Behind the Lens at the Beijing Olympics

A Master At Work

Many budding photographers find work as assistants to those well established in the field before setting off on their own. A young photographer myself, I decided to take this opportunity at the Olympics to meet photographers and observe how they work, and I’m always amazed at how much I’m able to learn. Yesterday, I shadowed former New York Times staffer Vincent Laforet, currently on assignment for Newsweek.

Vince told me about a shot he had in mind several days ago, and asked where we could go to make it work. After a dozen phone calls and text messages to a translator familiar with the area, we settled on the town of Changping, located in the Changping District of Beijing, a suburb northwest of the city. The translator and I met at my hotel, hired a cab for the night, and headed over to pick up Vince near the Olympic Green.

After what seemed like an hour of driving, we arrived at a village near the Ming Tombs, a popular tourist attraction. We wandered down alleyways for 20 minutes, trying to talk to locals and searching for Vince’s shot -- Chinese gathered around a television to watch the Olympics in a rural area near Beijing. We saw some homes that might have worked, but decided to keep looking.

A few minutes later, a man wearing a volunteer shirt approached us on his moped, and our translator asked him for advice on where to shoot. Our translator later identified him as the town’s leader -- to my surprise, he was incredibly helpful, and seemed to have a general understanding of why we were there. We began to follow the “volunteer” as curious locals joined our entourage. Eventually, Vince settled on a group of three people eating dinner and watching television in a tiny grocery store.

I liked the shot, but it still wasn’t exactly what he was looking for, so we grabbed our cabbie and headed back to Beijing a few minutes later. After leaving the store, we noticed that an even larger crowd had formed -- about 20 people in total, including a well-dressed woman who looked very out of place. The woman was asking many questions, and our translator later identified her as a leader of the Changping district, who had been informed of our arrival.

By the time we reached the city, our cab fare had reached 278 CNY (about $42) -- most of my fares in Beijing are less than one tenth of that amount, and our translator was fascinated by the high number on the meter. 330 CNY later (luckily, Vince had paid), I arrived back at my hotel, to prepare for another day in the Olympics bubble. In the end, Vince wasn’t able to get the picture he had wanted, but we plan to give it another shot in a few days.

Visit Newsweek’s “Visions of China” blog for Laforet’s in-depth account of the evening.

Blog Featured on Inside Digital Photo

I was interviewed by Inside Digital Photo’s Scott Sheppard earlier this month, and noticed that the radio show is now available online. Head over to IDP’s website to hear Scott and I chat about photography in Beijing and China’s preparation for the Olympics. Some of the topics we discussed, such as banned cameras at Olympic venues, have since been updated on this blog -- but the 10-minute segment is worth a listen nonetheless.

Next Stop: Indoor Volleyball

Closing ceremony is only six days away, but my work at indoor volleyball has just begun. I received a call yesterday afternoon from the Olympic News Service manager at volleyball, and began work as an ONS reporter this morning, interviewing athletes and writing press conference summaries. I’ll be working every day until the end of the Games.

If you’ve seen a volleyball match on TV, you may have noticed the vast difference in lighting levels from the court to the stands. For photographers exposing for the court, most of the spectators appear very dark, making it difficult to capture crowd reactions while shooting the match. On the plus side, however, lower light levels means television cameras won’t be able to pick up empty seats in the venue, especially in the upper level, and photographers can have clean, dark backgrounds in their shots. I’ve seen similar lighting design at venues in the U.S., but the contrast at volleyball is much more significant.

Braving The Today Show Crowd

In the past few days, almost everyone has had something to say about Michael Phelps -- photographers and reporters I’ve met, locals speaking in Chinese on the subway, or my family and friends back home. Even though I live only a few miles from the Water Cube, I haven’t been able to see Phelps perform myself, not even on television. With a bit of luck and good timing, that changed today.

I decided to stand in the crowd at the Today Show this evening, so my family and friends back home could have a chance to see me and my rather pathetic homemade sign. I spent the afternoon on the Olympic Green, and stopped by the set a couple hours early to see if anyone was already waiting along the metal barriers -- I found that the coast was clear. I asked a guard for advice, and he told me that I should be able to get a good spot as long as I arrived a few minutes before the show began at 7:00.

I decided to play it safe, so I returned around 6:30, but found hundreds of spectators already standing two rows deep. I didn’t really mind, as long as my family would be able to catch a glimpse of my sign. I found a good spot directly behind what I assumed must be one of the anchor’s outdoor chairs -- it was perfect, until it began to rain. The crew rushed all of the equipment inside, and placed the chair several feet to the left of its original position after the rain had stopped.

