China's Big Chill

[nikkortorokkor]

Those of you who watch the news may have caught up with the fact that China is just coming out of its coldest winter for 16 years. My daughter was there for it, she spent 2 months visiting family and old school friends.

I've just discovered her cache of photos, all taken on a Canon digital P&S. She has a bunch of talent with the paint brush, pencil and pen, and I think this shows through in her eye with the camera. She's 16, & I'm a proud dad!

p.s. I've told her to turn the bl**dy date stamp off!

A bit of background: Nanchang, where most of these pics were taken, is in the landlocked province of Jiangxi in southern China (just south of the Yangze river). It is subtropical to temperate, and only gets settling snow for 1 day about every 5 years. Seeing settled snow and icicles in Nanchang is very unsettling!


Riverboats pulled up on the Gan Jiang (Gan River).








The homestead that my wife grew up in. Built by her grandfather and big enough to house 40 people. This is in the far south of Jiangxi, hence, no snow but still durned cold


My niece is a city girl, so her uncle's well (the only source of water in his farm house) was a constant source of fascination.

[Deleted]

Tell your daughter nice shots (except for the date stamps). We plan to visit China this fall. Unfortunately, I don't think we'll have the opportunity to get out among the folks in the Hinterlands--which is where I would like to go..

[nikonbob]

When snow is not part of your normal yearly cycle it can be very difficult to cope with, heck we get it every year and coping does not get any easier. They have my sympathy.

Bob

[GeneW]

Michael, your daughter's photos are very good! I love the shot of the girl pumping water from the well, and the motion blurred train shot. Encourage her to keep shooting!

Gene

[doubs43]

Michael, those are excellent shots and they take me back to my year in Korea. The cultures must be very similar as the dress, buildings etc. could easily be in Korea.

Your daughter has a good eye for a picture so I'm with everyone else on this: keep encouraging her to continue shooting..... minus the date stamp, of course!

Walker

[mickeyobe]

Michael,

Your daughter is indeed, very talented.

I particularly like the ice encrusted train.

Mickey

[minoltaman]

I loved the train shot, but all of the shots were nicely composed. Congrats to you for having such an artistic daughter.

[nikkortorokkor]

Thanks all, for the positive feedback. With Shiping's skill with the paintbrush, I wonder if she'll ever show more than a casual interest in photography. I'm reminded by the words of Snowdon who (& I paraphrase) never claims to be a fine artist, stating that he and his fellows got into photography because they couldn't draw!

My sister, who is an art teacher, has advised Shiping not to do photography classes at school. She argues that much of the craft side of photography, i.e. the darkroom, has already disapeared out of programmes. The post production stuff, i.e., photoshop, is now covered in graphics. Much of what she learns in painting, drawing and print making - colour and composition - will be transferrable to photography, should she become 'hooked'.

Wayne, one of the fascinating things about China is the rural/urban mix. The eastern megalopoli (Bejing & Shanghai) aside, even 'big' cities are remarkably compact. By biking for 20 mintes in almost any direction, I could be out of built up Nanchang (2 million in the city, 4 million in the greater urban area) & into the rice paddies. But even if you don't get out amongst it, hina offers so much to the photographer. As 1 travel photog put it, 'life happens out on the street in China'.