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For Sarina who prefers my people shots to the rice terraces.

2 August 2015

On the  4 June in this Blog section Sarina made the above comment. I would agree with her but was surprised as she had only seen a few of my shots I posted on our Whats App group page.

Anyway she asked for it and now she’s going to get it “in Spades” as the expression goes.

Its easier to get a unique image when photographing people as opposed to landcapes. With landscapes you have anything from a few seconds to a few minutes to get the shot. If you have someone (or many people)  next to you then they have probably captured the same image.

With people its that microsecond that counts. That fleeting glance or expression is all it takes to elevate the image from just ok to something special. Hence the term “decisive moment”.

But the trouble with photographing people is that it requires one to be “Thicked Skinned” as there is the occassional verbal abuse. Landscapes are generally passive unless the weather plays up.  A lot of my group were mainly photographing scenery, themselves, food and the odd child. It takes a rude  “banana” (slang-yellow on the outside, white on the inside) like me to put cameras in strangers faces and recording their everyday activity. My daughters accuse me of being a stalker…..

However it is important to be respectful with the image and hopefully it doesn’t embarrrass them if they saw it. To me its the people that I see and meet that makes travelling enjoyable and rewarding. Hopefully through my images you have a chance to see the real people of China and realise how bloody hard they have to work just to survive.

As mentioned elsewhere in the Blog sometimes its the journey that can be more rewarding than the destination.

For Sarina who prefers my people shots to the rice terraces.

1.    14 Jan 2015    Nickon D3s    iso6400    56mm    f2.8    1/30sec    Nikon 24-70mm f2.8

For Sarina who prefers my people shots to the rice terraces.

2.    15 Jan 2015   Nikon D3s    iso 200    180mm    f4.0    1/180sec  Nikon 70-200mm f4   

For Sarina who prefers my people shots to the rice terraces.

3.    Nikon D3s    iso 12800    32mm    f2.8    1/10sec    Nikon 24-70mm f2.8

They’re doing our dishes out there!  And it was very dark. They were actually doing the dishes in the dark. Sally shone a torch to illuminate the dishes!

For Sarina who prefers my people shots to the rice terraces.

4.    16 Jan 2015    Kunming   Nikon D3s    iso800    28mm    f6.7    1/250sec    Nikon 24-70 f2.8

For Sarina who prefers my people shots to the rice terraces.

5.    Nikon D3s    iso800    70mm    f4.8    1/250sec    Nikon 24-70mm f2.8

6 replies on “For Sarina who prefers my people shots to the rice terraces.”

Hi Chris,
Finally, I’ve had a chance to look at every single shot of the Yunyang people. I knew they would be beautiful, but they are really amazing! Thank you so much for posting them on the blog for me.

You’re such a pro at sneaking in those decisive-moment shots! The emotions, details and background stories were truly captured on your photos. They all bring back memories of the way the people there live their lives.

It was the famous photojournalist Robert Capa who once said “If your photographs aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” But as you said, photographing people candidly from close distance is more or less invasive and can easily incur an angry look or even curse. You’re very right that the most important thing is to be respectful of others and avoid photographing people in vulnerable or embarrassing situations.

Yes, most of my friends, too, are photographing scenery, birds, butterflies, flowers, insects… Sure enough, I’d love to see more people shots on this platform.

Thanks again Sarina. Your prose is excellent as well. Maybe you should write my blurb!
You will see some more people shots as my next gig will be HK street photography- and I’m not your typical Street photographer, no Leica for a start, and so dam obvious like a tourist!

Agree with Sarina (2 Aug Blog) – your people shots are superb! Understand the awkwardness of taking photos of strangers though. Have enjoyed looking at your lovely landscapes too. We’re looking forward to seeing what must be very snowy shots from around Lake Coleridge when you get around to posting them 🙂

Thanks Toni, I really enjoyed my stay at Lake Coleridge Lodge and look forward to seeing you again. About those snow scenes at lake Coleridge….. Still waiting for the mood to get around to it. Still recovering from all that wonderful weekend!

Superb images of the Yunyang people. Your Kunming photo of the young lady feeding the seagulls is an example of how to capture all those seagulls in mid flight. Amazing. A wildlife entry.

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