There was a well-attended festival on the riverfront Saturday and Sunday. I had high hopes of getting some good shots of the dragon boat races, but the race pictures were blah. Does that happen to you?
There were many booths, with a variety of Asian foods and lots of Asian merchandise and services. Jewelry. Chinese language lessons. Martial arts. Clothing. Restaurants. Professional and social groups. And, this young lady was one of the dancers.
You have a real flair for portraits, Jack. This is lovely. And yes, I often think I will have some great photos and they come out blah.
ReplyDeleteOf course it does, but I just delete them and forget about the. Any fun facts about this dancer?
ReplyDeleteShe's looking straight into your camera. You must have been on your knees.
ReplyDeleteWere people from Glastonbury there, too?
Sounds like a fun time. I mean, if you can't play golfs.
You found success here.
ReplyDeleteFestivals with crowds of people are very difficult for me because there is always too much background clutter. Delete or post is always a decision. There are so many photographers on CDP with varied skills so I don't worry too much about what I post...I want it to be fun. Not a perfectionist and I do not think that perfect photos are a requirement...but that's not what you asked or intended. How I do run on!! I love your photos, Jack, and this one features a delightful looking young woman.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous picture Jack, she's smiling at you so sweetly! and yes that happens a lot, you snap away like crazy and hope that at least one of them will be reasonable, they sometimes look so good in camera and then..... in your words..blah!!!
ReplyDeleteNice portrait Jack! Even if the race ones didn't come so well. This one is excellent!
ReplyDeleteSounds like fun Jack! The lady is very pretty and I love her colorful costume, especially the hat.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful young woman. Oh yes, blah happens.
ReplyDeleteI have been disappointed many times. In festivals, it is usually due to the background interfering the subject because the camera does not have the same ability as the eye to differentiate between depth of field, unless there is low light and you can take the photo on such a fast shutter than the depth of field is short and the background can be blurred.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your comment on my site today, I was probably imprecise in identifying the group as family, as I think it was more than one family and the number of children probably included cousins, not just brothers and sisters.
Gorgeous street portraits always trump boats Jack! :)
ReplyDeleteAh, BLAH does indeed happen -- but not that often to you, Jack! What a terrific shot of a very lovely young woman. Your portrait shots are always wonderful! Sounds like a fun day!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
I'll skip the food and the Chinese lessons, but I am sure there are a lot of interesting photo opportunities around. Lovely portrait, by the way!
ReplyDeleteWonderful portrait, Jack!
ReplyDeleteYes, some days are just awful for taking photos and it's not always the weather. Sometimes I just don't have what it takes to capture an activity well. How frustrating!
This is a great portrait shot! I know what you mean though, the shots that you anticipated the most sometimes turn out blah :D
ReplyDeletelook who is a "smooth operator"!
ReplyDeleteThe portrait is absolutely superb. You've got everything right here - focus on the subject, the skin tones are lovely, and the misc related background. I read in Scott Kelby's Digital Photo book that crowds don't make an interesting photo... I shop for photo equipment at Paul's Photo on Hawthorne Blvd in Torrance. Mr. Paul Common himself released another book (http://paulsphoto.com/suggested-reading.html) which contains the best shot ever of a group of Asian women dancers. I'll send you a jpg.
As for me, ALL my photos turn out great (after I dump 95% of them) :P
It happens all the time!
ReplyDeleteLovely portrait, how was the dancing?
Of course it happens to me too, Jack. Worse than that is leaving in a hurry and forgetting the camera at home, just like it happened to me yesterday on my way to a party in a place with lots of photographic opportunities I have never been before... LOL!
ReplyDeleteI would have loved to attend the festival and this is a great portrait.
Who cares about boats when there are pretty girls around? Good portrait.
ReplyDeleteI think festivals are really hard to photograph well - too many people, too much clutter. Perhaps the best thing is to home in on details and individuals, as you did so successfully here.
ReplyDeleteCrowded places are so difficult for shooting! You did very well getting this nice portrait of the dancer.
ReplyDeleteWell this is a colourful pic Jack - I know the feeling when the deletes are more then the keepers!
ReplyDeleteWonderful portrait. I have many, many blah photos, a few may wind up on the blog but most end up in the trash can.
ReplyDeleteBlah nothing this is very nice. That's how I felt about my Indian Market photos. The crowds were horrible. They could have cared less that someone was trying to take a photo they just barreled right in front of me.
ReplyDeletePoor photos of a great event? It sure happens to me. I end up posting about a slightly different subject, like you did. What a great portrait. Hard to say where this beautiful young lady may be from. I'd love to know.
ReplyDelete