‘I Cosplay’ Development Update
Lucky - Yukari Yakumo Portrait of a Cosplayer
It’s been nearly a month since starting up the ‘I Cosplay…’ project. Things are progressing well. It’s time to take a look at what worked and what didn’t, and where to go from here.
I mentioned that I’d come across a new lighting style using a ‘beauty dish’ as a key light. I like the effect but there was a bit more of a learning curve to using it than I expected. When mounted on a Speedlite, the fall-off point isn’t very far and depending on the flash head’s orientation, the unit returns various light patterns.
I found when positioned above and just to the side of the camera during the studio shots that if the person moved just a bit outside of the ‘sweet spot’ the result was terrible- such as a face in shadow or a blown out torso or arm. In the ‘sweet spot’ the lighting is great. The dish creates beautiful light and shadow (more…)
Looks like ‘Kickstarter’ needed a bit of a kickstart itself.
Well, that didn’t work. The ‘I Cosplay’ kickstarter project I mentioned a month ago is about two hours away from fizzling out. Kickstarter didn’t work for the job I hoped it would, which was to find supports willing to inject some much needed funds into the project. It did, however, succeed in some other ways.
I’ve reconnected with old friends and colleagues whom I haven’t heard from or spoken to in quite a long time. I found out a hundred or so people ‘like’ buttoned the project on Facebook. And…
No, I guess that was it. Just those two things. But those are two great things to accomplish! (more…)
The ‘cosplay’ project has 10 days to raise its funding – we can do it!
There are still ten days to get this project supported. ‘Like’ the page one more time on Facebook. ‘Tweet‘ about it once more time on Twitter. Forward the page to one more person in your contact list. This book and these people, the Cosplayers, are offering a fantastic and rare glimpse into the Chinese culture today that really shouldn’t be brushed past.
When I first read about Kickstarter.com on Lifehacker my reaction was ‘This is awesome! This is exactly what my project needs to get underway.’ (more…)
Faces, Places, and Something that rhymes with ‘ces.
Since Sunday, things here have been a whirlwind of new ideas sprouting into new projects. That isn’t the only thing happening around here, however. Updates on Essays and Gallery, the past week, have been a retro week for me- going back to life in the US, and the people, places, and events I photographed there before coming to China in 2007. Here’s a list of the stories and photographs that published since the first of May. (more…)
New Photo Documentary Book Project, ‘I Cosplay’, underway.
Wow, what a difference a day makes! Really. Did you read my last post about joining up with a group of ‘cosplayers‘? Well, I’m hooked. This is going to be my next book length project and to see it through, I turned to a new online ‘funds finder’ called Kickstarter.
This project has got me so excited I didn’t get much sleep last night, literally. Here’s the gist of it- cosplay is a relatively young art form on mainland China. It is a pretty radical form of self-expression through performance art. This is not a place with a good track record for allowing self-expression to flourish and grow. Put all of that together and I see tremendous chance to peek into the positive future and the progressive development this country is heading towards. (more…)
Vegas may have Trekkies, but Guangzhou has Cosplay!
I’ve never been to a Star Trek convention. I missed my chance to see Burning Man. I have yet to stand on the cushy carpet of the MGM during CES. And none of these gatherings have much at all to do with one another. Why associate them? Because none of them are Cosplay, and that’s what we have here in Guangzhou- where I did just attend! On Sunday, YACA, the leading Cosplay convention organizer held their spring 2011 Cosplay convention.
(more…)
Children of the Chinese Countryside.
Not long after I settled into Jiujiang, I took my first trip into the Chinese countryside, guided by an art major from the university. She introduced me to Ruichang, a town on the outskirts of Jiujiang. Ruichang suffered a major earthquake in 2005. Her family home was one of the few that remained standing. Unfortunately, the home was structurally weakened and her family was forced to abandon it.
I only saw the house pointed out from a distance across a farmers field. (more…)
Chinese Lions and Chinese Dragons and Chinese Kung Fu Children, Oh my!
It’s actually not as bad as it seems. In the first couple of months after arriving in China, Jiujiang hosted their second annual International Lion and Dragon Dance competition. During the opening ceremony there was a performance by children showing off their Kung Fu dance skills. The event lasted a few days and being the veteran outdoor athletic event photographer that I am…er, was- Teva Games, I didn’t miss a moment.
