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Pix Blog: The Beijing Olympics

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Farewell Beijing - it’s been a “Dream Job” to cover these Olympics

12:03 PM, August 24, 2008 | Comments (30)
Photograph by Vincent Laforet for NEWSWEEK By the time many of your are reading this post, I will be on my way to the airport to catch my flight back to New York City. The Beijing Olympics will have concluded and thousands of others will be making their...

U.S.A. Wins First Gold Medal in Men's Basketball in Eight Years

6:52 AM, August 24, 2008 | Comments (3)

Off to the airport

8:36 PM, August 23, 2008 | Comments (5)

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A project of the Asia Society, "Clearing the Air" looks at the overall causes of China's pollution problem, featuring a broad overview, a daily photo diary documenting “blue sky days”, and resources for more information. See more here.
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Posted Saturday, August 09, 2008 8:56 AM

First U.S. Gold Comes in Fencing - Along with Silver & Bronze

Vincent Laforet
Photograph by Vincent Laforet for NEWSWEEK
 

I had a total blast at the Fencing Hall today. What a beautiful stage for fantastic images.   Although I was a Junior Olympic fencer myself more than a decade ago (my discipline was foil—not sabre as you see here),  this was my first try at photographing fencing... I'm amazed that it took me this long!   The lighting couldn't have been better,  and made for a beautiful wide shot of Sada Jacobson (right) fencing against Sofiya Velikaya in their quarter-final match.

 

Photograph by Vincent Laforet for NEWSWEEK
 
I went from the wide (safe and easy shot) to complete opposite side of the spectrum, shooting the tighter and more difficult shot above. It's better to do this in the quarterfinals; not the best idea to try this when it's the final match, and not when it's your first time shooting a sport—you're begging for a disaster if you do.   I love the way the sabres bend here in Jacobson's (right) quarter-final match against Velikaya.
Photograph by Vincent Laforet for NEWSWEEK

When Becca Ward (right) took her turn against Velikaya for a chance at the bronze medal (she managed to win it!) I decided to take a different type of risk and drag the shutter a bit.   You shoot dozens and dozens of frames in the hopes of getting just one that somehow both freezes and demonstrates "motion" albeit in a "still" photograph.

Photograph by Vincent Laforet for NEWSWEEK
 
Mariel Zagunis was pretty dominant all night . The frame above is of her quarterfinal match against team member Becca Ward.  She was quite aggressive and managed to pull ahead quite decisively in her gold medal match.   It was such a pleasure to witness these athletes compete. The action is so incredibly quick that even the judges have to watch the television monitor almost every time before rendering their final decision.  At first the clip is played at quarter speed, but at a few points the judges had to see the clip of the point two to three times, at even slower speeds.  This sport is so amazing in that your Olympic dreams of Gold can be realized in a blink of an eye—literally.   Photographing these bouts reminded me of the times I was able to fence against Olympic fencers myself. You never really quite knew what hit you.   By the time you realized you were hit, your opponent was already walking back and preparing his next move. 
Photograph by Vincent Laforet for NEWSWEEK
 
Mariel Zagunis ripped her mask off as she won the first U.S. gold medal of the Beijing Olympics, leading an American sweep Saturday in women's sabre fencing.  She was far ahead in the bout and the decision to stay focused on her for a tight vertical was an easy one.  You hate the matches that are tied 14-14 - because the last point can go either way... shooting decisions are made much easier when Zagunis, the 2004 Olympic saber champion, takes the gold with a 15-8 victory over Sada Jacobson. Becca Ward took the bronze. 
Photograph by Vincent Laforet for NEWSWEEK
 
Here are the three of them celebrating in front of what seemed to be more than 100 photographers with, who else, former President George Herbert Walker Bush.  I was one of the first people to leave the medal ceremony and rush to where Bush was—we all knew that would be the photo.  But being there early isn't always a guarantee. I had a Secret Service guy right in front of me who kept blocking me completely.   When another photographer nudges you a bit it's standard practice to hold your ground or reply with equal force back in the opposite direction.   When the Secret Service shoves you backward—it's not a shoving match you ever want to enter—you just pull back and let the photo go...  this one turned out OK though. Another photographer apparently got Bush's full attention and gave me a few seconds to grab this frame.

All in all, not a bad first day at the Olympics:  photographing the first U.S. Gold of the Olympics is always a bit of a scoop for any photographer.   Photographing a sweep of all three medals is incredibly rare.   And photographing the sport you once competed in yourself—for the first time—will definitely be one of my personal Olympic highlights of these games!
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Member Comments

Posted By: Taverl (August 9, 2008 at 9:33 PM)

Thanks so much to you and your colleagues for giving us an insight into all the work that goes into catching just the right shot. Beautiful images and great stories - I can't wait to read more.

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