And now for something different

[Avotius]

Might this be one of those bored mid afternoon posts? Yeah I think so...

I was working on a set of images I shot a few weeks ago and found myself not happy with them so what did I do? Simply edit with some hard edged rough looking post and now I am happy with them. Needless to say I stayed pretty far away from "the true image" that the camera spit out, but who cares what the camera spits out, its not the boss of me! 🙄

Anyway here are a bunch of different looking things, all shot with the Ricoh GRD in jpg with SNAP mode and for the most part all pushed in photoshop way beyond the limits of what people say the camera should be able to do, but after printing some of these, I find them perfectly acceptable for what I would use these for, especially that ISO 12800 shot, it printed great!

ISO 3200 push
I raise the camera and the mother straightens out her hair to make her look pretty, mothers are always doing that here when I am trying to take a picture of a kid.

ISO 6400 push
An omen for the future maybe, this house has been slated to be torn down soon and be replaced by a "modern" building, soon the people here will have to move.

ISO 3200 push
Boys want to buy candy.

ISO 1600
Friend of mine standing in the shadows of an old apartment wall.

ISO 1600
Airing out?

ISO 1600
The owner of the butt.

ISO 12800 push
Putting shoes on...

ISO 1600
...out the door...

ISO 3200 push
...for a walk.

ISO 1600
A bangbang porter and his catch.

ISO 6400 push
She looks a little young to be selling those books.

ISO 1600
Its like a nightmare image!

ISO 6400 push
"...please keep your hands and head inside the vehicle..."

ISO 3200 push
He kept trying to run around in the street, kids...

 

[Steveh]

Great shots as always Colin - these have held up very well, and the grittiness is really effective. The shot of the bang bang porter is my favourite - beautifully balanced composition and I love his challenging look. Classic stuff.

China obviously hasn't absorbed the west's paranoia about child photography yet - if you tried to take photos like this in some parts of the UK you'd (quite literally) be lucky to make it out of there alive. Out of interest, do you know these families or were they total strangers?

Cheers, Steve

 

[Avotius]

...China obviously hasn't absorbed the west's paranoia about child photography yet - if you tried to take photos like this in some parts of the UK you'd (quite literally) be lucky to make it out of there alive. Out of interest, do you know these families or were they total strangers?

Cheers, Steve

Its interesting you mention that, while I was editing I noticed a large amount of the photos I had selected out had children in them, dont know how that happened but it did, and while I was thinking about it I was also pondering what would have happened if I had taken these images back in my hometown in the US.

To answer your question, yes and no. For instance the girl going for a walk, their family has some tangled connection to my girlfriends family (I took many of these pictures in the neighborhood around my gf's house) and the boy with his butt showing to everyone and his grandmother, they live in that area too and has seen me around before but we dont "know" each other. The other shots of kids I just took on the streets as passing moments.

People here are very very open to having their picture taken, I have never had any big problems besides once when a lady came screaming at me waving an iron rod despite that I was not even point my camera in her direction, but I think she might have been a little mental. Most of the time everyone here is too laid back to care and thats great for me!

 

[Avotius]

hm....no love for this thread? People don't care for this type of picture? Input?

 

[amateriat]

Colin: On the contrary, as usual, I'm late to the thread, and, also as usual, you done damn good. The beauty is tough to nail down, and probably the better for that, if you get my drift.

I'm not terribly sure what "zone" you lock into when you do this stuff, but I love it, and will leave it at that.Even if the photographic means are digital in nature, you seemed determined to throttle it until you get results, and, man, I truly admire that kind of moxie.


- Barrett

 

[Kin Lau]

I love the shots... maybe it's the point-n-shoot forum that's throwing people off.

 

[shimo-kitasnap]

I really like these, ....although when I clicked on the post I was thinking about "and now for something completely different" by Monty Python.

Where did you shoot the pics?

 

[Avotius]

I really like these, ....although when I clicked on the post I was thinking about "and now for something completely different" by Monty Python.

Where did you shoot the pics?

Thats what I was thinking when I half assed the title of this thread 🙂

I took these pics around Chongqing here in Chinaville. Mostly in the Jiangbei district.

 

[jan normandale]

Colin I wish I was in China. The relaxed demeanor of most of your subjects makes the viewing enjoyable. I wish people were more like that in North America. It permits the viewer to actually relate to these people. The kid shot "going for a stroll" is my fave. This wouldn't be likely to happen over here. So I enjoy it for that kind of a moment that I know is universal but not seen here.

 

[amateriat]

I really like these, ....although when I clicked on the post I was thinking about "and now for something completely different" by Monty Python.

Hmm...I was thinking of a "Spanish Inquisition" joke here...

Where did you shoot the pics?

To quote someone else entirely, I would say all Colin's photos were "made in China, not of china." 🙂


- Barrett

 

[cam]

superbe!

i frequently push my GRD pics -- they're so hardy and seem to thrive on rough love.

 

[Petroleum V. Nasby]

That is a BIG baby.