Hop pass the break for a link to the photos. (more…)
29,990 Photographs taken in 3.5 years in China
Remember the hit Broadway musical from the 1990′s- Rent? 525,600 minutes. That’s how they measured a year. That or they measured it in love. How do you measure life in love if love, according to home journals and advice columnists, is supposed to be timeless and we all know the life of every living organism is finite (for now)? Sorry, got off topic there.
Five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes or -what happened to the other 348.766 minutes, by the way? or, one photograph every seventeen point five hundred twenty-five thousandths minutes. I swear that .525 was just a coincidence. In any case, it doesn’t have the same rhythm when you put it to the soundtrack.
But it’s even crazier still to wrap my mind around the fact that since coming to China in September, 2007, I have captured 29,990 photographs. (more…)
Lifestyle gallery update: College life in China.
Last week I showed you a university graduation in China- Jiujiang University’s graduation 2009. A day before that we took a look at Track and Field held in Chinese university.
This new set of images takes us back to 2007, my first year in China, and into the everyday lives of Chinese university students. Hop past the break for a link to the gallery. (more…)
Lifestyle gallery update: City living in east central China. Second Edition
Earlier, I updated the Lifestyle section of the gallery with some examples of city life in China. Adding to that, here are some more examples of the sometimes extraordinarily unique aspects of life in China. Hop past the break for a link. (more…)
Jiujiang University Class of 2009 Graduated.
A deadpan headline, to be sure. In its defense, it is befitting of a ceremony that appeared so matter-of-factly. The graduation ceremony in Jiujiang was quick. It was moved up by an hour to help stave off the heat- the ceremony took place at the end of June. There were no chairs for the graduating students to sit during the speeches. Only a peppering of parents were in the stands to watch the event. About an hour after the students assembled and the faculty were seated, mortar boards were whizzing through the air and where a moment before, college students fidgeted and swayed from left foot to right foot, the newest college graduates of Jiujaing University stood proud with smiles and exhilaration. (more…)
Running really fast and jumping really high. Pursued criminal or Track and Field competition?
The answer is- Track and Field competition. OK, spoiler right there in the first line. Sorry, but really? You were going to go with ‘criminal’? For shame.
Jiujiang University’s annual track and field competition coincided nicely with the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China in 2009. To celebrate, they jazzed up their opening ceremony. The competition lasted for three days and included all of the expected events- sprint, relay, long-distance running, high jump, long jump, javelin, … – you get the idea. (more…)
Early Buddhists may have run out of paint- 50,000+ Buddha statues carved into cave walls.
Sixteen kilometers outside of Datong, a northern border town between China and Inner-Mongolia on the Chinese side, there sits, carved into the cave walls of the Yungang Grottoes, over 51,000 statues of Buddha and Bodhisattva. The Yungang Grottoes, or Yungang caves, are one of the three most famous ancient sculptural sites of China, aside from the Longmen and Mogao caves.
During my ’round China’ vagabond in the summer of 2009, Datong and the Yungang caves were my second stop. The first stop was Xi’an.
I didn’t count the number of statues I photographed. (more…)
Really Pretty Flowers Prefer Fresh Water in China.
It’s true! It must be true because the largest field of the most beautiful flower of Asia, the Lotus, is in China’s largest fresh water lake, Baiyangdian. Every summer in August, the lotus reaches it peak blossom. The lake is vast and the fields are only accessible by boat. In August, 2009, I visited the lake and it’s precious flowers. Head over to the gallery to have a look for yourself. Or wait until August and make the trek to see them in person. (more…)
Goin’ Back to Thailand. To Thailand. To Thailand. Goin’ to Thailand. To Thailand. To Pattaya.
Yep, that’s right. Vay-cay time again. It’s Sunday. The weather is perfect. The chores are all done. Work can wait until tomorrow. Now let’s take a quick hop across the water to sunny Pattaya, Thailand for a little beach time, a little nightlife, a little boogie. Did I just say ‘boogie’? Are those crickets I hear from beyond the audience? Hmmm
Oh well, I’m off to boogie! (more…)
Lifestyle gallery update: Travel and Transportation
Who among us does not like choice? Choice is good. Choice breeds quality, improved services, better selection, and competition. Well, in China you have lots of choices when it comes to transportation- trolley, bus, subway, car, motorcycle, scooter, bicycle, tricycle, motorized tricycle, boat, cart, rickshaw, or by foot. What you don’t have a choice over is how many of those forms of transportation will share the road, or the sidewalk, at any given time. Ok, the boat and the subway have their own limitations on where they operate, but the rest all share the same space. It can be a harrying experience at times. It also makes for great pictures and video, if you’re not from this culture. (more…)
Lifestyle gallery update: City living in east central China.
