Jianchuan Photoshopped - Part 2

This cobbler practicing his craft on a street corner caught my attention.  I try to be a discreet when photographing people on the street.  If that's even possible.  I take pictures of them, I just don't want to be in their faces.  Don't want them to notice me or change their behavior.  I wish I could be invisible and get any angle and as close as I want but I can't so I do the best I can.  This wasn't the best angle but it was the best I could do without being noticed.  I was lucky to get a shot without other people or cars passing by. 

The original was okay but nothing special.  I found the colors in the background and on post distracting from the man and his equipment.  Cropping and converting it to black and white help that.  Then I created another layer to add the Chinese characters and give it a distressed look.  I like how it looks like an old photo from the 1930's.  I wished I had been more patient and waited for some fashion conscious  young women to walk by wearing stylish new shoes to contrast with this old cobbler and his equipment. That would have been a much more interesting story. 


Most photos I take are more bout documenting a place and time than they are about art.  They help me remember the places I've been and experiences I've had.  I try to make them the best photos I can but they don't mean anything to anyone else. In fact most are never seen by anyone else.  It's fun to take some of these photos and see what I can turn them into with Photoshop.  Sometimes they're worth sharing.   

Jianchuan Photoshopped - Part 1

I took a day trip to Jianchuan from Lijiang last time I was in China.  I had high expectations for photo opportunities after reading about Jianchaun in my Lonely Planet guide.  Maybe I didn't find the right Ming and Qing courtyards, maybe I took the wrong trails, maybe the weather was too gloomy, maybe I'm just not a very good photographer or maybe a combination of all of these things, but I was disappointed and didn't find much to photograph.  Most of my photos were within a block of the bus station and were took as I was waiting for the bus back to Lijiang.  When I reviewed my photos later I found I had a few interesting subjects but the photos were nothing special.  I decided to see if I could make them more interesting.  I certainly did not take these photos with the thought of Photoshopping them up.  But for me, sometimes it a matter of salvaging something interesting in a less than perfect photo.  
I saw this old sewing machine in a house/shop while walking down the street.  

Original photo

There were some people in the house so I waited till I was out of view and quickly took a picture and walked on.  When I saw the photo later I thought this was quite interesting and wished I had taken more time photographing it.  Anyway I tried to make the most of what I had with the help of Photoshop and I like how it turned out.  I have put many different frames on this photo and I am not sure I have found one that really fits it.  Maybe it's best unframed.  I have some friends that don't like all the Photoshop stuff (Purists?) and that's okay with me.  I don't Photoshop every photo and don't want to.  In the end it's a visual art and I try to create something that is visually interesting to look at.  As soon as a photo is composed and a photographer decides what to include and what to exclude the manipulation of reality begins.  So why stop there?  We choose what to have in focus and out of focus and how to set the exposure, what type of lens to use, flash or no flash, etc.  Is that a purist? I don't know.  I wish I were good enough to create perfect pictures straight from my camera all the time but I'm not.  I'm not good enough to create perfect pictures even with the help of Photoshop.  But I hope I can occasionally create something that's interesting to look at.  

臭豆腐 Stinky Tofu

My second favorite place to eat in China

I have recently found a number of travel blogs that I really enjoy.  There seem to be so many that have great photos and wonderful stories.  I really admire these bloggers not only for their writing and their photos but also their lifestyle (traveling, photography and writing).  Many have quit their jobs and taken off alone or with a companion to travel the world and blog.  I may someday quit my job to travel and take pictures but blogging looks like hard work.  I have a lot to learn, which is part of the reason I started this blog.  This post has been inspired by a couple of posts I have read this week.  First I saw a video of Beer Fish being cooked in Yangshuo by Runaway Juno.  I have had beer fish in Yangshuo with a group of Chinese women from Guangdong who let me tag along with them around Xingping and the Li Jiang river.  Then I read about unbrave girl eating stinky tofu (chou duofu) at the Shihlin night market in Taipei.  Stinky tofu or "chou duofu" in Chinese, is my favorite food period.  It is the only food I dream about (while sleeping).  I have many stinky tofu stories and pictures but I will only share a few on this post.  And I will post my first video.  I like to show this photo to picky eaters and tell them this is my second favorite place to eat in China.  While working in Dongguan I kept asking everyone if they knew where I could get some stinky tofu.  All the manager types told they didn't think there was any place around that sold it.  A driver at the company overheard me asking someone and he told us that he knew of a place near his house that sold it.  Every night after that I when to this place to eat usually as a snack before dinner or for dessert afterwards.  There was always a group that went with me from the company but no one else would try it.  Too bad it was delicious!  

