Here is one of the subjects I covered, a newly painted commercial building (who thought puce would be a good color?) converted into offices and a music store, with crossover the alley to the warehouse building. The building previously was owned by Goldberg's Furniture, a town fixture for generations.
All shots hand held, processed in LRc, making small adjustments to perspective (and overall image "look").
2-shot pano
ILCE-7RM4DT 17mm F4 SAM lens17mmf/8.01/320s100 ISO-0.3 EV
ILCE-7RM4DT 17mm F4 SAM lens17mmf/8.01/100s100 ISO-0.3 EV
ILCE-7RM4DT 17mm F4 SAM lens17mmf/8.01/400s100 ISO-0.3 EV
Haven't posted here for a while. Just came back from northwestern part of Hunan Province in south China, where a good number of the Miao ethnic group reside. These pictures were taken in an ancient city called "Fenghuangcheng", meaning "City of Phoenix". Most of the young ladies in very colorful Miao costumes aren't really Miao people, they put on those costumes to have their pictures taken. I think most of the old ladies selling stuff on the streets are real Miao people.
ILCE-1FE 70-200mm F4 Macro G OSS II lens112mmf/9.01/100s100 ISO0.0 EV
ILCE-1FE 70-200mm F4 Macro G OSS II lens70mmf/5.01/100s100 ISO0.0 EV
ILCE-1FE 70-200mm F4 Macro G OSS II lens104mmf/6.31/100s100 ISO0.0 EV
ILCE-1FE 70-200mm F4 Macro G OSS II lens104mmf/6.31/100s100 ISO0.0 EV
ILCE-1FE 70-200mm F4 Macro G OSS II lens70mmf/4.01/100s100 ISO0.0 EV
ILCE-1FE 70-200mm F4 Macro G OSS II lens140mmf/4.01/80s100 ISO0.0 EV
Douglas,
JaKo,
Thank you for mentioning Fenghuangcheng. Gorgeous place, and not too far from Guangzhou and Xiamen (where I go reasonably often).
Douglas, marvelous photos! Your eyes together with 70200GMii produced magic! 很好!
We have just returned with my son from 中国. It was good (and successful, I hope) attempt to get him acquainted with the Great Chinese Culture and working ethics. We did brief stopover in Suzhou and have also witnessed a lot of young 中国人 in traditional costumes for photos.
As a matter of interest, they speak Mandarin or Cantonese in Fenghuangcheng?
JaKo wrote:
Douglas, gorgeous captures from Phoenix Old Town! We've visited it few years ago and it's definitely in our 'come back' list. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you very much, Jako! You got some fine images from both Fenghuangcheng and Suzhou. The last time I visited Suzhou was probably 1988. I am sure I won't recognize anything there now except the famous gardens.
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IslandMed wrote:
Douglas,
JaKo,
Thank you for mentioning Fenghuangcheng. Gorgeous place, and not too far from Guangzhou and Xiamen (where I go reasonably often).
Douglas, marvelous photos! Your eyes together with 70200GMii produced magic! 很好!
We have just returned with my son from 中国. It was good (and successful, I hope) attempt to get him acquainted with the Great Chinese Culture and working ethics. We did brief stopover in Suzhou and have also witnessed a lot of young 中国人 in traditional costumes for photos.
As a matter of interest, they speak Mandarin or Cantonese in Fenghuangcheng?
All shots - MINOLTA 135 2.8
Thank you very much, Alexi (hope I spelled your name right)! Great shots you got too! Glad you and your son got to experience China. I took the high speed train from Guangzhou to Fenghuangcheng, very fast and smooth, I was really impressed.
The locals in Fenghuangchen speak their own dialect among themselves. I am not even sure if it's the main dialect in Hunan Province. I could pick out maybe 1 in 10 words they spoke, so basically I had no idea what they were saying among themselves most of the time. When I communicated with them, I spoke Mandarin with them, most of them also speak Mandarin with their kind of accents. I grew up speaking Cantonese and a local dialect (Zhongshan), but I am fluent in Mandarin, but with some accents. I bought the new Sony 70-200 F4 G II specifically for international travel. I do have the 70-200 f2.8 GM II, but as great a lens as it is, it's still too bulky to pack. I didn't even realize the set I posted above were all shot with the 70-200 f4 G II.
Not much a street photographer myself, I enjoy wondering on those old and narrow streets, be it in Europe or Asia, especially during the hours without herds of tourists. More from Fenghuangcheng's old streets.
ILCE-7RM5FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II lens34mmf/10.01/40s100 ISO0.0 EV
ILCE-7RM5FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II lens42mmf/9.01/30s100 ISO0.0 EV
seniors playing Chinese chess
ILCE-7RM5FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II lens43mmf/9.01/30s100 ISO0.0 EV
a grandpa helping his grandson doing homework on an old bamboo stool
ILCE-7RM5FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II lens50mmf/8.01/40s640 ISO0.0 EV
ILCE-7RM5FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II lens24mmf/10.01/80s100 ISO0.0 EV
drying hot chillies on street. You wonder why Hunan food is so spicy
ILCE-7RM5FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II lens70mmf/2.81/400s100 ISO0.0 EV
ILCE-7RM5Voigtlander NOKTON 35mm F1.2 Aspherical lens35mmf/1.41/200s100 ISO0.0 EV
infrared A7RIV
ILCE-7RM4E 17-28mm F2.8-2.8 lens25mmf/8.01/60s250 ISO0.0 EV
infrared A7RIV
ILCE-7RM4E 17-28mm F2.8-2.8 lens28mmf/8.01/45s320 ISO0.0 EV
Douglas L wrote:
Thank you very much, Jako! You got some fine images from both Fenghuangcheng and Suzhou. The last time I visited Suzhou was probably 1988. I am sure I won't recognize anything there now except the famous gardens.
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Thank you very much, Alexi (hope I spelled your name right)! Great shots you got too! Glad you and your son got to experience China. I took the high speed train from Guangzhou to Fenghuangcheng, very fast and smooth, I was really impressed.
The locals in Fenghuangchen speak their own dialect among themselves. I am not even sure if it's the main dialect in Hunan Province. I could pick out maybe 1 in 10 words they spoke, so basically I had no idea what they were saying among themselves most of the time. When I communicated with them, I spoke Mandarin with them, most of them also speak Mandarin with their kind of accents. I grew up speaking Cantonese and a local dialect (Zhongshan), but I am fluent in Mandarin, but with some accents. I bought the new Sony 70-200 F4 G II specifically for international travel. I do have the 70-200 f2.8 GM II, but as great a lens as it is, it's still too bulky to pack. I didn't even realize the set I posted above were all shot with the 70-200 f4 G II.
Not much a street photographer myself, I enjoy wondering on those old and narrow streets, be it in Europe or Asia, especially during the hours without herds of tourists. More from Fenghuangcheng's old streets....Show more →
Excellent street photos Douglas.I enjoy watching them very much.
Douglas L wrote:
Haven't posted here for a while. Just came back from northwestern part of Hunan Province in south China, where a good number of the Miao ethnic group reside. These pictures were taken in an ancient city called "Fenghuangcheng", meaning "City of Phoenix". Most of the young ladies in very colorful Miao costumes aren't really Miao people, they put on those costumes to have their pictures taken. I think most of the old ladies selling stuff on the streets are real Miao people.
Masterful use of light to capture such amazing images. Love the entire series of images that you've posted from your trip to Hunan Province.
. I think most of the old ladies selling stuff on the streets are real Miao people. 