Life in China isn’t all roses. Come to think of it, life anywhere isn’t all roses, unless you’re some famous celebrity that is loaded with money and revered by millions- Charlie Sheen, for example. No wait, that’s probably not the best example now. Anyhow, every lifestyle has downs to match its ups.
Speaking of ‘downs’, the building in this construction site is experiencing exactly that- down. The comedian, Jerry Seinfeld, once joked that walls around construction sites in the U.S. are not to keep people safe from harm. Their real purpose is to keep the men from loitering about. If there is credence to his observation then in Jiujiang, they use a rather novel approach- no walls at all. (more…)
Lifestyle gallery update: Chinese Weddings.
Wedding season is about to hit the peak season in the US. Here’s another glimpse into the Chinese wedding. It may be a good way to get a few ideas for your nuptial, if you’re about to take the plunge. At the very least, it could spark a new round of changes to really get your coordinators hair into knots.
When the newly weds, Michelle and her husband, exited the bride’s family home together for the first time, extended family and friends was there with fireworks, noise makers, and confetti tubes to greet the happy couple. (more…)
Lifestyle gallery update: Celebrating Christmas in China
This photograph of a Chinese university student celebrating Christmas eve with her classmates is part of my larger documentary thesis on contemporary life in China. Just across the street from the main entrance to Jiujiang University, there is a large complex filled with retail stores, restaurants, extended-stay hotels, tea shops, and even a couple of pubs. This area mostly caters to the students.
The Chinese academic year breaks for winter holiday during the Chinese New Year so on Christmas eve students are still holding fall semester classes. Since many of the students are from other parts of the country, and because celebrating Christmas in China is predominately the younger generation’s holiday, many students (more…)
April 5th is Chinese Qing Ming Festival- Remembrance Day: Photo Essay
Also known as the tomb sweeping festival, Qing Ming [ching · ming] is the day Chinese honor the memory of lost loved ones by visiting their graves and offering gifts of homage. In 2010, I photographed one family celebrate the festival.
“… On this day families will trek to the burial sites of loved relatives to sweep the tomb, set fresh flowers, and offer a gift- some set a glass of wine, others set bowls of oranges. The offering varies by region and local custom. To pay respects pyres of old paper money are also lit, as well as firecrackers, at the base of the headstone. The paper money has no cash value today and would be mistaken as funny money in some other countries. Members of the Dai family remembered their family this Qingming festival. …” Continue reading >>
Thailand strikes a pose- knows just what adventuresome travelers crave and brings it… for the camera!
Imagine this- January: cold, dreary, snowy, wet, … miserable, right? Not if you live in Thailand. Well, I guess the same could be said for living in the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, or anywhere near the equator, but let’s focus on Thailand since that’s where this lede is going.
In January of 2008 I was invited to attend the wedding of my great friend’s sister in Bangkok, Thailand. I was already in China so getting to Thailand was just a quick few hours flight from Guangzhou. Before and after the wedding, I took a little time to visit some of the country and photograph as much as possible. (more…)
The sun totally disappears behind the moon…for like, a minute.
A solar eclipse isn’t the most unusual or uncommon event in our lifetime. Before Halley’s Comment returns, how many more solar eclipses will we have? No, that’s a real question. I have no idea.
The thing is, on July 22, 2009, we did have one of those rare total eclipses. It lasted longer than 6 minutes- the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century. According to research, the next eclipse to surpass this will not take place until the summer of 2132. That’s a long way off. (more…)
Psst! read ‘In the Land of Whispering Sand. – A Photo Essay’ in your quiet voice.
It sounds mysterious and exotic, right? Whispering sand. I can almost hear Hidalgo galloping in from the heat hazy horizon. What? You didn’t like Hidalgo?
OK. Well, if a brief escape to far away sunny places is what you need today then I have just the ticket.
In the autumn of 2008, a group of Chinese outdoors enthusiasts hiked a three day through hike of the Kubuqi desert in Inner-Mongolia. I went with that group. This is the story from that hike. And the photographs too. (more…)
