Vacation Photos - Shantou China (Dec 2010) - Part 1

Decided to share some China vacation photos here. Well... it happen on December 2010... around 1 year already. I really miss those days. Will go there again when I have the time and chance.

Anyway, I was staying with my uncle who was a native in that village and the whole family welcome myself and my mum to their home warmly.

And this is me... at night on the first day... Really a lousy self portrait... I have no support or whatsoever and so had to rely on my own self's hold and the IS that Canon had in its lens.




ISO: 200
Shutter Speed: 1/100
Aperture: f/11



On the first day there, I really didn't take much photo (any photo actually). I am tire... whenever I took a plane, I will become very tire. I hated flying... but it is the fastest and most efficient transport nowadays. So... too bad.

On the second day, we decided to go out to shoot around the village.

This is one of my favourite shot. I was standing back as I shoot this shot using my 18-55mm lens... and at its widest angle.





ISO: 200
S: 1/160
A: f/10


Everything is totally different from what I am used to seeing in Singapore. It was a village and it was a nice place to be in. There are domesticated animals all over the places.

This dog caught my eyes... it was thin and it was tied up. I feel sad for it (not sure if it is a she or a he). Anyway, I hated to see people mistreating their pet... and the sad look on the dog really hit me right in the face.

I wonder if it's master would feel good if someone tied him up and leave him at the door without food.

ISO: 200, S : 1/160, A: f/10


Well... dog is not the only animal we saw... there are chicken, goose and even one or two pigs (large pigs).

The geese is cute... I cannot imagine that in the next few days, some of them will end up in my stomach. That thoughts make me sick.

But I cannot seemed to be able to stop thinking of drumsticks and goose wings....

I am a babarian it seemed.

                  ISO: 200, S: 1/15, A: f/10

A curious pig looking up at me... pointing my 40D at her face. Well... that pig is huge... very very fat...

For the pig shot, I need to set a smaller aperture to get the whole of her in focus. Although the nostile was still abit blur but that was motion blur because my shutter speed is very slow.


ISO: 200, S: 1/50, A: f/10


Well... after seeing the geese and the pig... myself, mother and my nephew, make way to mom's old house.

Actually I hate taking straight up shot. It is boring... so I purposely wait till mum and nephew walked up and was in my frame before taking the shot.






ISO: 200
S: 1/400
A: f/7.1

I climbed the stair to the 'second' storey of the house. I remember going there when I was little and had visited my Uncle.

Well... the scene is the same, but I am much older now... and I think there are more houses (modern looking one).


ISO: 200
S: 1/400
A: f/13

ISO: 200, S: 1/400, A: f/13

Well I had not been a very accomplish landscape photographer, but whenever I take landscape shot I always like to inlude something of contrast to the main subject. In the above photos, I chose the scene to give a contrast of the roof of the houses and a mountain in a distance. The mountain is frame to give a very blurrish outlook that show distance.

And this is mum. It is not really that cold. But we are from the tropical country and so we are not used to the cold weather. Actually mum is born in China, but well... she had been in Singapore for more than 20 years. And so was not accustom to the weather anymore.

                                                                    ISO: 200, S: 1/200, A: f/9

ISO: 200, S: 1/250, A: f/13

Well, who says that you must have eye contact with your subject when you take a shot. It is up to you to compose and frame your shots. The above is taken purposely with me staying behind to capture the moment when mum and nephew walked infront. This is to show that we are heading forward... and the narrow passage way opened out to something wider at the end... symbolizing hope and a bright future.

Well... that was basically for the morning of the second day of my travel. Didn't take that much photos but was pretty tiring as I am up very early in the morning. We will make our way to the small temple later that day. And it was a great view too... not that the temple is very grand or large. But it is old and even at a smaller size, it still command respect.

ISO: 640, S: 1/60, A: f/3.5

Well... since I am not a great fan of shooting items as a whole, I like to focus on certain objects and make that my main subject, rather than getting entire building down.

ISO:400, S: 1/60, A: f/4.7

ISO: 1000, S: 1/80, A: f/5.6

Well... all these are very uniques statues and carving, and almost unique to the Chinese culture which I am proudly being one.

I would have very much like to see or remember the temper before people started building ugly metal hut and cover over it.

ISO: 200, S: 1/60, A: f/5.6

Well... and this is where people burn their paper money... an offering to the diety/ deities. I would believe that the structure is almost or as old as the temple itself... It make me wonder... how many generation of people had been burning their offering all these years.

ISO: 200, S: 1/125, A: f/5.0

This is almost as whole the temple as I have trying to take and capture everything in my frame. The result is quite alright and I am happy with my work.

ISO: 200, S: 1/60, A: f/3.6

One thing about travel photography was to shoot subjects that are interesting... and well... different from what you are used to in your country. Well... that is precisely what I am doing all the time when I am there.

ISO: 200, S: 1/125, A: f/6.3

Well, it might not be anything special to some of you, but that tractor is very interesting according to myself. I have never seen the like of it in my country... and it is a very noisy machine... so noisy that you actually do not need to have a honk... no one could miss it when it was travelling your way.

Hmm... thats it for day 2 of the trip. I have plenty of fun... and I know mum had too. She is new to the E-PL1 at that time and so she need some used to. Anyway, I used her E-PL1 for the photo taking of the temple and the trackor and that is when I love the E-PL1 more. It is light and easy to use and it is very sharp and with good colour contrast. The only problem I had with it was that sometime its metering is purely out...