Beijing 2008

Final Thoughts...

Wed, 3 Sep 2008 09:48:50 -0500

Here’s my final post on my trip to Beijing. Thank you all for coming here regularly to keep up on everything and for all of the great comments! I really had no idea that this tool would be so powerful and fun to do as well. It seems as though every post I do makes this process easier. I am actually shooting more images and getting out more on trips because I know that there are going to be people who are interested in where I am and what I’ve been up to... so it is very rewarding!

I have to say that this trip to Beijing was a really rewarding trip overall. Although I have shown you a lot of images that make it look like a vacation it was first and foremost a business trip. Two of my co-workers where each there for the same amount of time before me and they can tell you that there were many hours put in each day assisting the pro photographers. I promised myself that I wouldn’t spend a bunch of time sitting in my hotel room so I made the most of every minute. On average I got between two and four hours of sleep each night. So, I would say that it was the classic “Work hard, play hard” scenario. Sleep was left for the thirteen hour flights!

Closing Ceremonies

Mon, 1 Sep 2008 15:31:06 -0500

Okay... so, I didn’t actually get inside the stadium for the closing ceremonies but I did get a special sticker for my credential to be real close to the stadium on the outside that the normal public was not able to do... That was really cool. The hard part of this is not knowing anything of what is happening inside the stadium so when the fireworks start to happen you need to be ready or you will miss them! I learned this quickly because I showed up one minute too late and the beginning fireworks happened as I tried to get my camera set up... So, I totally blew that opportunity. I then waited for about two hours to get the image above! It was worth it in many ways...

MPC - Main Press Center

Mon, 1 Sep 2008 12:11:55 -0500

The Main Press Center (MPC) is where all of the photographers and journalists worked during the Olympics. This is the last Olympics for Kodak to be a main sponsor and they certainly do a lot there. We (Nikon) were actually contractors for Kodak and in a sense worked for them while there. We had our service depot space in the main Kodak area.

Temple of Heaven

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:44:30 -0500

This past Saturday morning my co-workers, Peter (Sweden) and Mark (Canada) and I got up real early and headed south to the Temple of Heaven. I had seen this place in a couple of travel shows about Beijing before I left on this trip and I knew that this is where people gather in the morning to have fun, play games and exercise. It is also the same building that Disney modeled the China pavilion at Epcot around. This one is much larger than the one at Disney and I have to say that the overall setting is a bit more... realistic! ;-)

The first thing we noticed is how many people were showing up already at 6:30am. It was just a beautiful morning and you definitely had to take advantage of it because it was going to get a lot hotter later on. So, we see this old guy with these cloth rings that were all different colors and he flags us down to play a game with him. Peter was first to go, then Mark and then of course he had to get me involved. The object was simple... he throws the rings and you catch them over your head and around your neck. Why not?...

Out and about...

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 01:22:11 -0500

Back again... So, last Tuesday my friend Nick Didlick and I went out shooting after work and we started off in a sort of “camera mall” which was all little camera stores in one place. We were looking for anything new and interesting but we didn’t really find anything. There were some new Nikon products but overall is was mostly used film cameras, tripods and lighting equipment. Still, it was an interesting place to visit...

USA vs. Argentina - Basketball

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 01:43:25 -0500

I really didn’t think that I would get any chance to see an Olympic competition while I was here. Marc (Nikon Canada) and I got two tickets to the basketball semi-finals on Friday night and I was really psyched to find out the the USA team was going to be playing Argentina. Now, I’m not a big sports fan but certainly doesn’t matter here. It’s a “whole package” experience to go to an Olympic event... all the way from holding the ticket in your hand to seeing the final seconds of the game!

Summer Palace

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:50:40 -0500

After we left the Great Wall the other day our driver dropped us off at the Summer Palace. This is what I was expecting more of when I got to China but I found it to be more modern instead. So, the Summer Palace got me to see some great, old Chinese architecture. We only had about an hour and a half here so it was a bit rushed. Also, the light was just the worst. You just can’t avoid those white skies...

The Great Wall - B Side...

