Upcoming: November 8

DJ Shadow in Shanghai.

Chinglish preservation efforts

I always see funny Chinglish signs but I rarely pause to take photographs of them. Fortunately, others are not so careless. Last year, the Daily Mail posted a series of pictures of Chinglish classics, including "The store be sterilized inside, please be contented" and "Free yourself from the misery of existence" (mistranslated name of an art shop). There is also a Flickr group devoted to the unusual language.

Hot Licks

I wasn't aware that actress Juliette Lewis ("What's Eating Gilbert Grape?") had a band until today. She is the lead singer for hard rock band called Juliette and the Licks. I kind of like them. Song samples can be found on their MySpace page. Apparently, they've been around since 2004. I've been in China for the last two-and-a-half years, so you'll have to forgive me if this old news. Lewis has a good set of pipes and this band has attitude. Their music is nothing revolutionary–just loud raunchy rock that gets you moving.

Show Rider

Show Rider
Originally uploaded by photog37

Crashing the Ballet

A followup to my earlier post on the Theatre of Nations. As I reported in a previous entry, I was told that international photographers were not being given photo passes at this international event (carried out under the indirect auspices of UNESCO). While that bias is true, I have been able (fortunately) to take photos regardless. Tickets were being offered outside the doors by scalpers in abundant supplies. What is cool about venues in Nanjing (unlike, say, Shanghai or anywhere in the western world) is that they are wholly tolerant of photographers shooting during cultural performances. Speaking from the standpoint of a photographer, I think this is the way it should be the world over. For Nanjing theaters, which have trouble filling seats, it's a draw to get people in the door. Shanghai could use this extra draw as well; the Shanghai Grand Theater may be a grand and exquisite classical auditorium, but there's nothing grand about its attendance record, which tends to be pretty dismal outside of Christmas and other special occasions. Yes, photo clicking is annoying, but if you're tuned into a performance it's very easy to quickly drown it out. Having those photos in circulation means loads of publicity for the performers. And for the spectators, it is a way to remember a two-hour event forever. There may be exceptions, but I think as a general rule performing halls should be much more open to photography.

Puking

Puking
Originally uploaded by photog37

We've all had days like this.

Looking for a backup hard drive?

I found this review to be useful.

Ying Tang: Shanghai photographer

One of the most generous commentators on my Flickr site is a woman named Ying Tang. I take her remarks as high praise because of the fine quality of her own work. Selections from her street photography work can be found on the Public Life website.

In-Store Model

Model
Originally uploaded by photog37

A living model poses inside of a Shanghai store display.

Up close and personal

Can I say that the over-sharpened lens-up-to-the-nose-hair portrait style has been overdone? Take a look at this Corbis shot of Oliver Stone used in the Wall Street Journal. That's what I'm talking about. The New York Times Magazine loves to run cover photos using the same style, especially if the story involves a politician. Some might call it intimacy but I call it laziness.

Shanghai Chili Cookoff

Shanghai Chili Cookoff
Originally uploaded by photog37

To each their own. The chili wasn't bad.

Keywords used to filter web content in China

An interesting list.


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The Girl and the Balloon

The Girl and the Balloon
Originally uploaded by photog37
One of the neat thing about Flickr is the many obscure groups you will find inside its vast collection. Today a photographer contacted me and asked me to submit the photo above to a group called "Her Balloon Happiness" (there is also a corresponding "His Balloon Happiness" group elsewhere). I took a look at the group page and was surprised to discover more than 1,700 images of women and girls with balloons from around the world.

These range from the obvious photos of attractive models (here, here, here and here) to artsy candid pics (here and here) to humorous stuff (here and here) and retro visions (here)...

I've had a long week. My hard drive died and I have 300 gigabytes of data that I don't know if I'll ever see again. There was something about all those balloons that brought a smile to my face. Here's a picture of a girl with her balloon.

Please don't come to our international events

So get this: I was planning to take photos at the 31st annual Theatre of Nations in Nanjing. The Theatre of Nations is a UNESCO-connected event involving performers from ten or more countries. The whole thing had been arranged. A couple weeks ago, I was told I would be able to come in and photograph the event, no problem.

Today, one day before the opening, I was told by the organizer that things had changed. The organizer, a Mr. Xu, said that because of the current climate in China, photographers from the international community are not invited and the only way I would be able to attend would be to go through an elaborate procedure with the government which he did not anticipate I would get. Well, there's one way to welcome the world.

