On the first day in Nanjing we are visiting Fuzimiao, the Confucian Temple
I'll be using the GX8 with a 50mm equiv. lens
let's walk around and take some photos
What I'm doing here is I'm holding the Olympus E-M5 ii with my left hand for recording video
and GX8 with the 25mm f1.4 in my right hand for taking photos
Before I came here I got a friend who would take videos for me
but when I met him I saw he got very shaky hands
even the Olympus in body stabilisation can't handle
I first thought he got parkinsons
but he told me he was dating
he got an app in his phone that when he shakes his phone the app could match him with a female who uses the same app and shaking at the same time
The Confucian Temple is located in southern Nanjing
on banks of the Qinhuai River
over a thousand year since it was first build around 1034
the place has been damaged during different wars re-constructed and renovated several times
there are still buildings here which have hundreds years of history
which reminds me back in Melbourne there was a time I was stopped by a security person in a university
who told me there are certain things made by design students that have copyrights
so I'm not allowed to take photos
It's a bit irony that I can take photos and videos of buildings here
that carry lots of design elements
and have hundreds of years of history
but some design students are worried as if everyone in the world wants to copy their work
I've tried different focal lengths for street photography
I found 28 to be a bit wider and 50 a bit limiting
35 is the balance between the two
it's neither too wide that your eyes and brain can't capture
or too narrow that limits your vision
it's the classic focal length for streets over the past few decades
I've also seen people say that 28 is the new 35
because the streets today are narrow and there're more people on the street
so a focal length wider than the classic 35 is more practical
which makes sense
but I still like 50mm
because there's a shy factor that prevents be from getting close to subject
which is required by 28 or even 35
having said this
it sounds like 50mm is used purely as a tele lens in order to keep a distance from subject
this is not exactly true
other benefits of 50 is that
it forces you to compose your photo by looking at the scene
in other words, it frames what your eyes could see
it's well-known that Cartier Bresson mainly used 50mm lens
but not many people know that he was a painter before photography
I guess the composition in painting more or less affected how he took photos later
Prime lens forces your to compose your frame
people say that you have to zoom with your foot
I'd rather say you have to compose with your foot
there's a subtle difference
We stopped here and went to a Cantonese restaurant to have lunch
I ordered melon juice with the assumption that the melon in the menu was honey melon
but got a glass of bitter melon in the end
after lunch we went to the next place
it's interest that these old streets are not dedicated tourist place
or something separate from the city
it sits just within the city as part of it
now we've arrived at Laomen Dong the Old Gate East
They rebuilt some of the old streets
with the same design to match what was here hundreds of years ago
unlike Melbourne where only heritage buildings are preserved
and some old buildings are demolished with only a front wall left
surrounded by modern apartments cheaply built for investment
The shops along the streets are worth visiting they got lots of interesting stuff
Now I'm in one of the shops
lots of stuff here
but just when I wanted to look into details
I realised they don't allow photography inside
so I went out
the staff didn't stop me though
even when he saw me carrying two cameras and obviously recording something
maybe he's an intern, or just don't care
I've been here, so is my dog
One technique in street photograph is to anticipate the shot
Here's a model of a craftman with a hammer making a bucket
A model of a kid, looking confused
A little girl running into the scene
also got confused
sigh
I don't have enough DOF to get everything in focus
I should have changed the camera settings beforehand
here you see why having dedicated settings are important
and why I should concentrate on taking photos
instead of taking video at the same time
it's approaching sunset
and I'm really tired of holding two cameras
and walking slowly like a castrated man in ancient China
so I decided to only take photos
the place gives me a smell of life
the place gives me a smell of life
and the breathing of culture
when I first came to Melbourne
the city gave me a refreshing look and feel
but having lived there for several years
then come back to the old place
it's even more refreshing
it stays at where it was
doesn't want to change or catch up with anything
the life here is slow and relaxed
compared to other parts of the city
it may not be as convenient as modern city
where people spend their life trying to make a better life
this place makes you ask
this place makes you ask
what really is life
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét