What gives this image it’s appeal? The reason I’m posting this image is that it’s a good example of the combination of colours and textures. It’s not new of course and fairly simple in it’s composition. But there are five distinct textures that are layered adjacent to each other and they’re combined with colours of varying intensity to create a harmonious image. Implied movement also plays a part. Finally the ship in the distance. Again, this is the jpg version of this image using the Nostalgic Neg simulation. The only editing that it underwent was auto contrast and then a slight reduction of saturation as additional contrast tends to boost it a little.
Not 'the Sunbaker'
I don’t think Max Dupain would be bothered. Still, a good angle. I wasn’t lying on the concrete - the pool was raised. Lighting and lines were good. Pentax 55mm on Fuji GFX.
The good old days
Early this century, a friend was using an Agfa digital camera soon after their introduction. It was probably the 1280 or 1680 model, I can’t remember which now. Only 1 megapixel! What I liked about the design was it’s swivel lens. Up until then you had Hasselblad and Rollei and the like which you looked down into the viewfinder to see your subject. So your average member of the public was not used to seeing cameras that weren’t held up to the face to take the photo. It was a stealth camera. You could look down as if you were making adjustments but taking a photo at the same time. I bought into the Nikon version of this camera which was around 2 megapixel. Cost was around AUD2100 (Coolpix 950). The Flash card was 32MB and cost $230. Quite a hefty outlay to buy into the digital arena.
The photo below (Jaipur, India) was taken with that model. I found the colours to be very pleasing. But I took the same shot with a 35mm film camera - likely the Canon EOS5. I found the Nikon colours to be much more true to life and not needing much editing at all. The downside was just the file size - a little small. It served well though for street photography. Once these cameras came more into mainstream useage and people became familiar with them, they lost their stealth status.
He knew something was up.
Nearly missed him
Obviously the best way to ‘see’ a city is to walk around. Weather was changeable and time was short so it was a quick walk around the back streets of Kunming. I nearly missed this little guy. Not sure if he was resting or guarding the papers.
Give me a second
This lady on a street in Shanghai caught me about to take her photo. She didn’t seem too fazed but began to adjust her clothing. Perhaps she would have posed for me anyway, but my mandarin leaves a lot to be desired. For the most part, the people I came across knew little if any english. I would advise travel with a translator as I did. Otherwise organising anything can be a nightmare eg, travel, food etc.
Certain things conspire
Many times we take photos that just aren’t there. Meaning that some things haven’t aligned properly or maybe an object has got in the way and by the time I realign, the moment is gone. Or maybe we are spotted and the subject becomes self conscious and changes the pose. That may even work in our favour as I’ll show in the next post. That’s the spontaneous nature of life. We’ve probably all experienced it at sometime in our photographic journey - the missed opportunity. But if we get out there often enough and keep a keen eye, stuff happens in front of us. The woman in this picture was taking a break from her market stall in Guangzhou, China. The image is made a little stronger since the arms of the poster woman and the chair lady go in the same direction.