As it turns out, the chair that had previously been in front of me was later used for an interview with Phelps, and he was sitting in it, putting me in a great position to snap some photos, but not for my family to see my sign. But the second I heard the first Chinese spectator yell “Michael Phelps,” I knew I was in trouble -- in less than a second, the pushing began, and lasted for about ten minutes. Fans were pushing and shoving from every direction, and I was in the middle of all the action. Most of the locals here have a very limited English vocabulary -- it’s obvious that “Michael Phelps” has made it in, but “excuse me” and “deodorant” are still nowhere to be found.

No Restriction on SLR Cameras

Even though the majority of the photos on my blog are captured using a point & shoot camera, I’ve been bringing my Olympus E-520 along to venues to see if I run into any problems getting through security. In the past few days, I’ve shot with an SLR at the National Stadium, Olympic Basketball Gymnasium, and Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium without any issues. Tianjin Stadium is closed for the remainder of the Games, but it’s safe to say that you’ll be able to shoot with an SLR camera at any of the venues, as well as on the Olympic Green.

Photo positions are reserved for accredited photographers, but in less crowded venues I haven’t had any trouble shooting from any open seat or public area. In the National Stadium and Basketball Gymnasium, you’ll only have access to your seating area (category A, B, or C), so shooting from near the field of play will only be possible if ticketed for a lower level.

I had a category B ticket to Athletics at National Stadium, so I was able to roam the venue with my SLR as long as I kept clear of the lower level.

If you’re seated in category B or C, be sure to bring a telephoto lens or you’ll miss the action on the field. I used an Olympus E-520 (2x crop factor) and a 12-60mm lens with a 1.4x teleconverter, and still needed to crop significantly before the athletes filled the frame.

Day Trip: Tianjin by Train

A new high-speed train opened this month, linking Beijing with the coastal city of Tianjin. With a top speed of 350 km/h, the 120 km journey was cut from 70 minutes to just under 30. But a day in Tianjin will require far more than an hour of travel time, as the newly constructed train stations that serve the Beijing/Tianjin route are far from major attractions in either city.

Last night marked the end of Olympic football events at Tianjin stadium, but a visit to the Pacific coastline or seafood restaurants can still justify a day trip. Photographer Kevin German and I made our way to the city yesterday afternoon. The coastline, although far from attractive, is a great place to visit for photographers wanting to escape the tourist traps of Beijing in search of a more authentic Chinese experience. Locals travel to the coast, accessible only by car, to enjoy a day by the sea -- but sand and clear waters are nowhere to be found.

The waterfront is lined with litter, and the water is a light shade of brown -- but the Chinese I saw were still having a good time, swimming in the arguably unsafe water and riding on small boats.

There was also plenty of patriotism along the coast, with cars and flagpoles alike bearing the Chinese flag.

Our 30-minute trip to the shore at Haibin Avenue cost 150-Yuan roundtrip (about $22) from the Tanggu light rail station -- about 45 minutes from the city center. The cost of the 15-minute trip from the train station to the light rail was 20 Yuan (about $3). Our Tianjin excursion was motivated by an opportunity to see the Chinese women’s football team play Japan, but I mixed up the venues -- the Chinese team did play last night, but in Qinhuangdao, another coastal city near Beijing. Instead, we watched Brazil beat Norway, in a venue filled to a generously estimated 40% capacity.

We had a great day in the city -- and witnessed one of the highlights just before our return trip to Beijing. Hundreds of locals packed the brand new Tianjin train station, sitting on the floor with their eyes glued to two huge television screens as they watched China vs. USA women’s volleyball. Even as the final trains of the evening began to board, the spectators didn’t budge -- they were there only to watch the competition, with no plans to travel.

Photo Services Drops the Ball

It’s now day six of competition, and my work in an official capacity at the Olympics has come to an end. You may remember that I’m here as part of a delegation of international volunteers, and for the past few weeks I’ve been working at the road cycling course. I had hoped to transfer to another venue after the final cycling competition this past Wednesday, but to my dismay, photo mangers that I’ve spoken to say that their venues are full, or that it’s impossible to obtain the accreditation I would need to access their venue.

A transfer to the Main Press Center was also in the works, but I was told on Wednesday that the “upgrade card” I’d need to get inside would not be issued. I’d been given access to the MPC before, including once for a welcome party for photographers, and gaining access wasn’t a problem then -- a Kodak representative requested a guest pass on short notice -- but when I requested to work at the MPC as a volunteer, where they desperately need more native English speakers, accessing the MPC is no longer a possibility.

I agree with management -- that there are too many volunteers -- but for BOCOG to bring us all the way to China for two months to work for three days seems like a huge misallocation of resources.

Meanwhile, photographers have been calling me and sending emails, even from the MPC where BOCOG claims there are too many volunteers, for information about getting to venues, scheduling, and how to deal with the Chinese staff. From what I’ve heard from photographers, BOCOG desperately needs more English speaking volunteers, and I’ve made it clear that I, along with other native English speakers, am more than willing to help.

