As I write 29 men are trapped in a coal mine in New Zealand after a methane explosion at the Pike River coal mine. Sydney based photographer Tim Wimborne is at the scene. His picture of people hugging each other so tightly seems to sum up the growing despair as they cling to the hope that the men are still alive, the moment in the picture seems to go on an eternity.

Family members of miners trapped underground in the Pike River coal mine comfort each other in Greymouth on New Zealand’s west coast, after visiting the mine to see rescue preparations November 21, 2010. Efforts to rescue 29 men trapped in a New Zealand coal mine faced more agonizing delays on Sunday when authorities said they would drill a new shaft to test air quality because toxic gases made it too dangerous for rescue teams go in. REUTERS/Tim Wimborne

Two separate disasters in buildings over the last week took over a hundred lives with police taking action against the property owners in both cases. In Shanghai,  Ali Song shooting pictures that not only convey the drama of the fire but also show the scale of the blaze by showing figures dwarfed by the smoke and flames.  The silent upturned faces of onlookers striking a chill in the heart, a mood created by Aly exposing for the highlights allowing the shadow to fall into almost complete darkness.  

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire at a building in Shanghai, November 15, 2010. A 30-storey residential building caught fire on Monday, local firefighters said in a Xinhua News Agency report.  The total number of casualties has yet to be confirmed and the cause of the blaze remains unknown, the report added. REUTERS/Aly Song

Rescue workers wheel a victim out of a burning building in Shanghai, November 15, 2010. A 30-storey residential building caught fire on Monday, local firefighters said in a Xinhua News Agency report. The number of casualties as well as the cause of the blaze both remain unknown, the report added. REUTERS/Aly Song

A resident watches a burning building in Shanghai, November 15, 2010. A 30-storey residential building caught fire on Monday, local firefighters said in a Xinhua News Agency report. The number of casualties as well as the cause of the blaze both remain unknown, the report added.  REUTERS/Aly Song

People watch a burning residential building in Shanghai, November 15, 2010. A 30-storey residential building caught fire on Monday, local firefighters said in a Xinhua News Agency report.  The total number of casualties has yet to be confirmed and the cause of the blaze remains unknown, the report added. REUTERS/Aly Song

 In Delhi a five story building collapsed killing at least 60 people.  Three pictures strong enough to illustrate the whole story; Adnan’s picture of the small girl in the brightly colour dress being carried away – the viewer not sure of she is dead or alive until the caption is read, the men working with hammers and their hands to clear the rubble and Parivartan’s picture of the chaos as dozens of rescue workers struggle in the grey dust of what was once the building, the eye finally settling on the body of the tiny child.

A rescue worker carries an injured girl at the site of a building collapse in New Delhi November 16, 2010. A five-storey residential building collapsed in Lalita Park in New Delhi’s Laxmi Nagar area on Monday evening. Delhi’s fire brigade chief R C Sharma said that at least 30 people and have died in the accident and 25-30 others are trapped under the debris, local media reported. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Rescue workers search for survivors under the rubble of a collapsed building in New Delhi November 16, 2010. At least 55 people were killed and 75 injured after a multi-storey building collapsed in east Delhi late on Monday, local media said. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Rescue workers remove a body from the debris of a building that collapsed in New Delhi November 16, 2010. Rescuers using shovels, digging machines and their bare hands searched for survivors on Tuesday after a five-storey residential building collapsed in India’s capital, crushing at least 60 people to death. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

 This week a theme that really struck me was the number of pictures that were shot through a foreground that makes up the design structure of the picture. From B Mathur’s perfectly symmetrical image from the Eid al-Adha prayers (an inch either way and it just would not work), to Omar’s picture of the harsh black shadows that appear to try to close in to crush the man as he shops in Kabul.  Imagine the initial frustration and then joy as  Jaspon works out that the judge  who is centrally placed at the table tennis competition at the Asian Games doesn’t actually destroy the picture, but makes it.   

Muslims perform the Eid al-Adha prayers at the Jama Masjid (Grand Mosque) in the old quarters of Delhi November 17, 2010. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha by the sacrificial slaughtering of sheep, goats, cows and camels to commemorate Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail on God’s command. REUTERS/B Mathur

An Afghan man walks in a market in Kabul November 20, 2010. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

Guo Yue (L) of China and compatriot Li Xiaoxia play in the women’s singles table tennis final at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, November 20, 2010. REUTERS/Jason Lee

A man looks out of a screen on a truck at opposition supporters protesting against government policies in Colombo November 18, 2010. Marxist student and trade unions are up in arms against the Sri Lankan government demanding for better facilities and salary hikes.  REUTERS/Andrew Caballero-Reynolds

Pedestrians cross a street in Tokyo November 15, 2010. Japan’s economic growth accelerated in the third quarter as expiring government incentives gave consumption a last-minute boost before a long-anticipated slowdown that analysts say is already under way.   REUTERS/Toru Hanai

Dr. Karmele Llano Sanchez from International Animal Rescue checks Monte, a 13-year-old pet orangutan, after members of the West Kalimantan Conservation and Natural Resources Board (BKSDA) seized him from a residence in Bengkayan in West Kalimantan province November 19, 2010. Orangutans are a protected species and it is illegal to possess them in Indonesia.  REUTERS/Feri Latief

Continuing with the theme of subjects shot through an object in the foreground I can move onto the Asian Games.  Jason’s picture summing up the success the Chinese have had with gold medals.

A flag bearer is seen through China’s national flag after they placed first and second in the men’s doubles table tennis event at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, November 19, 2010.  REUTERS/Jason Lee

Sports by its very nature makes great pictures, but to try to get something a little different or even more eye catching is hard to do. I have added five pictures below from the Asian Games that fall into the category of a “bit special” in my opinion. The minimalist frame of the fencing,  the explosive celebration from the weightlifting (ok ok i know its shot by a remote but I still like it), the perfect calm beauty of the synchronised swimmers which begs the question how many women are in that picture, two or three?

China’s Li Guojie is hit by the epee of Japan’s Shogo Nishida during their men’s individual epee match at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, November 18, 2010.  REUTERS/Carlos Barria  

Lu Yong of China reacts after a missed attempt during the men’s 85kg weightlifting event at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, November 17, 2010.  REUTERS/Mick Tsikas

 Anna Yermakhanova and Aigerim Zhexembinova of Kazakhstan perform during the duet technical routine synchronised swimming competition at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, November 19, 2010. REUTERS/David Gray

Finally and purely for my love of shape and line here are two pictures that have almost identical composition. Look at how the lines lead from the top left hand corner to fan out across the picture. What I also like about these pictures is that the first image has only one person in it and the picture has a great sense of calm and the second has hundreds of people and no calm at all – fantasic.  

A man swims in a pool at a luxury hotel  in Colombo, November 16, 2010. The Sri Lankan government is targeting $2 billion in tourism revenue a year by 2016. Sri Lanka earned $350 million in 2009, and $391.8 million by October this year. REUTERS/Andrew Caballero-Reynolds

An overcrowded train approaches as other passengers wait to board at a railway station in Dhaka, November 16, 2010. Millions of residents in Dhaka are travelling home from the capital city to celebrate the Eid al-Adha holiday on Wednesday. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha to mark the end of the haj by slaughtering sheep, goats, cows and camels to commemorate Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail on God’s command. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj