La mesa de luz

Combo shows two pictures of the Brandenburg Gate and Pariser Platz square, on top taken on October 3, 1990 with people waving German flags as they celebrate the country’s reunification and on bottom the same view (bottom) taken 19 years later on October 20, 2009 with tourists crowding the place. Germany will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall on November 9, 2009. AFP PHOTO  GILLES LEIMDORFER / JOHN MACDOUGALL

Mañana se cumplen 20 años de la caída del muro. En el periódico hemos publicado múltiples artículos durante la última semana y hoy domingo 8 de noviembre dedicamos varias páginas a este aniversario. En una doble encontraréis un maravilloso gráfico de mis compañeros de infografía que muestra como era el muro en Berlín.

De la misma manera, las agencias han enviado fotos de archivo de 1989 entre las fotos de los diferentes actos que se celebran en la ciudad para conmemorar el aniversario. Hemos montado las páginas combinando las fotos que las agencias pasaban por el servicio de actualidad y otras que encontrábamos y comprábamos en los diferentes archivos.

Pero lo que más me ha gustado han sido estos combos de la agencia Afp donde se muestra la comparativa de las calles de Berlín antes de 1989, con el muro, y el mismo lugar 20 años después, sin el muro. El combo del Checkpoint Charlie nos valió para ilustrar un artículo publicado esta semana.

Combo shows two pictures of Checkpoint Charlie crossing point, one (top) in June 1968, then marking the border between East (Soviet sector) and West Berlin (American sector) and the same view (bottom) taken on October 20, 2009 as a tourist magnet like many of the remaining Berlin wall sites. Germany will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall on November 9, 2009.   AFP PHOTO  / JOHN MACDOUGALL

Combo shows two pictures taken from Berlin’s Bernauer Strasse one with the Berlin Wall (top) separating the streeet taken in June 1968, and the same view (bottom) taken on October 20, 2009 without the wall. Germany will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall on November 9, 2009. AFP PHOTO   JOHN MACDOUGALL

Combo shows two pictures of the German Reichstag building (back L) one with the Berlin Wall (top) taken on November 10, 1989, and the same view (bottom) taken twenty years later on October 20, 2009 without the wall. Germany will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall on November 9, 2009. AFP PHOTO  GERARD MALIE / JOHN MACDOUGALL

Combo shows two pictures shows the Glienicke bridge (Glienicker Bruecke), which links Berlin to the city of Potsdam in the state of Brandenburg in Potsdam, taken on April 29, 1984 (top) closed to traffic, and the same view (bottom) taken on November 6, 2009 with cars crossing it. The bridge was often used as a place where spies were “exchanged” between west Berlin and east Germany. Germany will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall on November 9, 2009. AFP PHOTO JOEL ROBINE  / JOHN MACDOUGALL

Parecido al trabajo de Afp es este realizado por la americana Ap. En este caso las fotos son menos útiles para nuestros artículos. Son fotos actuales con la foto antigua montada en un caballete en el lugar donde se tiró. Solamente es publicable si tenemos la foto de archivo original como hace Afp y nos sobra el caballete en la foto actual.

Este montaje resulta parecido a la muestra de Centelles que se puede ver estos días en Barcelona. A pesar de ser menos útiles para el editor y las páginas del periódico, me parecen muy curiosas y os las muestro a continuación.

PICTURE PACKAGE OF NINE PHOTOS SHOWING THE SITUATION ON HISTORIC SPOTS IN BERLIN - 20 YEARS AFTER THE FALL OF THE WALL -  - Photo taken Oct. 26, 2009 near the Reichstag in Berlin shows a photo of Berlin children playing on the remains of the Berlin Wall near West Berlin’s Reichstag building, Feb. 20, 1990, where East German border troops began tearing down the wall. An Associated Press archive photo set in the same location to mark the 20 year anniversary since the fall of the Berlin Wall. (AP Photo/Franka Bruns)

PICTURE PACKAGE OF NINE PHOTOS SHOWING THE SITUATION ON HISTORIC SPOTS IN BERLIN - 20 YEARS AFTER THE FALL OF THE WALL -  - Photo taken Oct. 31, 2009 at the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, and displaying a photo of Reverend Martin Luther King, American civil rights leader, invited to Berlin by West Berlin Mayor Willy Brandt, as he visits on September 13, 1964 the red wall at the border Potsdamer Platz. An Associated Press archive photo set in the same location to mark the 20 year anniversary since the fall of the Berlin Wall. (AP Photo/Franka Bruns)

