Moths, a photo from Hong Kong, Sud

Photographer's Note

*...just a little break from my Cambodian theme.

One summer night in Hong Kong, girls flocking to the nearest light show. This was the newest fountain light show in front of the Bell Tower (top right) near Star Ferry Tsim Sha Tsui. (purple water)

I used a mini-tripod (20cm) and placed it on the ground waiting for passer-bys.

This is one of my newer experiments playing with shutter priority. I quite like the effect but am not sure if this would look nice to you.

All comments welcome!

Tech: Noise reduced (affected only top left corner)
Used levels to tone down the reddish sky, due to possibly incorrect WB setting. Sharpened.

xavshot, francbois, sabyasachi1212, veronika, syd1946, nwoehnl, luisafonso, dolin, siolaw, Mingfang, Izobretenik, mphotographies, tjanze trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

lappino (858) 2006-08-19 8:57

Hello Cheuk,
this is one superb looking end result! I like the contrast between the "sharp" people in the background vs. the "unreal" couple at the front. Well done, thanks for sharing!
Vlad

xavshot (69835) 2006-08-19 9:22

Bonjour Cheuk Hin,
bravo ! moi j'aime beuacoup cet essai ! les couleurs sont superbes et il y a beaucoup de relief dans cette photo. C'est pour moi une très belle photo. félicitations
Xavier

adrost (2378) 2006-08-19 9:26

Hi Cheuk.

This look like cosmic dancing.
Nice effect and unnatural effects.

Regards.
a.

francbois (480) 2006-08-19 9:39

Hi Cheuk!
Love those immaculate ghosts, I could recognize if ever I had been in HK...:)
Is this the esoteric trick of using the flash with no infrared exposure while using low speed (sorry if I made a fool of myself ;)
It reminds me of Christina's ghosts.
However.
It looks like something I'm as far from as from 'real' ghosts. By the way, have U ever...
However, cheers! F'

jinju (14265) 2006-08-19 9:39

Excellent result Cheuk! The background is so sharp, and we see enough of it to appreciate the juxtaposition of movement vs static. Extremely strong colors bring this one to life.

s10001in (0) 2006-08-19 9:54

Wonderful result cheuk.
Nice action blur & very bright sky but really suits to this Photo.
Impressive work cheuk.
-Shailendra

sabyasachi1212 (19779) 2006-08-19 10:03

Hi Cheuk,
I have been seeing lots of shutter priority experiments on TE lately but perhaps none better than this. The big ghostly figures against the crowd, the magical colours, its a job that would make any professional photographer proud.
With Greetings from India
Sabyasachi

Darren (6823) 2006-08-19 10:06

This looks really good to me. For me, I am most attracted to the colors, even more so than the ghostly people in the foreground. I do appreciate and like the sharpness of the background too, but mostly it is the odd colors which attract. A great small detail is the guy in the gray shirt taking the photo. Nice shot.

veronika (6058) 2006-08-19 10:48

Hi Cheuk,
looks incredibly this effect, gooood :)
Great PP work and good idea!
Nice weekend for you :)
Vero

syd1946 (1167) 2006-08-19 12:34

Hi Chek Hin,
This is superb shot my friend.You surpised me with every new post.And this excellent.The action,the motion,the colors of course gives a perfect result.Outstanding technic and capture!
Best wishes,
Thomas

e30mike (312) 2006-08-19 13:54

I really like this shot, it leaves enough in the background (showing everyone gathering in the same spot) that you can tell where the blurred people are going. Nice job.

nwoehnl (122) 2006-08-19 14:53

Your recent postings continue to impress, Cheuk-Hin, you are indeed developing a good technical and artistic level, and I am particularly fond of the prominence of vivid colors in your work. This is a good experiment with the D50 on the mini-tripod; it gave you a fun angle as well as the good impression with the blurred silhouettes of the girls passing in the foreground. They bring a storytelling element to this one, in that they seem to be hurrying to join the rest of the crowd that is already watching the light show at the fountain. Good shot.

arturian (1429) 2006-08-19 15:12

Nice effect Cheuk! Very cool colors and good sharpness.

luisafonso (862) 2006-08-19 17:37

I like it very much. What attracted me the most was the difference in scale between the people on the background and the passersby on the foreground. The ghosts look amazing in color! It's a wonderful work!

vapours (8264) 2006-08-20 2:25

You have done a fantastic job with your experiment. In my opinion its the sharpness in the background which makes this shot work, the colours look great as well.