These are the same sort of shenanigans which went on with the Olympics. It's why so many Olympic venues in Beijing were half-empty and the atmosphere there was so dull and vapid. If China wants to become a world leader, it needs to learn to get over its biases and xenophobia.


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Party paparazzi

Beckoned by the call of free drinks and models with long legs, this photographer is now moonlighting in the discotheque world. Evidence can be found on this website.



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Wham! makes it big in China

Wham! apparently was the first major pop group to tour China in the post-Mao opening period of the 1980's. A documentary was made of the 1985 tour and part of it can be found on Youku.


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Between Two Sides

Between Sides
Originally uploaded by photog37

A photo taken at dusk with the new 40D camera.

Hulu International

Tuned in just now to watch the presidential debate on Hulu, Fox and NBC's erstwhile effort to compete with YouTube and other online video sources. With much aplomb, it was announced earlier this season that Hulu would be broadcasting the second two presidential debates live.

Here's what appears at the Hulu debate feed right now, five minutes into the debate:

"Sorry, this video is currently unavailable. We apologize for any inconvenience."

Fortunately, those techies at the New York Times have a live feed which I am using to watch the debate right now.



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New Frontier

My camera died so I had to make an unexpected purchase. After withdrawing all the money from my bank account, I came up with the Canon 40D which I negotiated from a local retailer for $885. I would have preferred to get the 50D, with its enhanced ISO, but I didn't have the extra $250 to pull it in.

It's going to be a long month. Tomorrow's dinner will be the only remaining food in the house: pasta shells and coconut milk. Should be an interesting mixture!

Over the last week, I've had a chance to use the new camera extensively. My observation: the xxD series is miles ahead of the Digital Rebel series in every way. The focusing is precise and the light meter is more accurate (although the 40D sometimes underexposes by about a third of an f-stop; by contrast, the Rebel XT frequently overexposed by one- or two-thirds). Shooting in monochrome, I'm able to nearly mimic the look of black and white film. The shutter click is loud but not as grating as the XT. Noise at 3200 is a bit of a problem (that's the principal reason I would have preferred the 50D; the 50D has a listed ISO of 12,800, which means in practice it develops solid pictures at 3200, noisy but usable pictures at 6400, and TV static-style pictures at 12,800). For a very clear ISO sample of the 50D, try this website.

This one-f-stop difference is very significant in my case because of the frequency with which I do no-flash low-light photography. Other than that, though, I don't think there's much difference between the 40D and 50D (or the 20D or 30D, for that matter). The 50D does have 15 megapixels, but since I'm not into billboard photography just yet, this isn't a make-or-break priority right now. I'd like to have that extra file data, but I realize trying to dump that much onto my hard drive would cripple it (I'm going to have enough trouble managing the workflow with the 40D's 10 megapixels).

Camera manufacturers like to make it seem like they're re-inventing the wheel with every model that comes out, but truthfully an update is an update–if it was a new camera, they'd give it a new name. I looked at the specs of all three of the Digital Rebels that were released last year and I wasn't convinced that they weren't all the exact same camera with minor tweaking here and there (megapixels is a frequent distinguishing feature, but more megapixels often just means more noise).

One thing that does impress me about the 40D is the battery life... I've had several heavy shooting days, and the battery hasn't run down on me yet (only once did it drop to the halfway marker). With the Rebel XT, a heavy shooting day meant using the kit battery and two spares.

Another HUGE difference is the viewfinder. Working with the Rebel XT for the last three years, I didn't realize that I couldn't see what I was shooting. The 40D viewfinder is much larger and brighter and shows almost the entire image area. With this new range of view, I now have the option of manual focusing, something that wasn't very practical with the Rebel XT's pinhole-size eyepiece.

The 40D is a bigger and heavier compared to my old machine, but I quickly got used to the added heft and didn't really notice it after a day or two. The wheel menu is a lot faster to use than punch buttons. I set the focus points on quick dial, which makes it much easier to adjust them on the go.

One thing I don't like: the only way to view the focus point is to change it; I'd like to be able to just glance at it and confirm what it is (today I was getting frustrated with poor autofocus, then realized that the focus point had been bounced to the top of the screen, I must have brushed against the quick dial).

Don't have much more to say about it. There's the update on my new right hand.


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