I've been relaxing in Jeju, South Korea for about two weeks now with my girlfriend. It's a great little holiday and I'm thinking about making it a more permanent stay by finding a job here. Don't know yet though and I'm not in a rush to work again. Anyways, I got a Samsung Galaxy III phone so I won't be using the old China Nokia N8 anymore. I wanted to save some of the photos though so I went through them and choose some that I thought were blog worthy. They are below. The weather hasn't been great here so far so I haven't taken too many photos yet. I have taken some cool ones though and I'll be posting some of them in my next post.
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And finally, the last of the best of my photos from the DUSK event, the creamtone portraits and group shots...be sure to scroll down to also see the Color Portraits and the Concert photos.
Two weeks ago on Saturday June 22nd, the DUSK event/concert took place at Noah's Ark Hotel just off Binghai Road. I was asked to do some photography for it from Sam, one of the organizers/promoters and founder of Silvertongue Creative. I got there around 5:30 pm (it started around 3) and the first band was just getting ready to play start playing. The bands that played that evening and night were R3, Duck Fight Goose, Skip Skip Ben Ben, Pairs, Doc Talk Shock and a few DJs. To be honest I photographed all of the bands and DJs but I'm not quite sure about who is who. Maybe someone who knows can kindly point that out to me. Anyways, although it was raining when I arrived and it was drizzling for most of the evening, the party/gig rocked. It was better than I expected for sure. Everyone was friendly and having a good time, there was a good mixture of Chinese and foreigners, there were often big crowds watching the bands perform, the bands themselves were actually very original and good, the beer was flowing, Wayne and Brooklyn Bar were making some simple but delicious meals for people - it was a fantastic time. In fact, I might have to say that it was probably the best overall nighttime event that I have experienced in my three years in Dalian. Oh, and I got some pretty cool photos of all the things that were happening. I'm going to divide the DUSK photos into three blog posts because I have sooo many photos and it's easier to break them down into sections. Today I'll post the concert photos and tomorrow the people shots (portraits and group shots, friends, acquaintances, strangers, etc). Interestingly, I actually met a professional photographer (a very pretty young woman) at the show who had the best of the best camera equipment and was also taking photos because she was asked to. We had a nice chat and she showed me some of the photos she had taken - and she was really good. She was shooting some of her shots in black and white, so I felt inspired to try that out myself to change my mindset and be more aware of tones and contrast. So when I edited my many, many shots, I converted a bunch using the creamtone setting in Lightroom. I just thought that this style really lent itself to the feeling and energy of the shows. So, finally, the photos will tell the rest of the story...btw, nearly all my shots were taken using my Canon EF 50 mm f/1.4 USM prime lens. In layman's terms that is a lens that only has one focal length, meaning you can't zoom it, you have to move around to get the desired distance and the shot. The small f/ number basically means the background can be extremely out of focus which works very nicely to get great bokeh (blur) and it works great in low light, perfect for an outdoor concert at night... Noah's Ark Hostel / The ScenePairs (Shanghai/Maybe Mars Records)It was just the two of them, he would be singing/screaming mostly unintelligible lyrics in between and/or during furious bursts of heavy drumming, while she strummed away fairly simple but effective chord progressions. An interesting duo, I quite enjoyed them because it was pure emotion and he gave it all in his performance. Doc Talk Shock (Dalian/Modern Sky Records)CreamtoneSkip Skip Ben Ben (Taiwan Band) (Click to hear their songs)I didn't know anything about these guys but when I got right up close and really listened and zoned into the music, I was thoroughly impressed. I can pretty easily say it was the most impressive band I've seen in China. To quote Beverly Bryan, a writer for mtviggy.com, Skip Skip Ben Ben sounds like "a bracing jaunt from noise rock to noise pop and then back again just for fun." CreamtoneDuck Fight Goose (Shanghai/Maybe Mars Records)CreamtoneThe DJs - R3 (Shanghai)CreamtoneEnd of Part 1, come back soon to see DUSK portrait and group photos......although our last game was handed to us because our opposition, Blue Wave, only brought two players to the game! They forfeited and we automatically won 3-0 and got three points for a victory. However, we did get to play a thirty