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:44:41 -0500

Okay, so you all saw the Great Wall pics and I thank you for all the great comments. I had to put that post together fast so I left off some more of the stuff that shows the rest of the story so I’m finding that I want to start posting images of the little stuff as well. When I travel I really enjoy carrying not only a DSLR camera (D300 and 16-85mm VR and 70-300VR for this trip) and a Coolpix camera (CP5100) as well. So, the smaller camera is always available on my shoulder anytime I need it and then I have the other camera for the more detailed stuff. I also find myself just taking what would seem to be snapshot garbage pictures but the way I think of them is that they document the place I’m in at that moment because I won’t be there again. When people ask... “What did it look like driving to the Great Wall, or what did you eat for lunch or something like that I like to have an image to show them instead of just describing it to them. The only thing you really have from a trip to remember it are the photographs...
So, most of the images that I am going to post in these “B-sides” (just a music joke...) really aren’t anything that I will probably print or plan on displaying at all... just documentation and to remember what it was like.

The Great Wall of China

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:51:17 -0500

In a true “Disney” type fashion, even the Great Wall of China exits you through the “gift shop”! Actually it’s more like a small street with about a hundred little vendors trying to get every dollar they can out of you before you leave but it’s all part of the experience.

I was joined by some great guys from Nikon in Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Sweden on my adventure to this incredible place. The only real challenge besides the Great Wall “stair master workout” was the light we had to shoot in. For the weather here in Beijing so far it was a good day but it was high-noon and hazy which makes for some extra image processing later to get the images to really pop.

The section of the Great Wall that we went to is called the Mu Tang Yu section which is the one that is a little further away and not as touristy as the Badaling section. Still, there were a lot of people there but hey, this is the Olympics!

Hou Hai

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:51:47 -0500

Okay, now that I am back and a little more awake than last night I will finish up yesterday’s blog. Marc and I went from the Olympic area to an area called Hou Hai. Hou Hai is a small lake that has all sorts of shops, bars, night club and... DISCO’S! I just love that word... Disco. It cracks me up. It’s a Saturday Night Live thing...

When you walk past the bars there are guys in their early twenties that try to sell you on why you should come in to their bar. Well, I didn’t take any of them up on their offers except for this one guy who had a really great sense of humor and a fairly good grasp on the English language. He was also our server and here he is helping Marc with the menu. We actually sat outside on a real comfy set of couches. (btw... nothing weird to eat... just pizza, sorry!)

A Busy First Day!

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:03:57 -0500

What a big city Beijing is. We started out from the hotel at 8am this morning in a fifteen passenger van from the hotel to the Main Press Center (MPC) and all I have to say is that there is no such thing as a Stop sign and the term “right of way” means nothing here! Our van driver was within inches of numerous cars around him but he just barreled through and made his own way!

When I looked out my hotel window this morning I saw my first glimpse of what the city looks like in daylight. I thought these building looked pretty cool and I happened to notice some sort of military exercises going on just down below... That was interesting and it only lasted a few minutes... I have not idea what sort of ceremony was going on.

One Long Flight!

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 11:11:27 -0500

So, usually taking a couple of “Simply Sleep” right after I eat on a long flight usually knocks me out for a good eight hours but not this time! I fell asleep around the Minnesota/Canada border and then I woke up over the middle of Alaska. That was only about 2 1/2 hours worth... not long enough. We were on a somewhat older 747-400 so the seats were pretty tough. My tail bone was killing me so I found a place to sit on the floor in the back of the plane to sit for about three hours. I wasn’t the only one back there either.

O’Hare International Terminal

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 11:05:06 -0500

So far, so good. As I have a bit of time in the O’Hare Chicago International Terminal before my flight I thought I’d start writing some stuff for you all. I want to say that I really appreciate all of your support for me on this trip and thank you to those who called last night to wish me well. That was great!

The simple documentation pictures that tell the story while traveling are so important. I always think of this while traveling so that Michelle can create some great scrapbook pages with the pictures and that she doesn’t have to write too much to tell the story of what’s going on. This is why I love carrying a compact Coolpix camera... this week I have my Coolpix 5100 with me which did very well on our trip to Europe last November. (It’s not the only camera I have but it is right on my shoulder in a small velcro camera case so it’s real handy and not a pain in the butt to take out real quick.)

I was a little concerned that I was going to run into a game of 99 questions over my work visa with the people at the Korean Air counter so I arrived good and early. I have to connect in Seoul, Korea on the way. Well, I have to say that I think I spent a total of less than one minute by the time I entered the building to the time I had my boarding pass in hand! No questions, just smiles and a “have a nice flight”! It doesn’t get any better than that.

One dilemma I had was apparent the moment I walked in the door to the terminal... Here’s a picture of what my dilemma was...