It was an amazing six weeks traveling with the Spanish national football team and I couldn’t believe it would come to an even more amazing end when Spain played in the final match against my native homeland of Holland.

This World Cup trip has taken me, and my Spanish colleagues, from Schrun and Innsbruck in Austria back to Madrid and Murcia in Spain to Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria and again Durban and Johannesburg. After a bit of a slow start against Switzerland, Spain players David Villa, Andres Iniesta, and the rest of the Spanish team, quickly picked up the pace and made it all the way to the final.

It was a sight to see – one hundred and sixteen Spaniards and one Dutchman, leaving the Road Lodge home in Potchefstroom behind, set on the last leg of their long travel; on our way to the final of the 2010 World Cup, played at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg.

Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

After a three hour (or so) bus ride from Potchefstroom to Johannesburg we arrived at our hotel. We had just enough time for lunch before we had to leave to get to the Spanish training session at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg. After weeks of chatting with my Dutch friends, who are following the Dutch team trough South Africa, it is great seeing them again. Jerry, Guus, Olaf, Koen, Michael, Hans and many more, with lots to talk about before the training session started. The Soccer City stadium was impressive and I quickly found seat number 214 — my seat for the final match.

The following morning, I woke up after a good night of sleep, from the sound of ‘Manolo El Bombo de España’ drumming his drum under my bedroom window while singing Yo soy español, español, español. Thanks for that Manolo, but that wake up call made me quickly realize that it was finally the day for the final match.

Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

After I ate breakfast and packed my gear it was time to go to the stadium. Instead of the usual manaña, manaña we arrive well ahead of the game at the stadium. After meeting up with the rest of the Getty Images team we make our way inside the stadium way earlier than usual due to the closing ceremony that will be held before the match in which Nelson Mandela was rumored to appear. After setting up my remote cameras behind the goal, and preparing the other cameras with which I would shoot during the match, it was time for the closing ceremony.

Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

The appearance of Nelson Mandela was short but impressive. The former South African president waved to the crowd seated on the back of a golf cart. It’s been awhile that I have had goose bumps while taking pictures, but this moment brings them back. It was very impressive and it made the atmosphere so much more electric than it already was.

But… back to reality. It was time to look for the famous girlfriends of the Dutch players. Dressed with an orange muppet on her head and wrapped in a Dutch flag, the girlfriend of Wesley Sneijder, Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen, was standing with the girlfriend of John Heitinga, Charlotte-Sophie Zenden. The two were easy to find.

Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

Finally, it was 20:30hrs, the referee blew his whistle and the 2010 World Cup final match was on its way. My position gave me the Spain attack in the first half. In my heart, as a Dutch man, I was hoping for Holland to win, but I knew Spain was the strongest team. Having followed the Spanish players for the past weeks and, most of them, during this season’s Champions League and Spanish La Liga, I know how good they are.

After many hard moments of football and emotions the game goes into extra time. The match was finally getting underway with good football and some great shots on goal by both Holland and Spain.

Unfortunately for the Dutch, Andre Iniesta scored the winning goal at the end of the second half of overtime. As the goal is scored on the other end of the pitch from where I was, I concentrated on the Spanish goal keeper celebrating his teammate’s goal.

Two minutes later the match is over. Holland loses. While the Dutch deal with their disappointment, Spain is handed the trophy. Their joy is obvious and amazing. Having followed this team and the final game, these boys deserved to win the 2010 World Cup.

Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

Photos by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

After the celebrations on the pitch it was time to pack my gear. After a well-deserved refreshment with my colleagues, it was time to say goodbye to them, until the next assignment. I headed off to the Spanish media bus, comforted by my Spanish colleagues on the Dutch team’s loss.

At two in the morning I arrived at the Johannesburg International airport.  I rushed past queues of surprised looking fans and  I was on the Spanish team plane within 20 minutes after arriving to the airport. Three hours after the match I am airborne, leaving the winter, the 2010 World Cup tournament and a fantastic country behind. Now off to warmth of the Spanish summer.

Whether you wanted it or not, soon after take-off it was party time and I was starting to feel like it was going to be a long flight. While hanging in one of the plane’s galleys, waiting for a photo opportunity with the Spanish team, the World Cup trophy was handed to me. This was a chance one does not get too often, especially being Dutch.  A colleague quickly snaps a picture for me as proof and as a memory for later.

That’s me holding the trophy.

After handing back the trophy we finally get the opportunity to photograph the Spanish players on the plane.

Photos by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

Not much longer, we land in Madrid, where thousands of fans and the summer weather are waiting for us.

While my Getty Images colleagues Denis and Angel cover the players arrival, I picked up my luggage and changed my winter boots, jeans and jumper for summer clothes in the backseat of a taxi. I made it to my spot on Gran Via in the center of Madrid just in time to cover the player’s parade.

I was amazed by the crowd. Of course I had imagined that the fans in Spain would be going crazy after winning the World Cup but to completely understand the importance of the title, you have to see the hundreds of Spanish flags waving in the air.

Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

While the bus with the players celebrating  on it slowly made its way through the crowd, I took my last 2010 World Cup pictures realizing what a privileged position I have had over the past few weeks. I have witnessed and documented history watching  Spain becoming world champions.

Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

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Editor’s note: We recently received the following update from our friend, Bonile Bam, about his documentary work with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, among other experiences. Please note, all photos are courtesy of Bonile Bam.

“In 2003, before I left Johannesburg  for New York, I was invited by The Nelson Mandela Foundation to photograph the former president and his guests.  At the end of  the event, I shook his soft right hand. On hearing the voice at close range, my heart pumped harder and harder.  Mandela, who is also known as Madiba, said “Good to see you young man, I’m glad you came.”  Smiling, he continued, “You must treat a camera like a key, it will unlock many doors for you.”

That was a turning point in my life.

Three months later, I received a call from the Market Photo Workshop, the school of photography  established in Johannesburg by documentary photographer, David Goldblatt.  I was told about the Getty Images Fellows Program in New York. Since it had been a dream to further my studies, I embraced the opportunity and applied.

Give thanks to that special handshake with Madiba – I was chosen to be the first Getty Images Fellow,  to study for a year at the ICP, and to work as an intern with the Getty Images news desk between terms.  While in NY, I took every opportunity presented before me – learning as much as I could  – with a vision to bring the skills to Africa.

Not so long back in my own country, I was faced with numerous challenges.  To escape them, I began a photo project tracing Nelson Mandela’s footsteps in Mthatha, Eastern Cape – not far from where I was born.  The idea was to tell a South African story.  To achieve this, I documented the spaces and structures that governed his childhood -  focusing more on struggles, tradition, heritage, culture, and memory.  This route inspired me – hence the problems were reduced each time I moved forward – I later reconnected with myself.   In 2008, The Star published an article I wrote as tribute to Madiba’s 90^th birthday.

I freelanced for various institutions, publications, organizations and wrote part time for The Sunday Independent newspaper and  covered assignments in the townships, urban and rural areas.

Now, I am represented by Seippel Gallery, contribute to Gallo Images and to the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

This year, Madiba’s grandson, Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandla Mandela, requested me to be an in- house photographer for the Mandela family in Mvezo Great Place (where Mandela’s umbilical cord was hidden in 1918).”

Bonile’s latest work can be seen  in the following Exhibits:

Iziko Art Collections, Cape Town , until September

Africa Salutes you Mandela – Mandela Foundation, 11 June – July

Apartheid, Struggle, Freedom – SA photography 1950 2010, Berlin, Ulm and Goch, Germany

Photo Workshop -  World Cup Rural and Urban Photo Diary Newtown, Joburg

AngloGold – World Cup Rural and Urban Photo Diary , Newtown, Joburg

Mandela Day – Pretoria Art Museum, opens July 18

Mandela Day – Maponya Mall, Soweto, opens July 18

Meaning of Home – Mandela Foundation, opens July 18

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85432054, Siobhan Connally/Getty Images

Beginning today, you might notice a small change to the way you access gettyimages.com.

You’ll see the difference in your browser as we automatically redirect you to your local site –gettyimages.co.uk, gettyimages.ie, or gettyimages.dk, for example. One thing you won’t see is a difference in the quality or variety of imagery, footage and music you already find on gettyimages.com.

Once on your local site, you’ll also see stuff that’s specific to your country – like promotions, events and themed content. As well as prices automatically displayed in the correct currency for your country.

Auto redirection isn’t new: websites like Google and Yahoo use it to deliver a better, more relevant visitor experience. We’re hoping you’ll enjoy the benefits of going local at Getty Images too. But, if you don’t, you’ll always have the option to return to our .com site (or any other of our local sites) by using the ‘International’ button in the top right corner of the homepage.

If you have any feedback about the change – good or bad – please do get in touch by using the ‘Contact us’ section at the bottom left of your local site’s homepage. Or just leave a comment here.

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Soul Brother/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Kristen Stewart attends The Screening Of “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” on June 28, 2010 in New York with a fiery blaze of auburn.  The deadpan stalret has been dipping into the dye since the beginning of her career to great effect.  The Twilight franchise called for a harder, darker edge, that Stewart has embraced off screen as well.  What do you think of the lighter locks?  An almost unrecognizable, blond Kristen is pictured below in 2005.  We think it’s quite flattering but belies her edgy inner self.  See more of Kristen’s colors here.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Jim Spellman/WireImage

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Alain Adler /  Roger-Viollet

Just as fashions are blushing with modesty,  and rumpled classic cool has taken over the streets, Jean Luc Godard’s 1960  Breathless has been reissued.  Fifty years after Godard’s debut as a director, the progenitor of the “French New Wave” s impact is still recognized.  Jean Paul Belmondo’s casual bravado appeals just at it did when the film was released, and Jean Seberg’s naive toughness transcends time.   Style-wise, all of the key elements of todays aesthetic are there, in black and white.  Seberg’s pixie haircut, the boyfriend shirt, stripes, the fedora and the full skirt.  Carey Mulligan,  Kirsten Dunst, Michelle Williams, Diane Kruger and Kylie Minogue have all channeled Jean Seberg’s tidy bohemian look in the recent past.  For a time, Brad Pitt emulated Belmondo’s disheveled perfection to a tee.  Take in Paris circa 1960,  enjoy a timeless love story and see where the cliche comes from this summer.  Check out Breathless Inspired fashion here.