PICTURE PACKAGE OF NINE PHOTOS SHOWING THE SITUATION ON HISTORIC SPOTS IN BERLIN - 20 YEARS AFTER THE FALL OF THE WALL -  - Photo taken Nov. 1, 2009 at former border crossing at Heinrich-Heine-Strasse in Berlin shows a photo of US President Richard Nixon looking across the communist wall into East Germany, from West Berlin, on Feb. 27, 1969, during his stay in the divided city. Then German Chancellor Kurt Kiesinger is seen behind Nixon. An Associated Press archive photo set in the same location to mark the 20 year anniversary since the fall of the Berlin Wall.  (AP Photo/Franka Bruns)

PICTURE PACKAGE OF NINE PHOTOS SHOWING THE SITUATION ON HISTORIC SPOTS IN BERLIN - 20 YEARS AFTER THE FALL OF THE WALL -  - In this photo taken Oct. 26, 2009, at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin,  shows a photo of Checkpoint Charlie as US President John F. Kennedy standing on an observation platform, as he looks into East Berlin on June 26, 1963 across the Communist Berlin Wall that divided the German city.  An AP archive photo set in the same location to mark the 20 year anniversary since the fall of the Berlin Wall.  (AP Photo/Franka Bruns)

PICTURE PACKAGE OF NINE PHOTOS SHOWING THE SITUATION ON HISTORIC SPOTS IN BERLIN - 20 YEARS AFTER THE FALL OF THE WALL -  - Photo taken Oct. 26, 2009 near the Reichstag in Berlin shows a photo of Germans from East and West standing on the Berlin Wall in front of the the Reichstag Building on Nov.  10, 1989, photo, one day after the wall opened. An Associated Press archive photo set in the same location to mark the 20 year anniversary since the fall of the Berlin Wall.  (AP Photo/Franka Bruns)

PICTURE PACKAGE OF NINE PHOTOS SHOWING THE SITUATION ON HISTORIC SPOTS IN BERLIN - 20 YEARS AFTER THE FALL OF THE WALL -  - Photo taken Oct. 26, 2009 at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin shows a photo of Checkpoint Charlie as he it is visited by US President John F Kennedy on June 26, 1963.  An Associated Press archive photo set in the same location to mark the 20 year anniversary since the fall of the Berlin Wall. (AP Photo/Franka Bruns)

PICTURE PACKAGE OF NINE PHOTOS SHOWING THE SITUATION ON HISTORIC SPOTS IN BERLIN - 20 YEARS AFTER THE FALL OF THE WALL -  - Photo taken Oct. 31, 2009 at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin shows a photo of U.S. President Ronald Reagan acknowledging the crowd after his speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin,  where he said “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! “, on June 12, 1987. An Associated Press archive photo set in the same location to mark the 20 year anniversary since the fall of the Berlin Wall. (AP Photo/Franka Bruns)

PICTURE PACKAGE OF NINE PHOTOS SHOWING THE SITUATION ON HISTORIC SPOTS IN BERLIN - 20 YEARS AFTER THE FALL OF THE WALL — Photo taken Oct. 31, 2009 at the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin shows a photo of then Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter pointing toward East Berlin and the wall during a visit on May 20, 1973 in West Berlin. An Associated Press archive photo set in the same location to mark the 20 year anniversary since the fall of the Berlin Wall. (AP Photo/Franka Bruns)

PICTURE PACKAGE OF NINE PHOTOS SHOWING THE SITUATION ON HISTORIC SPOTS IN BERLIN - 20 YEARS AFTER THE FALL OF THE WALL -  - Photo taken at Bernauer Strasse 48 in Berlin, on Nov. 1, 2009 shows a photo of the spot as Eunice Kennedy Shriver, President Kennedy’s sister, bends over as she places a wreath at the West Berlin memorial for Ida Siekmann on June 26, 1963. The memorial was for the elderly woman who jumped to her death from teh building at right in an effort to escape from East Berlin.  An Associated Press archive photo set in the same location to mark the 20 year anniversary since the fall of the Berlin Wall. (AP Photo/Franka Bruns)