Photographers are having a tough time communicating with the Chinese staff, but the language barrier is only half of the issue. More often that not, the flow of information is nonexistent until it’s already too late -- Vincent Laforet shares a perfect example on Newsweek’s “Visions of China” blog, from a failed attempt at shooting fireworks at the Great Wall during the opening ceremony. The cycling photo staff, myself included, had no idea that there would be fireworks at our venue until photographers began to arrive hoping to shoot them.

I’m optimistic that BOCOG Photo Services will come to their senses and bring on a few idle English-speaking volunteers to help get clear information to the photographers in a timely manner, making everyone’s lives much less stressful. But for now, I’m going to sit back and enjoy BOCOG’s free tickets to the Olympics, acting as a “filler” to give the appearance to those watching at home that “sold out” events really were sold out.

Two Weeks to Explore

Yesterday was my last day working for Photo Services at the Olympics, as the time trial was the final event at the road cycling course. Although getting information for photographers was often difficult (more on that with tomorrow’s post), and communicating with Chinese volunteers proved a challenge, I really appreciated having the opportunity to work as an international volunteer for BOCOG.

Yesterday was a long workday -- we boarded the shuttle to the Great Wall around 6 a.m. and didn’t return home until just before 11 p.m. -- but it was great being able to work with photographers from around the world, and to watch six athletes join the ranks of Olympic medalists. I also had some time to watch the time-trial from the finish line, and saw both medal ceremonies from only a few feet away. I watched photographers make their way to the front to capture cyclist Kristin Armstrong (USA) as she received her gold medal, and sang our national anthem as the Star-Spangled Banner played for all in attendance.

After the second medal ceremony, I bumped (literally) into Chris Detrick, a college friend and photographer at the Salt Lake Tribune. I hadn’t seen Chris in about a year, so it was great seeing him on my (temporary) home turf. Over the past couple weeks, I’ve had an opportunity to meet some of the world’s best photographers as they passed through our photo workroom, and it was a privilege being able to enjoy the Olympics alongside them on the course.

BOCOG told my group of international volunteers that we would be working until the end of the Games, so we have some unexpected downtime before our flight home on August 28. The next few weeks will be spent exploring Beijing and the surrounding areas with photographers, and attending Olympic events. If you have any tips on cool places to visit, or have any questions about the city, please feel free to let me know.

Westernized China: The Queue

If you’ve never been to Asia, it would probably be safe to assume that simple Western customs such as lining up to get on a bus, buy food at a concession stand, or check in to the airport would be observed in China with just as much enthusiasm as they are at home. That couldn’t be more wrong. Until Westerners began to arrive and officials started cracking down on violators (with nothing more than a shout and a stern look), Chinese would push and shove their way to the front of the line everywhere from grocery stores to subway stops.

But as mentioned in previous posts, officials have been Westernizing and refreshing the city for months -- it’s just taking residents a little longer to adjust. Subway workers stand on platforms during rush hour, enforcing single file lines between trains, but when the doors open, those at the back of the line push their way to the front as workers stand idle and watch helplessly. During off-peak times, however, locals respect the lines, waiting their turn to get on the bus.

Killer Beijing Photo Blogs

I spent my first five weeks in Beijing as a lone wolf, without a single other photo-related Olympics blog on the web. But with hundreds of web savvy photogs in town for the Games, there are some incredible new photography blogs out there -- some provide an inside look at Olympics photography, while others show the China you won’t see on NBC.

Kevin German hosts one of the best Beijing photo blogs, and he doesn’t even have an Olympics credential. Posts to “Wandering Light” date back well before Kevin’s arrival in Beijing, but the Vietnam-based freelance photographer came to spend the month of August in the Chinese capital, exploring a new part of the city each day. I wasn’t familiar with Kevin’s work before he came to Beijing, but this is one photographer that has earned a permanent home on my blogroll.

Photo by Kevin German.

I’ve been following Vincent Laforet’s work for the last few years, and his Beijing Olympics photography doesn’t disappoint. Vince has the ability to see potential photographs that most would overlook, which combined with technical perfection, enables him to capture jaw-dropping images. The New York-based freelance photographer is on contract with the New York Times, but is representing Newsweek while in Beijing.

Eric Seals is new to the Olympics game, but his work with the Detroit Free Press has taken him on several overseas assignments, including a stint covering the war in Iraq. Yesterday afternoon, I had an opportunity to spend a few hours showing Eric the city, shopping at various knockoff markets and trying some Beijing street food. To my surprise, he’s as good at bargaining for souvenirs as he is at shooting Michael Phelps win gold.

Stay tuned for more featured Beijing Olympics blogs, and check out our blogroll to the left, or post a comment if you discover an Olympics blog that you’d like to share. Please limit posts to blogs related to the Olympics -- links to other blogs and websites will be removed.