minute inter-squad match (which team B won 1-0 from a lovely headed finish from Alex) and then 60 minutes versus another Chinese team who played earlier in the morning. That game we also won 4-1. It was a good match yet there was definitely some blood boiling amongst our two teams. In his debut, Mike was very aggressive as usual; Francis came back after a two game absence to provoke the Chinese players early in the game, and also brought along his left-footed brother, Will; and El Capitan Elchin nearly got in a fight at the end of the game. He also scored the 4th goal and has thus scored in every game he has played in. Speaking of stats, here are the stats that I know of from our first four games: Game 1 Result: 13-2 Goals: Eammon 4 / Francis 3 / Ian 2 / Alex / Elchin / Jason Assists: Ian 3 / Francis 2 / Alex 2 / Elchin / Jason / Eric / Tibo Game 2 Result: 4-2 Goals: Jason 2 / Elchin / Eammon Assists: Ian Game 3 Result: 3-1 Goals: Elchin 2 / Ian Assists: Ian Game 4 Result: 4-1 ( 5-1, including warm-up) Goals: Alex 2 / Jason / Elchin / Francis Assists: Francis 2 / Elchin / Ian Leading Scorers: Eammonn - 5 Elchin - 5 Jason - 4 Francis - 4 Ian - 3 Alex - 3 Photos from last Saturday's 5-1 Friendly VictoryMore Shots...Click to EnlargeA few weeks back the first year students held a drama competition. My three classes along with the four other classes each performed a drama they wrote, directed and acted in. It was quite successful and I am happy to say that my class 5 won the overall competition. I was also a judge but I promise I did not sway the vote. Before the event I arrived to my afternoon class with my camera in tow. I immediately noticed Lucinda dressed up and looking very embarrassed because she was all made-up, and beautifully at that! I was surprised but excited, so I playfully took out my camera and snapped a couple shots which created some buzz and laughter amongst her classmates. Lucinda played the evil queen in her play, and another girl May, played Snow White, so she was also made-up very beautifully. After my class took a writing assessment I asked the girls and some of the other actors and set people to wait for me in my classroom so I could take some glamour shots. I closed the blue curtain and set up my wireless flash and took some tests shots of Colin. Turned out pretty good so I got Lucinda and May to do some modeling for me. Quite a bit shy, but I think they would like the result. Also, I just winged it, I really don't know much about doing these types of shots. Good practice though. Think I got the nice simple background and lighting alright, especially for just using what I had in my classroom. May the lovely princess, Lucinda the evil queen and Colin the charming princeWow, it's been two weeks now I think... since the Beijing Beatles (Beatles cover band made up of four foreigners from Beijing) came to perform in Dalian. My buddies The Gents and Alex's band Basement Collective also performed that night, with The Gents opening things and the BC closing things with a rowdy bang. Twas an interesting and very enjoyable night. I had to work early the next morning so I didn't get as smashed as I would have liked, but I was able to soberly take some cool photos of the three groups and the crowd. Oh, I should mention that I choose a certain style of editing the photos for each of the three different groups. I tried to go with a more a old school look for the BB and a newer, edgier look for the BC. I personally prefer the look of The Gents in black and white, but there are several color shots as well. Shots are below, click on any image to make it larger. Feel free to save and use photos just be sure to credit me. Cheers.... The GentsThe Beijing BeatlesBasement CollectiveThe CrowdDuring the Basement Collective set, things got a bit rowdy. The Dalian locals were quite inebriated so a dance/riot occurred, instigated by big Matt and encouraged by howling Alex. Ian, Francis and some others even took to the stage to sing along with...I forget what song...but it was cool and a great time...too bad I couldn't get wasted, or else I surely would have been in the midst of the action, rather than on the sidelines taking photos. After The Gents performed at the Shangrila (see previous blog), some Chinese models came onto the stage and did some strutting around for the audience. I was told they would be wearing bikinis but that proved to be false and we only got to see them in traditional clothes and some mini dresses. It was a bit anti-climatic, especially considering how cold they were to The Gents and I. I mean, they pretty much ignored us and when I said "jiayou!" jokingly, they ignored me. Cold, cold, cold. They even walked out really fast before we could take a photo of them and the guys! Just a bit stuck up. Models are so overrated. Long legs don't make you better than others....They do look nice in photos though. See below.