One weekend while in Dongguan I went to Zhaoqing with a few Chinese coworkers.  Walking around in the evening I was happy to find a stinky tofu vendor and ordered some.  A small crowd soon began to gather probably to see the foreigner but many were asking what the vendor was selling.  They didn't know what it was.  After a few had asked, I announced to the crowd that I would buy stinky tofu for everyone who wanted to try it.  Only these four girls took me up on this but they were there to get some anyways.  I ordered two helpings for myself.  I paid the vendor for mine and the four servings for these girls and I gave her a 100% tip (tipping is not customary in China and she tried to refuse the tip but I insisted telling her this stinky tofu was  some of the best I had ever had).  It cost me a total of $1.47 USD.  This is my favorite place to eat in China.  The next afternoon I went back the to corner where this vendor was just before catching the bus back to Dongguan.  I was so happy to see her with her cart selling stinky tofu, I thought it would be too early.  I took this video of her preparing my favorite dish.  It was the first time I had it served with minced garlic piled on top. Some kind of hot sauce is standard everywhere.  On the bus ride back my Chinese friends were laughing at me for eating the stinky tofu.  They told me I didn't know what was in it and if I did I wouldn't eat it.  I asked them to tell me what was in it that was so bad.  They asked me if I knew what that black stuff on it was.  I replied "It's mold."  Their jaws dropped in amazement.  "You knew that and still ate it?"  Yep!  


Sorry about the poor quality of the video.  It was taken in 2004 with a point and shoot camera.  It was something simple that I could use to post my first video on my blog.  

Yangshuo Ride Home

This is the last of the mother & child on a bike photos for now.  This one was taken in Yangshuo, China with a point and shoot.  I was on a bike too when I noticed this girl in a pink vest and focused on her treat .  It looks like they are riding home from the market.  I raced ahead of them and got my camera out and waited for them to pass.  This was taken shortly after my brother and his wife had adopted a baby girl from China.  I took this with her in mind.  I made her a picture book of China and of course this photo was in it.  

Guilin Market

This photo was also taken in Guilin a few years before the previous photo.  I added the brick wall and Chinese characters to hide the rest of the photo which was just distracting.  Maybe all wall is too distracting too.  I may have to try something else with this photo sometime.  It was taken with a point and shoot camera and again there was no time for a second shot.  Although the timing for the boy could not have been better, the photo could have been better.  

Bike to School

In an attempt to get a few things up on my blog I'll post a few photos.  So far every post has featured a photo from Asia.  I'll stick with that theme for a few more.  This one and the next two will be photos of mother's and children on bicycles in China.  This one was taken in Guilin.  Guilin is a popular tourist city, I found the tourist areas near the Li Jiang river to be uninteresting.  However, walk a few blocks into the city and there are some charming areas that I fell in love with.  When I saw this little girl standing on the back of bike with her pretty dress I scrabbled to get the camera out of my bag.  Just in time for this one shot.  Seconds later they were out of sight, hidden by the traffic.  

Almond Cookies

I first bought almond cookies at this shop in Macau.  I bought them mainly because this man let me take a few pictures of him making them.  I didn't eat the cookies until the next day when I was in Guangdong, China.  They were very dry and crumbly but I loved them.  I wished I had bought more than I did but it was too late.  Since then I have often bought them at a local Chinese grocery store.  I always get the ones made in Macau because that reminds me of this shop where I first bought them.  I have made a tradition of buying some to take into work to share for Chinese New Year.  This year the local Chinese store does not have any made in Macau.  The only kind they have are made in China.  They are cheaper than the ones made in Macau.  I am sure they will taste every bit as good and I will still think of this little shop in Macau but I would still pay more just to have some made in Macau.