Nikon D300 « David Brown Photography

Nikon D300

Xiao Long Bao in the steamer

Little Dragon Dumplings. More like a little gift from heaven, these things: pork and some soup stock which is chilled until it gets to a kind of jelly consistency, and then wrapped into a dumpling.

When it’s heated, the soup stock obviously gets liquified, and a taste explosion ensues. Just make sure you work out how hot that stuff inside really is, though: my first Xiao Long burned the hell out of my mouth, and eveyone at the table was watching my reaction to eating this Chinese delicacy, so there was no unobtrusive way for me to help myself out of the fire.

I just said my eyes were watering because of the deliciousness. Not sure they believed me, though.

This shot was taken near Tian Dzhe Fun in Shanghai, of a street Xiao Long Bao seller’s stall. I was excited at the find, bought 3 of them, took a bite, and found to my surprise that there was fish in them. Or crab. Or something vaguely piscine.

And to have that taste hit you when you’re expecting pork isn’t a happy sensation.

I like the shot, though. Looks better than it tastes, that’s for sure.

This shot hit #61 on Flickr’s Explore page on the 18th of May 2009. Nice one, guys, thanks a lot for your support.

Be prepared / China / Nikon / Nikon D300 / Shanghai / Street photography / Tian Dze Fan — No Comments
21
Apr 09

The view down the alley

Walking down a lane in the Tian Dze Fan artists area of Shanghai. Saw this scene, and something struck me about it. Didn’t last for a long time, but since I was surgically bonded to my NIkon D300 on this trip, it didn’t take a moment for me to get set and roll.

Not sure what caught my eye here, but I think it was the fact that each house in the little lane here had a washing bar stuck out over the lane, and that gives a nice set of lines at the top of the picture which disappear into the distance, and contrast to the two sets of parralels which run down the corners of the shot. Whatever it is, I came back from a trip with at least one pic that both looks and feels like you’re there.

50mm / Candy / China / Chinese culture / Nikon D300 / Shanghai / Sweet / Traditional craft / Zhezhiang — No Comments
20
Apr 09

Sticky situation

This is a string of sugar that allegedly came from wheat, if my translation serves. It was being worked into a VERY sticky candy in a traditional Chinese method at a candy store in Zhezhiang, near Shanghai.

The man who was working with this mess kept grabbing that stick, pulling the sugar out into a long line rather like you stretch a piece of gum, and then winding it back together. I bought some of the end result, but didn’t enjoy it: way too sugary and so sticky I couldn’t talk for at least 15 minutes. Toffee has nothing on this stuff.

50mm / China / Nikkor / Nikon / Nikon D300 / Shanghai / Street photography — No Comments
16
Apr 09

On the back of the Bund

Spent a lot of time walking round the streets of Shanghai. Since I resisted the urge to pack all the gear I thought I could use, and restricted myself to my Nikon D300 and a 50mm 1.4 slung over my shoulder, and an Sb-800 flash (which I strapped to my belt, embarrassingly) I was travelling light and had everything ready all the time.

Using this rig, I also got to know the variations of that Nikkor 50mm pretty damn well in all the F-stops: where the sharpness was a little lacking, where it was so damn sharp you could cut yourself, how it reacted to bright light at midday, and when it struggled to focus in the dark. No changing to a lens that would be more suited to the conditions: if I wanted the shot I had to work to make it happen. Realised that sometimes limitations are really liberations. Plus it’s really small and light, and although it’s a little tight on a crop sensor, it’s great for people and for isolating parts of the image. I stuck a circular polarizer

on the front of it to enhance in the usual way, but also to act as a neutral density filter and give me 2-3 stops of grace in the midday sun, and it worked like a charm.

One thing that struck me about Shanghai was the juxtapositions: drab grey concrete pavements with the colour explosion of a Tai Chi class going through their movesin front of it. Young beggars on the old glory of the Bund. It’s often all mixed up there, and I’d find myself decoding a completely different story to the one my wife was looking at, although we were looking at the same scene. And amid the feeling of new prosperity, there was the constant reminder that life is still really tough for many people there, and for many their next meal is in no way guaranteed.

Just behind the post office on the Bund, in an area filled with monuments to money – the old money of the original Bund buildings, all granite marble and brass, and the new buildings that call out to them from Pudong, across the Yellow River – I stumbled on a lean-to with a tiny kitchen, a bed, and some clothes. Nobody was around, but someone calls that place home. I didn’t intrude, just grabbed some shots from the pavement, and went on my way.

D300 / Nikkor / Nikon / Nikon D300 / building / fire escape / serendipity / urban landscape / view — No Comments
6
Apr 09

Took out the trash yesterday. The communal bin and the recycle bins are out on the landing of the fire escape. I’ve lived in this building for nearly two years, all told, and taken the trash out plenty of times. I’ve never looked out of the window in there.

Not sure I did, yesterday. Glad I did, though, ‘cos there is something about the view out ther that grabbed me. Went inside, grabbed my Nikon D300 and the Nikkor 50mm 1.4 that’always on it these days, and took a few frames.

Liked the result.

50mm / D300 / Nikon / Nikon D300 / Shanghai / flickr / gear / minimalism / minimalist setup / travel / travel planning / unburden / unencumber — 1 Comment
1
Apr 09

Busy, and busy planning for Shanghai!

My desk: 25th April 2007, around six o'clock.

Madness right now. I’m just trying to finish my first chapter of my M. Phil. thesis on Joseph Conrad. So my desk looks something like this again, although this is an older photo from when I was doing a proposal for a different academic project (and, surprisingly, it’s my second most popular photo on flickr. Messy desks seem to resonate with people…). But work like this really eats into the photo time, you know? I’ve got to get it done this week, though, especially because I’ve decided that next week, during Easter, I deserve a break, and I’m heading off to Shanghai.

Never been there before, although I’ve been living in Asia for ages, and in China for between 5 and 8 years (depending on your definition of China: I lived in Taiwan for three years before moving to Hongkers). So I’m totally excited at the prospect.

This means I get to play my favourite Flickr game: plan-your-trip-by-using-our-search! (I outlined it in yesterday’s post). And there are some crazy photogs in Shanghai. I’ve stumbled across these folks already: lifemage, theshanghaieye and tommyOshima.

Still working out the details, obviously want to take in the Bund and the view of Pudong, but not 100% sure about what’s available in Shanghai, so I’ll be doing more research on this during breaks from my other research. If you have any ideas or recommendations of what to do in Shanghai, give me a shout out in the comments section.

Gear wise, I’ll have to travel quite light, and I’m toying with the idea of just hooking up my Nikon D300, a 50mm 1.4 and a 20mm. Only. No zoom, no macro. Not even a flash, maybe. Just want to unencumber and focus on getting great people and street shots with these to tack-sharp, creamy-buttery-bokeh nikkor lenses.

David Brown PhotographyImages of Asia, Africa and Anywhere Else I Go