Morning Rush Hour

[rpcrowe]

People emerging from a residential alley on their way to work in the morning, Hangzhou, China.

[David]

Richard - I think that this is a stunning shot in terms of composition. Technical aspects of exposure, DoF and so on are spot on, but it's the composition that really catches my eye. I think a lot about composition in images, having an interest in painting and art history in general. Thus, I always look for good examples.

Here, the focus of interest is the man on the tricycle. He is placed in a region of interest optically, (rule of thirds etc). He stands out with his bright orange overall. He's engaged and moving. But then we see that he has been framed by the woman at the LHS, the woman to the RHS, the car behind him and the diagonal in the road. In addition, the woman on the LHS, the man himself and the crowd behind him add to the diagonal feel and hence the movement. Is there a point of criticism regarding the tiny bit of wheel in the bottom left hand corner? The jury might be out on that - is it a distraction or is it a "repoussoir" as the French would say (an object placed in the foreground to catch the eye and draw the viewer in - a technique used by artists for centuries).

All this captured in a critical instant, a la Cartier Bresson. I think you have what I should certainly like, Richard - the photographer's eye.

Cheers

David

[rpcrowe]

Thanks for the compliments...

I wasn't sure whether I should or could effectively clone out the wheel in the lower left. If I could have cropped it out without interferring with the lady walkers hand, I would have.

This was just another grab shot around the corner from my hotel. The tour I was on was so chocked full of activity that I didn't really have the time I wanted for doing what I like - shooting people. Most often, we awoke in one city and went to bed in another city. This didn't allow me an opportunity to play hooky from the tour. I managed to play hooky on the last full day in China and ditched the tour and my beloved wife and went shooting on my own in Shanghai; since we were spending the entire day there. Photographically, it was the best day of the entire tour. I was however pretty physically tired from an exhausting two week tour.. But, I was able to get some decent shots.

See my China images at: http://rpcrowe.smugmug.com/

This was the first (and is probably the last) organized tour that I have ever been on. I will admit that I saw a lot of things which I might not have seen if I were not on the tour but, I also missed a lot of stuff that I would have enjoyed shooting. To be truthful, I was apprehensive about traveling to China doing things on my own there and my wife flat would not have gone. However, I realized that China, for a foreign tourist, is probably one of the world's safest places. Even at 70 years old (or perhaps because of my age since Chinese respect elders) I would have no fear wandering just about any place carrying a camera. There are Chinese all over carrying very decent cameras so carrying a DSLR doesn't place you on the "person we should rob list".

IMO, China is one of the most enjoyable places to shoot because the people and culture are so different from what I am used to. I found the people to be exceptionally warm and friendly. There was never any problem shooting anywhere except, as I was leaving a restaurant when a busload of Chinese Military Police pulled up. Our guide (a retired Chinese army man) said that these were replacement guards for a prison down the stret.

The officer in charge of the MP group shouted to us, "NO PICTURES" so I just put the camera on programmed mode. The camera was hanging from its strap and I pointed my chest toward the troops in their "one size fits all" uniforms, turned my head in the opposite direction and fired away. I did get one decent shot. Was it worth the chance? Since I didn't get caught; I guess it was! If I had been caught, I would have claimed to be a deaf old man... which is partially true - the old man part anyway!



I would go back to China in a heartbeat, but my wife wants to explore other areas. I love shooting the people every place I visited. As an example, here is a street scene in Xi'an. I love the interaction between the mother and the child her husband is carrying... I also like the way the crowd forms a triangle leading my eye to the mom and then to her child. That was a total accident. I was concentrating on the mother and her family and the crowd position was just serendipitous...



It looks like this family has not abided by Chinese Government's the one child per family rule. According to our guide, there are a significant number of families who have circumvented the single child rule.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Richard,

I wasn't sure whether I should or could effectively clone out the wheel in the lower left. If I could have cropped it out without interferring with the lady walkers hand, I would have.

You know me; I'll clone anything out but you were/are correct to leave it in in this case

It makes cycles = 3 and adds considerably to the busy atmoshpere - great shot, as is the family one above.

