The next photo I'm going to write about was also taken alongside Fuxian Lake in Chengjiang, Yunnan. It was taken about 20 minutes after the Afternoon Net-Fishing shot.
I walked around another old pier, past children building castles in the sand and more fisherman fishing in the shallows. Then I noticed these three young girls wading about 30 feet out in the water, looking at me and pointing. They were obviously intrigued that a foreigner was wandering around in their very small riverside town. They waved to me and I waved back. Then I smiled and held up my camera as if to say "can I take a photo?" (which is a great travel technique to test whether taking a photo of someone is okay or not). They agreed and kind of posed in the water. I was too far away to get a good shot though. I walked closer and they slowly made their way out of the water to where the flipped boat was.
Before I got to them I came across an older woman who was cleaning vegetables at an outside tap (later to find out she was one of these girl's aunt). She also let me take a few shots of her but they are only decent shots, nothing too special. I made my way to the beached boat and met up with the girls. We struck up a casual conversation in Chinese and they were initially very impressed that I could speak Chinese and speak it quite well. I found out they were best friends, still in high school, just enjoying the sunshine in between rain on a pleasant summer day.
After a few minutes I asked if I could take some more shots of them. I would take a few shots, show them and then talk a bit more. I actually found myself telling them why I thought some of the photos weren't great as if to explain why I wanted to take more. It was tough to get the lighting right and with the umbrellas it was especially difficult to get the exposure right with the shadows and highlights intact. Now, this photo looks very posed, and I guess it was, but I didn't tell them to stand like this or direct them. That's why when I finally got to look at this photo on my computer weeks later I was very happy with the composition, colors and just the looks on their faces.
In post-processing I fixed the exposure, increased the saturation and shadows, and cropped the shot to balance it better. In Photoshop I cloned out some distractions in the water and dodged the girls faces and eyes to lighten them (especially the girls with the umbrellas). Finally I sharpened the image and added a bit of vignette to keep the eyes focused on the center and out. I really like the colors because I think it highlights the youthfulness of the girls and their casual summer lounging.
I actually think my people shots could use lots of work, especially posed shots like this. Sometimes I feel shy or like a bother to some people if I take too many shots, and if you like photography, you know sometimes it takes lots of shots to get 'the shot', but these girls were very willing and kind to let me take a bunch of shots. The girl in the middle was the focal point of the shot, as well as the conversation, as she must have been the oldest and most confident of the bunch. She was very nice and pleasant to chat with.
Personally, this is one of my favorite shots from Yunnan. What I, and perhaps you, can feel from this shot is the kind and welcoming personality and curiosity of some young, innocent Chinese teenagers just being who they are and doing what they do on a summer's day. I remember a quote from somewhere, something like "people around the world are a whole lot more similar to us and everyone else then they are different". We talked about my travels and job, their school and future plans, lunch and dinner plans, their hometown and my hometown, and finally they recommended some places to visit around the area. Yes, this was taken in a remote area in the south of China, and these girls perhaps have never even left their town, or at least Yunnan province, and I think I was the first foreigner who struck up a conversation with them, but they are exactly who they are as seen in this photo; nothing is hidden and their eyes tell it how it is and who they are. Friendly and curious teenage girls "lakeside lounging" on the shores of Fuxian lake in mid July.
I walked around another old pier, past children building castles in the sand and more fisherman fishing in the shallows. Then I noticed these three young girls wading about 30 feet out in the water, looking at me and pointing. They were obviously intrigued that a foreigner was wandering around in their very small riverside town. They waved to me and I waved back. Then I smiled and held up my camera as if to say "can I take a photo?" (which is a great travel technique to test whether taking a photo of someone is okay or not). They agreed and kind of posed in the water. I was too far away to get a good shot though. I walked closer and they slowly made their way out of the water to where the flipped boat was.
Before I got to them I came across an older woman who was cleaning vegetables at an outside tap (later to find out she was one of these girl's aunt). She also let me take a few shots of her but they are only decent shots, nothing too special. I made my way to the beached boat and met up with the girls. We struck up a casual conversation in Chinese and they were initially very impressed that I could speak Chinese and speak it quite well. I found out they were best friends, still in high school, just enjoying the sunshine in between rain on a pleasant summer day.
After a few minutes I asked if I could take some more shots of them. I would take a few shots, show them and then talk a bit more. I actually found myself telling them why I thought some of the photos weren't great as if to explain why I wanted to take more. It was tough to get the lighting right and with the umbrellas it was especially difficult to get the exposure right with the shadows and highlights intact. Now, this photo looks very posed, and I guess it was, but I didn't tell them to stand like this or direct them. That's why when I finally got to look at this photo on my computer weeks later I was very happy with the composition, colors and just the looks on their faces.
In post-processing I fixed the exposure, increased the saturation and shadows, and cropped the shot to balance it better. In Photoshop I cloned out some distractions in the water and dodged the girls faces and eyes to lighten them (especially the girls with the umbrellas). Finally I sharpened the image and added a bit of vignette to keep the eyes focused on the center and out. I really like the colors because I think it highlights the youthfulness of the girls and their casual summer lounging.
I actually think my people shots could use lots of work, especially posed shots like this. Sometimes I feel shy or like a bother to some people if I take too many shots, and if you like photography, you know sometimes it takes lots of shots to get 'the shot', but these girls were very willing and kind to let me take a bunch of shots. The girl in the middle was the focal point of the shot, as well as the conversation, as she must have been the oldest and most confident of the bunch. She was very nice and pleasant to chat with.
Personally, this is one of my favorite shots from Yunnan. What I, and perhaps you, can feel from this shot is the kind and welcoming personality and curiosity of some young, innocent Chinese teenagers just being who they are and doing what they do on a summer's day. I remember a quote from somewhere, something like "people around the world are a whole lot more similar to us and everyone else then they are different". We talked about my travels and job, their school and future plans, lunch and dinner plans, their hometown and my hometown, and finally they recommended some places to visit around the area. Yes, this was taken in a remote area in the south of China, and these girls perhaps have never even left their town, or at least Yunnan province, and I think I was the first foreigner who struck up a conversation with them, but they are exactly who they are as seen in this photo; nothing is hidden and their eyes tell it how it is and who they are. Friendly and curious teenage girls "lakeside lounging" on the shores of Fuxian lake in mid July.