Walter Daran//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Walter Daran//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

James Devaney/WireImage/Getty Images

MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP/Getty Images

Mike Marsland/WireImage/Getty Images

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It was another early morning start the next day. We had to get back for the US game against Slovenia. I was really looking forward to this game because it was the only time that I would get to see the US play the entire tournament. We hit the road by 8:00 am and lucky for Streeter, we were able to make good time so we stopped at the McDonalds close to the stadium for him to get a couple of Big Macs, nuggets and fries.

The atmosphere at the US game was great. Lots of fans were dressed up in red, white and blue with their faces painted. Unfortunately, two goals by Slovenia in the first half silenced the crowd. Both of the goals were on my side and after the second goal Zlatan Ljubijankic of Slovenia ran towards my corner. I was thinking that finally after six games, I was going to get a nice jubo picture. However, two things went wrong – first, Ljubijankic was looking back at his team and second, a few of the best frames were out of focus. I put that behind me, and hoped the US would come back in the second half. The US did come back to tie the game 2-2, but there were no more celebrations coming my way.

I kept telling myself to be patient, and eventually a great celebration would come running my way. That day would come the following day. We hit the road again, and headed to Rustenburg for the Australia vs. Ghana game. I was excited about this match because I lived in Australia for nearly three years and followed their team while I was down there.  Before the game, we found a “café” across the road that was basically a butcher shop that you picked your meat out of the cooler, and then they throw it on the BBQ out back – so we ordered up a dozen sausages and a few steaks and found a picnic table out front.

The women in the café prepare our sausage lunch

With our stomachs full we headed across the street to get ready for the Australia game. I stopped along the way to get a picture with a local who was selling ear plugs to drown out to the sound of the vuvuzela horns.

Meandearplug

Brett Holman of Australia scored an early goal for Australia and came running right at me. I kept firing away and then quickly loaded the disk in to my computer to transmit the entire disk back to the editors working in Johannesburg without looking at any of the frames. The whole time it was downloading, I was hoping that the pictures were sharp and that the exposure was correct because half the field was in a shadow. I was happy when I finally got a chance to look at the disk. The pictures were tack sharp and the lighting was great. Unfortunately, after Harry Kewell got sent off for a hand card in the box, Ghana scored a goal on a penalty kick to tie the game at 1-1 .

All of our photographers in my group have gotten some really nice pictures over the past few days. We are back on the road this morning for a five hour bus ride to Nelspruit for the Italy vs. New Zealand game. Hopefully there will be a McDonalds there for Streeter and our group will come away with a few more great pictures.

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First day of registration

The Cannes Young Lions Competitions kicked off on Saturday, June 19, 2010 with a record number of teams competing in the Print Competition. 42 teams from all corners of the world assembled in Cannes to receive a brief in which they were tasked to develop a print campaign for Plan, an organization that focuses on child sponsorship in developing countries.  In the brief, the creative teams were to design an print piece that encouraged targeted audiences to sponsor a child, particularly girls.

Competition briefing

Teams working on their projects

Teams are given 24 hours to execute their plans.  Most brainstormed through the night and came into the Palais at 8:30 am to start putting their ideas together. For their campaigns, the teams were using images from Getty Images editorial and creative collections. The access to our editorial content was a huge asset as nearly all of them used it. Once completed, they had to wait until Monday, June 21 to find out if their work has enabled them to rise to Cannes stardom as a winner of the Young Lions Competition.

Peru – Gold Prize Winner

The Young Lions Print Competition judging took place on Sunday, and it was totally inspiring to witness. The jury was given 90 minutes to judge and deliberate on the work. Eventually, Peru was chosen as the Gold winner, with Colombia the notable Silver winners and Denmark as the bronze.  Once again, it demonstrated the power of imagery when used to move people and get them to take action and how creativity can be a force of good. Mark Tutssel, Jury President gave great leadership to the jury and ensured the selected winners’ work not only demonstrate strong creativity and message, but could also be used effectively by the client.

Colombia – Silver Prize Winner

Denmark – Bronze Prize Winner

On the first day of the festival, more than 700 delegates registered for this year’s event. It was great to see so many agencies and clients already on the ground and in the Young Lions Zone. YouTube, HP and Microsoft Advertising had done a great job creating a chill out zone for the teams. Once again, the seminar program looks amazing with headliners including Mark Zuckerberg from Facebook, Yoko Ono and Ben Stiller. And there will also be some great debates across the week; I am particularly excited to see a number of the social media seminars.

Already, this year feels more positive than 2009, which saw a lower attendance and a greater feeling of uncertainty. I’m excited to see the work, meetings and inspiration that will come from seven days here.

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