How They Did It

Travis Sherwin/Orlando

I caught an interesting show on Chinese TV last night when I returned to my hotel room. Obviously, the whole show was in Chinese, but this is what I able to surmise from the program.

It was a studio show where audience members asked the organizers of the Opening Ceremony, “How did you do that?”

Chinese Television

This guy wanted to know how they moved those Chinese characters up and down in waves.

The boxes

The next thing you know, 10 to 12 of those boxes appeared on stage and performed. There were people inside them!

The light guys

Next, the “Green Man Group” showed how they pulled off their portion of the show.

An interesting thing about the CCTV, no commercials! I guess there’s no need to make money when you’re owned by the government.

Rain!

Smog/Fog Update: It’s raining! Maybe that will help clear the skies.

-Travis

My view of the opening ceremony

Jaime Brassard/Berlin,VT

I was assigned to shoot the crowd during the early part of the evening.

Later, we ended up in the hotel bar watching the ceremony on TV like all of you.  But when the torch was lit, we ran out side to catch the rest of the show live…

 

 

Aixa is capturing the magic for you and Andy is just taking it all in…

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Best shot of the night.  From where we were it was

a pretty spectacular show and as you can see we didn’t have the best view.  When the fireworks on the Bird’s Nest stopped, the rest of the city continued on.  It was MASSIVE!

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, I’ve taken a whole bunch of shots of the Bird’s Nest but this is my new Favorite.

Till next time…

Parade of Nations

Travis Sherwin/Orlando

Tonight, during the Opening Ceremony, you will see more than 200 countries represented in the Parade of Nations.

Our workspace is decorated with many, many flags.

To help you get warmed up for the big event, I’ve put together a little flag quiz. How well do you know the national flags?

Flag 1

This one is easy.

Flag 2

 This one is, too, if you’re an Olympic fan.

Flag 3

Not Australia!

Flag 4

Super easy.

Flag 5

If you get this one, you’re an expert!

Flag 6

You know this one.

Flag 7

Another gimme for an Olympic fan.

Flag 8

Another easy one.

Flag 9

You should you get this one.

Flag 10

Been there, know this flag.

Flag 11

Many flags are red and white… Can you get this one?

Flag 12

I had a tough time with this one.

Flag 13

I put this one in to help your average.

Answers:

Flag 1: China. As host nation they will march last.

Flag 2: Italy. Host of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games.

Flag 3: New Zealand. I incorrectly identified this as Australia earlier.

Flag 4: Canada.

Flag 5: Cyprus. I had to look this one up!

Flag 6: Germany.

Flag 7: Greece. They always march first.

Flag 8: Israel.

Flag 9: Japan.

Flag 10: Panama. Great vacation spot!

Flag 11: Poland.

Flag 12: South Africa. I had to look this one up, too!

Flag 13: United Kingdom.

-Travis

Olympic Spirit

I love Beijing.

The spirit of the people is contagious. They are so excited and proud of their city and their culture. They want us to explore their country and learn their language.

Today, we took a stroll outside of the Bird’s Nest, just hours before the Opening Ceremony.

done

done

done

Everywhere we turn, we’re greeted with kindness and warmth. That’s the Olympic spirit!

-Aixa

China’s Big Day

Travis Sherwin/Orlando

Tonight is China’s big night. Unfortunately, the skies have not cleared. Here’s the latest on the smog/fog watch:

(My camera’s still on U.S. time so the dates are off by a day.)

Wednesday

Thursday

Today

The skies haven’t bothered the Chinese people much. They’re already soaking up the Olympic spirit, and the Opening Ceremony is still 10 hours away.

Crowd gathers

10 hours to go

Today is also considered a very lucky day for the Chinese people. There are reports of more than 400,000 people getting married.

-Travis