The guys who make up The Gents - Edvard Mansson (bowtie wearing Swede lead singer/guitarist, Francis Carlisle (English singer/lead guitar, Ian James (English co-worker bassist harmonizing playboy), and Timothy Seekings (German drummer/manager) - asked me the other night at their Wednesday gig at Acapella whether I was interested in going to take some shots at their Shangrila gig the following day. The lure was that there would be Chinese models - tall, lean and gorgeous - doing some catwalk like performance, and they may even be wearing bikinis... So, as a budding photographer and artist I jumped at the chance to take photos of...The Gents at Shangrila. After all, the lighting system would surely be good and I would be able to get some creative shots. Models in bikinis? Okay, that's a nice bonus. We went to the hotel and the entire ballroom area was booked out. It was pretty massive. Roughly 200 banquet tables? Something like that. The guys did their soundcheck and we just took some seats next to the stage and waited around. They eventually started the night with "Country Roads" and then soon took the stage again for 6-7 songs while everybody was eating. It was a really good set, the sound was great and they looked pretty epic onstage with the great lighting system. And now, below are the photos that I took and then developed in Adobe Lightroom to my taste. Pretty happy with the results; in fact, I think the photos make their little dinner service background music more elaborate and epic than it really was. Job well done. They treated me to Indian food at Family Curry. It was fantastic but the next day I (and Tim!) had a bit of food poisoning. Damn you Indian food! Click the photos to see the bigger shots. Also check out my flickr to see more of my best shots http://www.flickr.com/photos/eric-hevesy/ Also, I'll be posting The Beijing Beatles concert, the models from the Shangrila, the Basement Collective Band, and more Gents from Acapella shots soon! Color ShotsBlack and WhiteWow, it has been ages. Sorry to all my three or four followers. I just...I have no excuses. Ah, my excuse is Flickr, yes, that's right. I have been using Flickr much more since I learned about comments and explore, etc. But then I found that I was only posting photos I thought other people on Flickr would like, and photos that I thought were my 'best' photos. Now I realize I have oodles of other photos - social photos, portraits of friends,shots of nightlife, humorous shots and random Dalian shots - basically, tons of photos that I don't really want to post on Flickr but I want to share with others. So, it is back to the blog. I'll be posting some of my recent work in themed posts. These shots are kind of work as well, as some people have been asking me to take photos for them and giving me some perks. I appreciate the opportunities and if anyone else is in need of some themed shots I would be interested. Without further ado, themed galleries from Acapella Bar and Cafe. (CLICK ON PHOTOS TO SEE THE LARGER AND BETTER QUALITY SHOT AND READ THE CAPTIONS) Color Portraits and People PosingSepia Toned Shots, because sometimes color is distracting... but mostly I pretend to know what I'm talking about and doing with a camera and while editing photos!Bar Shots (pun intended)Today was the third day off work for me. It's been a lazy few days and I suspect I am coming down with a small cold, although I've been drinking lots of water and taking some medicine to fight it. Today I just lazed around the house, ate leftovers and watched some Curb, Survivor, and The Bang Bang Club, which is a movie recommended by my brother about photographers in South Africa. Great movie and it actually inspired me to get outside and try to get some photos of the Tomb Sweeping Night in action. To confirm my suspicions that it was indeed the night where everyone burned fake money to 'send' to their relatives and family who have passed away, I went outside on my rooftop patio and immediately smelled fire. So I got my camera and put on my Canon 50 mm 1.8/f-stop lens and ventured outside. I walked up the side street where all the fruit, vegetable and meat vendors were busy packing up their goods for the night. There were plenty of people burning money though. Funny thing, I actually asked the first guy I saw who was burning money whether I could take his photo. He waved his hand at me "bu, bu, bu" like no, no, no. After that though I noticed how concentrated people were as they lit and kept their fires. For the first time in China, I was completely oblivious to just about every person! Well, I guess everyone who wasn't lighting fires was staring at me, the tall strange looking foreigner taking photos at night, but the people who were burning money were unaware of me for the most part. As you can see from my shots, nearly all of the poses are natural. I would crouch down about 15-20 feet away from the people and then get closer and closer, finding the best angles and shooting away. I felt like I was blending into the darkness, a keen observer and documenter of a piece of Chinese culture. It was a great feeling and that movie really inspired me to get out and shoot. Anyways, without further ado, my best shots of the night are below. I've edited them in Apple Aperture. I prefer black and white for most of the shots (less distracting) but I've kept color in some to get the warmth of the fires. Enjoy and feel free to comment. I can't believe how close I got to these people without them noticing me. I mean, there was no one else around at all. This has to be my favorite shot, the look on the woman's face, the coat over her back, and the ghostly fire reflection. As you will see, this appears in many of my shots. It was a bit eerie too, I imagined that they were the spirits of the deceased here to claim the money. The way I got this shot and the actually shot are pretty unforgettable to me. Which one is your favorite? |
AuthorEric Hevesy is an American who lived in China for six years. He has recently moved from Dalian to beautiful Jeju Island in South Korea. Read more at About Me. My Flickr PhotosArchives
September 2013
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