dolin (7369) 2006-08-20 5:26

Hi Cheuk
Fort, très fort ce flou de bougé sur ce premier plan, avec le fond qui se laisse voir à travers ces fantomes. C'est hpyer vivant comme photo, un côté mystérieux, un pov bas qui donne de l'effet, une faible lumière très bien gérée....vraiment intéressant ce que tu as sorti là.
Joli
Fred

feather (51130) 2006-08-20 6:12

It took me a while to figure out what I was looking at. I thought at first flags and then my brain clicked into gear. The sharpness of the background people are neccessary I think for the image to work. The foreground people really do look like ghosts; so much in fact the 2nd from the right has no legs :)
Kath

Mingfang (1415) 2006-08-20 7:10

Wow Cheuk, this one is amazing. so smart to bring the two colourful girls to the foreground, the blured just make the shot full of energy. so colourful, bright. the effect you did very well. very well done.

i noticed that you have it with a 50mm f/1.4, new lens?
anyway, congratulation.

rahul__rahul__ (2250) 2006-08-20 13:33

Hi Cheuk
the colors in this are very nice, I like the blur is very interesting as well.
Good job
TFS
Rahul

kajspice (4542) 2006-08-20 14:14

Hiya Cheuk,

this is really very beautiful...there are so many dominant colours which blend pretty harmoniously, especially since they are so large in the foreground. Somehow you managed to get a gap which allows me to see what is in front of them...

I'm just slightly bothered by those palm trees on top of the girls heads as I think their jet black hair looks great against that purple sky... a successful experiment though...

capthaddock (28790) 2006-08-20 21:08

Very interesting and original, especially the calf level perspective, I like the contrast of sharp and blurry objects, and the multiple colours catch the eye.

Izobretenik (1268) 2006-08-20 22:38

Thats quite an interesting effect. I should try once. With a one second exposure and my tobacco smoking bad habit, I guess I absolutely need a tripod :)

I wonder what the picture would have been without the influence of the polarizer filter.

Izo

mphotographies (1976) 2006-08-20 23:53

Hey Cheuk,
Everything is bright and sharp. Your images don't have much problems technically, you're good at this dude! Your experimental shots are superb as well. Overall sharpness is achieved, impression of motion is well placed, good timing and the lovely colours are amazing making this image worth seeing here in TE! This is more than nice to me!
Cheers!
Jom

Angshu (56760) 2006-08-21 0:46

Hi CheukHin
This is a shot so much like you, innovating, experimenting & new ideas. The outcome of your long shutter speed experiment is quite incredible. The passersby look like suspended with their colourful clothes, with their lower torso barely visible. I've not seen anything like this before. Absolutely fab!
Regards
Angshu

oochappan (4880) 2006-08-21 5:27

A very special colored ghost effect in front plan towards the sharp background, a fine experiment Cheuk.
greetings
Henk

mdchachi (1612) 2006-08-21 7:56

Interesting experimentation however I don't think it works. The "ghosts" are not solid enough. I'd try a faster shutter speed or a flash to stop the motion while still capturing the blur.

tjanze (5674) 2006-08-21 9:09

Hi Cheuk!
Fantastic experiment.Good work.It is very hard to make good photo in crowd like this.Bravo!

ALSOM (6616) 2006-08-24 9:45

very nice one. I can appreciate the vivid colors and the contrast between people in focus and blurred motion. A surrealistic composition.
Thanks, Alain -

napdsp (744) 2006-08-24 17:50

Very creative and artistic. Excellent long exposure. Nice contrast texture between moving and still people. The color is amazing. TFS.

Stepan (27210) 2006-08-30 16:29

It's hard to understand the depth, the perspective and the scales you get. As far as I can, I find it impressive, original and even incredible. And I don't speak about light and colors !!!
Stéphane

lestans (17258) 2006-09-10 8:50

Hi Cheuk!! I like these coloured ghosts! I always like blurred subjects in a sharp picture, and this composition is really well done: so many far little people ..and the two "ghosts"!!

Livia

Luko (14000) 2007-05-17 19:46

I haven't been commenting it yet though i'm following your link from today's post. this is extremely consistent. I had seen before one of your Tsim sha tsui esplanade shots with both blur and sharpness, this is on the same register and it even works better.
I think definitely HKG frenzy needs motion blur, colors in every ways and so on, in this respect, your image perfectly illustrates HKG.
I also reckon these were two of your best efforts Maybe you've got something to drill into personnally with slow speed and action.