Thaipusam - Tom Shen (1/2)

tomshen · 19th January 2003

Well, here are mine. Together with another post, I want to bring out some journalism taste which I seldom tried before, i.e. the wide angle perspective of close-up. I'd like to say Thaipusam was hard to shoot. u can spot photographical opportunities everywhere, but once looking at the viewfinder, BAD! disastrous background everywhere. Another concern was: with so many photographers in clubsnap going to shoot, how to avoid the same perspective, a.k.a. possibly boring perspective. At the first one hour, I felt really bad, dunno whether want to press the button, while so many seemingly great moments were passing by me! The good thing is: the harder I felt, the faster I learnt. After some adjustment, felt much more comfortable. Nope, I would certainly not make this one another esplanade style, shooting with 70-200 all the time. So I mixed in the crowd, shifting wide angle (20/f1.8) and telephoto (70-200) whenever I wanted. Indian people were kind, they smiled to me and sometimes made jokes on themselves after being photographed. I tried to go down as low as possible and sometimes really close. At the end, I was so relaxed that just shot freely without even looking at the viewfinder (digital mah) or during walking. Making as much interaction with people as possible, smile, shoot, smile... Really fun with wide angle at such close distance! This was definitely a great experience to me as I have never done this before. But... wish to have a wider lens, say 16mm

All comments/critiques are welcome. The full series with colors will be uploaded to my site some time later. Keep turning up! thx!

tomshen · 19th January 2003

tomshen · 19th January 2003

StreetShooter · 19th January 2003

Good stuff. Yes, a different angle is what you should aim for.

Personally I don't like the sepia tones, plain B&W is my preference. Higher contrast would also be good, especially for dark-skinned subjects. But the composition of this series (and especially Part 2) is good. Give yourself a pat on the back!

One thing I have found useful is to just start shooting, anything and everything, to warm up. Then the good shots start coming in. Holding back from the first few shots is like writer's block. Just start shooting and you will get into the groove, so to speak. Of course, it helps a lot if you're using digital, and have lots of storage available.

willyfoo · 19th January 2003

Excellent shots... I feel ashamed to post mine now

Jer76 · 19th January 2003

nice series.. waiting for the coloured ones..

isomers007 · 20th January 2003

really like this series becos of the different angles taken in your composition. like streetshooter mentioned, i prefer a bw version of ur pix.

FLiNcHY · 21st January 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by tomshen

Jerry · 22nd January 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by tomshen

Favourite of the series! Generally very well composed shots. Just a personal preference, don't think you need to have these shots in sepia toned. General black and white will probably do.

Jerry

19th January 2003	#1
tomshen Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 3,719	Thaipusam - Tom Shen (1/2) Well, here are mine. Together with another post, I want to bring out some journalism taste which I seldom tried before, i.e. the wide angle perspective of close-up. I'd like to say Thaipusam was hard to shoot. u can spot photographical opportunities everywhere, but once looking at the viewfinder, BAD! disastrous background everywhere. Another concern was: with so many photographers in clubsnap going to shoot, how to avoid the same perspective, a.k.a. possibly boring perspective. At the first one hour, I felt really bad, dunno whether want to press the button, while so many seemingly great moments were passing by me! The good thing is: the harder I felt, the faster I learnt. After some adjustment, felt much more comfortable. Nope, I would certainly not make this one another esplanade style, shooting with 70-200 all the time. So I mixed in the crowd, shifting wide angle (20/f1.8) and telephoto (70-200) whenever I wanted. Indian people were kind, they smiled to me and sometimes made jokes on themselves after being photographed. I tried to go down as low as possible and sometimes really close. At the end, I was so relaxed that just shot freely without even looking at the viewfinder (digital mah) or during walking. Making as much interaction with people as possible, smile, shoot, smile... Really fun with wide angle at such close distance! This was definitely a great experience to me as I have never done this before. But... wish to have a wider lens, say 16mm All comments/critiques are welcome. The full series with colors will be uploaded to my site some time later. Keep turning up! thx! __________________ Visit http://www.tomshenstudio.com

19th January 2003	#2
tomshen Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 3,719	__________________ Visit http://www.tomshenstudio.com

19th January 2003	#3
tomshen Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 3,719	__________________ Visit http://www.tomshenstudio.com

19th January 2003	#5
willyfoo Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: North Posts: 2,085	Excellent shots... I feel ashamed to post mine now __________________ Singapore Wedding Photographer Willy Foo on Twitter & Facebook

19th January 2003	#4
StreetShooter Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Katong Posts: 4,702	Good stuff. Yes, a different angle is what you should aim for. Personally I don't like the sepia tones, plain B&W is my preference. Higher contrast would also be good, especially for dark-skinned subjects. But the composition of this series (and especially Part 2) is good. Give yourself a pat on the back! One thing I have found useful is to just start shooting, anything and everything, to warm up. Then the good shots start coming in. Holding back from the first few shots is like writer's block. Just start shooting and you will get into the groove, so to speak. Of course, it helps a lot if you're using digital, and have lots of storage available.

19th January 2003	#6
Jer76 Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: West Posts: 1,109	nice series.. waiting for the coloured ones..

20th January 2003	#7
isomers007 Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: leepublic of singapore Posts: 1,812	really like this series becos of the different angles taken in your composition. like streetshooter mentioned, i prefer a bw version of ur pix.