The Sampan and The Cloudy Hong Kong Night Line

 The Sampan.

HDR attempt #11-ish?

Single exposure HDR attempt #3-ish probably?  Not too sure...but it's generally when you have to shoot for moving objects in the darkness.

This was shot after a brisk walk after a huge dinner...And a huge dinner in Hong Kong means that you will have to walk every slowly and be careful as to not exert at any amount because you might just have to retake your dinner.  =)

Clearly it is a lot different from what I had perceived and the light show wasn't on.  Such a shame, really.  I'm always fascinated by bright and colourful lights like I'm a goldfish, probably.  Anyway, I walked up and down the Starwalk for a good half hour to get a better view and composition...and to find a freed up pillar to lean against.  I took this just when I heard that a motor sound getting louder.  Talk about noise polution over the many tourists and Hong Kong islanders' hustle and bustle.  Let's not forget the loud speakers from the performers and vendor stalls.  I turned and saw something that is perfectly suited to be in the frame.  I must not miss this chance.  Who knows when I'll get the next tourist sampan coming by.  I had to act fast.

I was in the usual tripod HDR settings, ie, bracket exposure, low ISO, high Had to switch my settings in a quick go and if anyone have been using a Nikon, the switch can be very time consuming.  Luckily, I play plants and zombies, so my fingers and queue of settings to change in my head lined up perfectly.

Handheld, ISO1600, speed of 1/30 against the fast moving huge sampan...and that's why I roll with a f/2.8.  *high nose* 

Hands steady without exerting too much strength...Hold your breath...burst it...  Done.

Food Street in Tian Jin

Always take the vantage point for sceneries.

Always take the vantage point for sceneries that encompass the scene.  Beyond that, you are free to go about getting down and dirty exploring up close and perhaps get some shots of street photography, documentaion and candid shots.  Feel free to wonder around and enjoy the samples and admire how the alligator and a pigeon are in the same coo and are peacefully awaiting slaughter.

These days, when it comes travel and photography, simply living the experience isn't enough for people like me, or in my case, just me imposing on those around me.  I feel the need to shoot from morning until morning for days on end.  I make it a point to point my camera at every single distraction which can be caught on National Geographic and the Travel and Adventure channel.  It isn't practical and a tremendeous pain and burden on the workflow, especially HDR in my case.  Hence, instead of getting 300 rubbish repetitive shots of an area within 25 minutes...

Get to the highest point.  In this case inside an enclosed mall, the center court.

Blast your camera (bracket) before security notices and bring the beat down on ya.

Take your time to allign and do another round of blasts.

Check the allignment, reallign, and do another 2-3 sets of blasts in that "money shot position/framing" just in case some dumb person just so happens to walk into an open area.

Leave to hunt for souvenirs and food producs because I'm an Asian Asian.  =P

Go home happy.

In this case, I left the camera on a pillar to fire away hence not completely alligned.  I did not attempt at any post processing cropping because I really like how the 2 red and blue sign boards gives a frame to the composition.  Ghosting of pedestrians was intentional to show movement, though I could have done a better job at it.  Taken around late afternoon after lunch with lots of clouds moving in and out.

Thanks to BB for giving me her time, instead of exploring, to put up with my "afternoon" attitude and babysitting me.

Stout out.