Cheers,

[David]

Hi Richard - China's on the list for a tour and your comments have moved it up to near the top!

The two further images both would have the three Princes of Serendip in a tizz. The soldiers, as the eye moves from left to right, progressively turn away - an interesting composition. The triangle formed by the crowd pointing to the mother and child is augmented by the little girl's hand and arm inadvertently pointing up to the right, again directing attention to the region of interest.

While good fortune does play an important part in candid shots such as these, some photographers do seem to have the, perhaps unconscious, ability to spot these critical moments.

Cheers

David

[rpcrowe]

What helps me is carrying a pair of cameras each with a different focal length lens attached. My normal two lens outfit is the 17-55mm f/2.8 IS and the 70-200mm f/4L IS on a 30D and a 40D. I am hoping to upgrade the 30D to the 7D in a few months (if finances allow) to take advantage of the excellent focusing of that body. It is a bit heavier carrying a pair of bodies but the versatility is wonderful. In reality, I can carry the f/4L IS lens AND the extra body at the same weight as the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens alone.

The 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens is a great low light glass and I can shoot the 70-200mm f/4L at 1/30-1/60 second with every expectation of sharp imagery. I also brought a 12-24mm f/4 Tokina on the trip but seldom used it. I shot about 2/3 of my images with the 17-55mm which gave me a wide enough view for most of my needs such as shooting these workers loading a giant Buddha statue onto a truck..



And for isolating people for a distance the 70-200mm f/4L IS lens is super. One of the reasons I liked shooting in China was that virtually no one minded being photographed. However, it was still handy to be able to stand off and shoot people unawares...



The people of China are beautiful and the younger ladies dress very well, expecially in the cities... I often wonder what the older women think of the snappy dressers since most of the older females grew up in the grey clad Chairman Mao Suit era...



I saw very few Mao Suits and these were worn by older and less affluent folks such as this knife grinder..,



A definite difference in the ability to choose shots is that in China, as opposed to the general culture in Western nations, you are not thought of as a pervert if you shoot a picture of a child. The Chinese regard your attention as a compliment. The children are absolutely beautiful...



And finally, yes... I did shoot the mandatory tourist shots such as this one but, I really enjoyed shooting the people a lot more.



In retrospect, choosing a tour was a great idea as an introduction to China. It was a whirlwind two weeks that took us to nine cities and was physically exhausting. I would recommend that anyone contemplating a trip to China should spend a couple of months in an exercise program - this is especially true for senior citizens such as myself. I also suggest that they bring a pair of comfortable and well broken in walking shoes which provide support. The pavement, even in such cities as Xi'an can be quite rough and the climb up the great wall is a trek! We had many members of our group fall in one place or another. One man fell and broke his Nikon and 18-200mm lens. Since he did not have a second camera he ended up purchasing a replacement on the local economy and paid a lot more for it.

[David]

Richard - Another set of superb shots - the one of the girl with the pink shawl(?), #5, is stunning.

David

[wilgk]

A tremendously interesting series Richard.
Many lessons and examples to take on board from them - as well as the simple pleasure of enjoyment of examples from someone very experienced in the craft.

[Donald]

A brilliantly informative workshop/lesson packed full of points for learning from which all of us can benefit.

And, in addition, for such a documentary series, the use short but well-crafted text completes the story. This tells us more about life in China than, arguably, most TV or newspaper articles and features have ever done.

Thank you.

[Dave Humphries]

I agree, Richard's consistently high quality is evident again here.

[rpcrowe]

A QUESTION

Obviously China and the Chinese made a great impact on me. I returned with a plethora of images which I enjoy sharing. I just hope that I am not overloading this site with these images.

[Donald]

A QUESTION I just hope that I am not overloading this site with these images.

NO

[Dave Humphries]

A QUESTION

Obviously China and the Chinese made a great impact on me. I returned with a plethora of images which I enjoy sharing. I just hope that I am not overloading this site with these images.

How could we complain with quality like this?

Definitely no - you don't overdo it and there's always some fascinating insights to be had from the accompanying text.

[Klickit]

Richard, I'm quite happy to continue to see China.