heard in the past ten minutes! But today's Picture of the Day from Mike Powell after the U.S.A.'s loss to Nigeria in soccer certainly conjures that up for me. You'll notice from Mike's blog that he sees a lot of pictures in square compositions, and this is a great example of it. Even though he is shooting with the horizontal format DSLR cameras, he often mentally crops when looking through the viewfinder. As Mike explains, "I love the Hasselblad film format because of its classical feel. And I find myself thinking and composing in that way, particularly on the shorter lenses."
—Simon Barnett, Director of Photography, NEWSWEEK

See a gallery of NEWSWEEK's photography from Day 5 of the competition

Picture of the Day: August 12, 2008

Donald Miralle — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:55:48 GMT

Photograph by Donald Miralle for NEWSWEEK

Today's Picture of the Day is from the Men's Canoe Singles final. Donald Miralle used a 600mm lens to get in close, capturing the determination of American Benn Fraker as he powers through the course. The splashes of water, frozen by a high shutter speed, appear like icicles hanging off his arms and make for a compelling image that gets you about as close to the action as you can be--without getting wet. —Simon Barnett, Director of Photography, NEWSWEEK

See a gallery of NEWSWEEK's photography from Day 4 of competition

Picture of the Day: August 11, 2008

Mike Powell — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:25:12 GMT

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

Picture of the Day: August 10, 2008

Donald Miralle — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:42:27 GMT

Photograph by Donald Miralle for NEWSWEEK

Today’s big story saw Michael Phelps embarking on his multiple gold medal quest in stunning fashion. Not only did he win the 400-meter individual medley gold, but he also smashed his own world record by 1.41 seconds. Donald Miralle was poolside for NEWSWEEK, and made this picture which is today’s Picture of the Day. Shot on a 400mm f2.8 telephoto, wide open at 1000th of a second, the full frame (which can be seen in his blog entry) was originally shot as a vertical. I decided to aggressively crop the picture top and bottom in order to eliminate all the extraneous information, thus creating a tight, in-your-face record of the moment after Phelps’ win.—Simon Barnett, Director of Photography, NEWSWEEK

See a gallery of NEWSWEEK's photos from the second day of competition