A limo chauffeur waits for a wedding party outside the Round House, in Fremantle.

waiting

Fremantle, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 70-200mm f/4L @98mm, 1/320 sec, f/4, ISO200

A padlock on a well-worn door somewhere in Fremantle.

locked!

Fremantle, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 10-22mm @22mm, 1/60 sec, f/4.5, ISO200

Not only were some of the fireworks faked, but the little girl who sang as the flag entered the stadium was lip-syncing to another girl's pre-recorded singing.

A Windows Blue Screen Of Death was also spotted at the Bird's Nest stadium during the opening ceremony.



On a non-Olympics note, some people have re-enacted childhood photos, with interesting results.

Here's a collection of 60 amazing pictures you should see on flickr.

And finally, here's a great collection of 60 incredible aerial photos you must see.

While out shooting in Fremantle on Saturday evening, one of my kids pointed out the reflected sunset sky in a window. We all took some photos of this window, and this was the best of the photos I took. I love the contrast between the bright colours of the reflected sunset, and the dark colours of the corrugated iron of the building.

reflected sunset sky

Bathers Beach, Fremantle, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @85mm, 1/15 sec, f/5.6, ISO200

The Beijing Olympics is garnering a lot of media attention, and there's plenty of photos showing up on the web. Here's a selection of great photos from the Olympics:

• The Bird's Nest
  An excellent photo of the fireworks over the Bird's Nest stadium, taken by Jonathan Newton from the Washington Post.
• 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremony
  A selection of 24 photos from various photographers from the opening ceremony.
• Visions of China: Day 1
  Thirteen photos from various sports from the first day of the Olympics on newsweek.com.
• Opening Ceremony
  A selection of phtotos from various photographers on the Canadian Toronto Star website.
• The Night is Right
  Some photos of The Cube (officially known as the National Aquatic Center) and the Bird's Nest.

Quite a few photographers in Beijing to cover the Olympics are blogging about their experiences, and here's a few interesting stories:

• In a post titled Lucy in the sky with diamonds, Lucy Nicholson talks about her experience taking photos of the opening ceremony from the roof of the Bird's Nest.
• Vincent Laforet describes his frustration trying to take photos of the Olympics opening ceremony fireworks from the Great Wall in a post titled Fireworks Show Fizzles at The Great Wall.
• Canadian Richard Lautens had a ticket for the opening ceremony, but it was hotter than he expected.

For some reason, many people seem to take photos of pegs on a clothes line when first using a lens with a wide(ish) aperture. I took this photo when I first got the 70-200mm f/4L lens last year, taken with the aperture wide open, and at full zoom.

hanging around

back yard, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 70-200mm f/4L @200mm, 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO100

Taken late one afternoon at Rockingham Beach, this shot shows the interesting shadows created by the corrugations in the sand on the ocean floor. The blue and white structure in the distance on the left hand side is the Kwinana Grain Terminal.

shadows in the water

Rockingham Beach, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 10-22mm @10mm, 1/200 sec, f/10, ISO100

This is the second cascade at Liffey Falls, in Tasmania. It's one of several cascades that is upstream from the main falls, along the walking track from the top carpark.

It's a shame about the branch in the middle of the frame, but my options for composing this shot were very limited, due to the need to use a tripod, and the fact that there wasn't anywhere else on the steep river bank to stand.

Second Cascade at Liffey Falls

Liffey Falls, Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 10-22mm @21mm, 8/10 sec, f/11, ISO100