Monday, July 12, 2010

Chinese Opera Show in George Town


There was a series of Chinese Opera shows held in George Town, Penang. I went there for three nights, for photographing the colorful performers.
During first two nights, I dare not to go up to the back stage to shoot. I just stood close to the stage and shoot, but those shots are not not I wanted to get.
I wanted something close, I wanted to get close to the performers. At second night I saw one photographer went up to the back stage, and shoot on the stage (at the back). That really enlighten me and gave me courage.
Anyway, at last, at the third night, a few performers from the team that performing that night are quite friendly. I talked to them, and finally asked for permission to go on the back stage and shoot.

I mainly shoot with Canon 450D + Canon 85mm f1.8. One of the shots is from Canon 50mm f1.8, one from Canon 10-22mm, and one from Panasonic GF1 + 20mm f1.7. After this stage shooting experience, I like the Canon 85mm f1.8 even more :) :) And I wish I have a 5dmkII...
Browse through the shots below, and you can see the sharpness and bokeh that Canon 85mm f1.8 can deliver. Just that, chromatic abrevation / purple fringing is really a minus for this lens.

I arrange the sequence of the photos following date of picture taken. First night and second night shows are the same, from same team. Third night show were from another team which combined of Malaysia, Thailand and China performers.

Most of my favourite images are from third night show. :) 50 photos shown here..

--------------------------------First night-------------------------------------

85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/400. background is a bit messy..

























85mm, f1.8. iso200, 1/800. focus on her eyes. I got a few continueus shots of this, a few of them OOF..



























85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/200. almost all of the performers like to smoke.






































10mm, f3.5, iso400, 1/6. not many audience. a few more peorple came later, but still not many.


























85mm, f1.8, iso1600, 1/100. she was shocked when saw me pointing camera at her. Image is too noisy until color is broken, so I had to turn it into black & white. I want 5dmkII..


























85mm, f1.8, iso400, 1/100. as i mentioned, many of them smoke. 5dmkII...


























85mm, f2.0, iso100, 1/400. this is very sharp.. 85mm f1.8 rocks!


























85mm, f1.8, iso1600, 1/80. this reminds me of Hong Kong night street. 5dmkII....


























85mm, f2.0, iso400, 1/80. she came to watch the show, stopped in front of the spot light..




























85mm, f1.8, iso200, 1/80. he doesn't like being photographed..


























85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/160. nothing much..


























85mm, f2.0, iso400, 1/250. this is at the back of the stage. she is saying hi to tourist.


























85mm, f2.0, iso400, 1/125. make up in action.

























85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/60. another make up in action.


























85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/640. penang food hor liao!

























85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/250. beating a gong.


























85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/200. so this is the photograph that went on the back stage to shoot. It then encouraged me to go up there too at the third night.


























85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/800. very sharp.


























85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/160. sorry, I don't know what's the musical instrument called..























85mm, f2.0, iso100, 1/800. George Town celebrates its 1st UNESCO world heritage anniversary.






































85mm, f2.0, iso400, 1/200. He never noticed me..


























85mm, f2.0, iso400, 1/400. I wanted to shoot the red shirt man. He told me one picture Rm10..


























85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/400. I asked him for a close-up shot. Not really working well here.. He comes all the way from China to Malaysia to work as a Chinese Opera performer. He doesn't earn a lot here. Just wanted to get out of his village to see the outside world.


























85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/160. foreigner likes the show..


























85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/200. I asked another guy for another close-up. I like this one. I asked him, can I take photo at the back stage? He told me to go ahead.. yeah~ He is a Malaysian.




























50mm, f1.8, iso400, 1/80. The first shot at the back stage. Like this :)


























GF1 + 20mm, f1.8, iso100, 1/40. So this is how the back stage looks like.

























85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/160. I would love this one if the focus point drops on her right eye.. too bad..sayang..






































85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/100. He was waitting for his turn to go out. Very concerntrated. See the bokeh at his another eye? My favourite :)






































85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/400. I can tell from your look that you are bad guy..


























85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/200. See the love tattoo on his arm?


























85mm, f2.0, iso400, 1/100. I had to use manual focus to focus on the person in the mirror. AF always focus on the mirror, but person in the mirror gets blur. My favourite :)

























85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/200. Another close shot.






































85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/200. Yet another close shot :)






































85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/160. These are the words that are shown on the LED board, for audience to watch.


























85mm, f2.0, iso800, 1/80. Sorry, don't know what this musical instrument called..


























85mm, f1.8, iso800, 1/100. f1.8 made low light shooting possible. But again, iso800 causes too much noise. Had to convert it to black and white. My favourite though :)


























85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/400. Like her facial expression


























85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/250. Like this expression too


























85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/200. Little girl wanted to perform on the stage too.


























85mm, f2.0, iso200, 1/200. Dark background.

























85mm, f1.8, iso800, 1/50. Doing make up.






































85mm, f1.8, iso200, 1/250. I like the bokeh. f1.8 still sharp. My favourite :)


























85mm, f1.8, iso800, 1/50. She forgot dialog on the stage, so she had to keep reading to memorize the next part.






































85mm, f1.8, iso800, 1/100. Finally... I think he is abnormal..

Friday, July 9, 2010

About myself & my photography, & why I start blogging again


It has been 8 months since my last post! It was mainly because of I am lazy to write. Yes, I am really not good at writing.
Anyway, I have been thinking to continue photo blogging. This is because I have many to say about my shots like:
  • how I take the shot,
  • story behind the shot,
  • difficulties of taking a shot,
  • doubt about photography,
  • my like and dislike of a shot,
  • how can I do better,
This is mainly for my photography diary purpose, so that I can refer back to them anytime. If I could make some friends here, who can give me some useful comment to clear any of my doubt, or how I can do better, then that would be a bonus :)
About myself:
I use the following gears:

  • Canon 450D
  • Panasonic Lumix GF1
  • Panasonic Pancake 20mm f1.7
  • Canon 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 USM
  • Canon 50mm f1.8
  • Canon 85mm f1.8 USM
About my photography:

Below are the photography field that I am currently interested in:
1) Long exposure seascape, blue hour, star trail
  • I feel comfortable to shoot nature. I love advanture, explore new photographic location.
  • I mainly use Canon 450D + Canon 10-22mm for these. Usually I use a few filters too (Cokin GND, Hoya polarizer, Hoya ND400)
2) Interesting people on streets & animals
  • I feel not comfortable shooting strangers as I am affraid of them. But I wish I could capture the beauty of people.
  • I like to use Canon 450D + Canon 50mm f1.8 & Canon 85mm f1.8 for these. I also use Panasonic GF1 + 20mm f1.7.
Below are a few of my favorite shots from each of my gears:

Canon 450D, Canon 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 USM, ISO100 | f16 | 14mm | 1/2 sec


















Canon 450D, Canon 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 USM, ISO100 | f11 | 10mm | 79 sec

Canon 450D, Canon 50mm f1.8, ISO400 | f1.8 | 1/80 sec

Canon 450D, Canon 50mm f1.8, ISO200 | f4.5 | 20 sec

Panasonic Lumix GF1, Panasonic 20mm f1.7, ISO160 | f2.2 | 1/30 sec

Panasonic Lumix GF1, Panasonic 20mm f1.7, ISO100 | f1.8 | 1/30 sec

Canon 450D, Canon 85mm f1.8, ISO1600 | f1.8 | 1/100 sec

Canon 450D, Canon 85mm f1.8, ISO200 | f2.0 | 1/250 sec