DPA004. BERLÍN (ALEMANIA). 07/11/09.- Combo de dos imágenes, una de ellas de archivo fechada en 1989, donde se observa el Muro de Berlín a la altura de la Puerta de Brandenburgo (arriba), mientras que la otra, tomada hoy, sábado, 07 de noviembre de 2009, muestra fichas de dominó pintadas que se han colocado en el lugar donde antes se levantaba el muro. Algunas de estas 1.000 fichas han sido colocadas entre el edificio del Reichstagh, la Puerta de Branderburgo y la Plaza Postdam, y serán tiradas simbólicamente a lo largo de dos kilómetros el próximo lunes 09, a las 08.00 horas de la mañana (hora local), para celebrar el 20 aniversario de la caída del Muro de Berlín. EFE/Wolfgang Kumm

Hoy ha llegado este solitario combo de Efe con una comparativa parecida a las que Afp envió hace ya unos días. Tal vez mañana llegen más imágenes del mismo tipo de esta agencia. Si esto ocurre las iré incluyendo al post.

Russian soldiers fight in the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II, Stalingrad, February 1943. (Photo by Pictorial Parade /Getty Images)
Hoy viernes ha salido publicado un artículo en la sección de culturas sobre Vasili Grossman, escritor cuyos artículos sobre sus vivencias durante la segunda guerra mundial en el frente ruso, se publican por primera vez en castellano. Hago este post para enseñaros la magnífica foto de la agencia Getty Images de la batalla de Stalingrado en 1943. Una imagen vertical que elegimos entre tres fotos de Getty sobre esa batalla.

Normalmente no solemos publicar y no suelo poner fotos en el blog de Getty. Con esta agencia tenemos un contrato por el cual pagamos por foto ya sea de archivo o actualidad. Eso hace que tiremos primero del servicio de actualidad. Miré antes en el archivo de Afp pero, como cuento en el post que dediqué a esta agencia, durante la segunda guerra mundial y hasta la liberación de Paris, Afp fue una agencia Nazi. Por ello casi todas las fotos de Stalingrado de Afp son del lado nazi y las del lado del Ejército Rojo son de la agencia Novosti que nos salen más caras que las fotos francesas o las de Getty. Como he comentado en alguna ocasión el editor gráfico se encarga de buscar la mejor imagen para una información, dentro de un diseño, teniendo en cuenta un presupuesto. Por eso hay que sopesar cuánto cuestan las imágenes, lo grandes que van y la información que va a ilustrar.

Esta imagen de Stalingrado la elegimos entre tres imágenes de Getty. Reflejaba a la perfección lo que debió der la batalla entre los edificios derruidos por los bombardeos. Hasta hay un soldado que esta saltando en ese momento desde un agujero que hay en un muro. La foto es perfecta desde el punto de vista estético e informativo.

La verticalidad y el espacio blanco superior la hacía perfecta para darla a página completa a tres o cuatro columnas y titular dentro. El resultado de la página que maquetaron mis compañeros de diseño es muy satisfactorio. La página queda muy bien. La imagen dentro de la página se completa abajo y a la derecha con unas imágenes de Grossman que nos envió la editorial. Sin duda escaneos de las ediciones extranjeras del mismo libro. Os incluyo unas cuantas imágenes más de Grossman desechadas durante la edición.

Imágenes de Vasili Grossman durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

President Barack Obama in the Oval Office on his first day in office 1/21/09. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

Hace ya un año que junto a mi compañera Victoria Mouriño viví la noche electoral americana en la redacción. A eso de las tres de la mañana cerramos la edición que llevaba a Obama como vencedor en la portada. En ese momento la victoria aun no era matemática, pero Obama-Biden ya sacaba una gran ventaja a McCain-Palin. Llegue a mi casa, cené algo, seguí el final del recuento y vi el discurso de Obama en Chicago. En ese momento sentí que un cambio se avecinaba en los USA y probablemente en el mundo. Tal vez hoy, un año después, no tenga ese mismo sentimiento.

Os presento esta edición fotográfica sobre el Presidente Obama, ordenada cronológicamente y realizada con las maravillosas imágenes que la oficina de fotografía de la Casa Blanca realiza. Un equipo de fotógrafos dirigido por Pete Souza, fotógrafo de la Casa Blanca en la época de Reagan, fotógrafo en Washington del Chicago Tribune y autor del libro “The Rise of Barack Obama”.

Espero que os gusten. Intentaré profundizar en futuros post sobre el gran trabajo que realizan estos fotógrafos  y que podéis ver en el flickr de la Casa Blanca, donde cuelgan sus imágenes para uso personal o para su utilización por los medios de comunicación.

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama share a private moment in a freight elevator at an Inaugural Ball. Washington, D.C. 1/20/09 Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

Early in the morning on Jan. 21st, President Barack Obama rides the elevator to the Private Residence of the White House after attending 10 inaugural balls and a long day including being sworn in as President at noon on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

President Barack Obama reads the letter left in the Oval Office Resolute Desk for him the previous day, by former President George W. Bush. The letter from the previous president to the incoming president has become a White House tradition. 1/21/09 Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

President Barack Obama places a phone call at his desk in the Oval Office. 1/23/09 Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visit the Childrens Garden while touring the White House grounds.1/24/09 Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

NSC staff members sit in the Oval Office while President Obama speaks to foreign leaders 1/27/09. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

On a tour of the State Floor of the White House, President Barack Obama looks at a portrait of John F. Kennedy by Aaron Shikler. 1/24/09 Official Photo by Pete Souza

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama wear 3-D glasses while watching Super Bowl 43, Arizona Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, at a Super Bowl Party in the family theater of the White House. Guests included family, friends, staff members and bipartisan members of Congress, 2/1/09. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

President Barack Obama in the Oval Office 1/30/09 Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

President Barack Obama departs from Andrews Air Force Base for Newport News, Virginia on his first trip on Air Force One 2/5/09. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

President Barack Obama is helped by Vermont Governor Jim Douglas to move a couch in the Oval Office 2/2/09. Governor Douglas met with the President about the economic recovery plan. 2/2/09 Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

President Barack Obama speaks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in the Oval Office 2/2/09. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

Close-up detail of President Obama’s signature on a bill, and a pen used for the signing, aboard Air Force One on a flight from Buckley Air Force Base, Denver Colorado to Phoenix, Arizona 2/17/09. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

President Barack Obama plays basketball at the U.S. Department of Interior, Washington, D.C. with Education Secretary Arne Duncan, 2/28/09. Official White House Photo Pete Souza 

Before giving a policy speech on Iraq, President Barack Obama places his hand on his heart as the national anthem is played backstage at the Field House, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina 2/27/09. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

President Barack Obama plays with a football in the Oval Office 4/23/09. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

President Barack Obama reacts to a comment made at the White House Correspondents Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, May 9, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

President Barack Obama looks out the window of Marine One as the helicopter lands on the South Lawn of the White House after the ride from the U.S. Naval Academy commencement ceremony in Annapolis, Maryland, May 22, 2009. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama waits to be introduced at a fundraiser in Los Angeles on May 27, 2009. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama tapes the weekly address in the Diplomatic Room of the White House, May 29, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

President Barack Obama tours the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt on June 4, 2009. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama poses for photos before departing from Ramstein Airbase in Germany, June 5, 2009. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama looks at a map donated to the White House by the National Geographic Society, in the Oval Office, June 10, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama visits and leads a discussion at “Year Up” in Arlington, Va., June 19, 2009. “Year Up” is a one-year, intensive training program that provides urban young adults 18-24 with a unique combination of technical and professional skills, college credits, an educational stipend and corporate apprenticeship. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama looks out to the Rose Garden from the outer Oval Office, June 25, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama warms up with St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols before the start of the MLB All-Star Game in St. Louis, July 14, 2009. President Obama later threw the first pitch to Pujols. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan, center, holds the autographed basketball given to him by President Barack Obama following their Oval Office meeting Tuesday, July 28, 2009, to discuss the outcomes of the first U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. Looking on at left is Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama, Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sergeant James Crowley toast at the start of their meeting in the Rose Garden of the White House, July 30, 2009. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

President Barack Obama waits to greet members of Congress before a meeting in the Oval Office on July 13, 2008. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama eats a peach following a town hall meeting at Kroger’s Supermarket in Bristol, Va. on July 29, 2009. Seconds later, the President handed a dollar bill to the CEO of Kroger’s, who attended the event. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama looks at the Grand Canyon in Arizona on Aug. 16, 2009. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama greets the crowd prior to his remarks at a rally on health insurance reform at the Comcast Center, University of Maryland in College Park, Md., on Sept. 17, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama and G-20 Summit leaders gather before the official photo at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pa., Sept. 25, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

National Security Advisor Gen. James L. Jones whispers to President Barack Obama, as Spanish President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero looks on, following their press statements in the Oval Office, Oct. 13, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama walks to his desk in-between meetings in the Oval Office, Oct. 20, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)