Slow Sync Frog

Nikon D40 @ 200mm, ISO200, f8, 6 sec

The same frog from yesterday but taken with slow sync flash.  Slow sync usually results in warm tones but it was very peculiar that I got a blue hue.

Frog

Nikon D40 @ 200mm, ISO200, f8, 1/60 sec

One of the benefits of living in a village is the wildlife.  I shot this right off the balcony using a tripod and on camera flash.  The macro performance on the lens performed quite well, click here to see the 100% crop.

I am currently sorting the pictures on my computer so there will be a lot of old pictures uploaded to the photoblog for now =)

Teddy

Nikon D40 @ 42mm, ISO200, f4.5, 1/500 sec

Well, Chinese New Year is over... I feel bloated from all those binging, just like this teddy bear.  A belated Happy Chinese New Year to all =D

This bear was shot a month after I got the Nikon and I was testing the effect of flash bounced off the ceiling.  Not bad eh?

Dragon Dance

Nikon D40 @ 31mm, ISO200, f11, 1/500 sec.

In Chinese mythology the dragon reigns over water. There is an old wives tale saying whenever a dragon comes out (here in the form of a dragon dance), it will definitely rain soon after.  Looking at this picture, it is hard to ignore that fact o_O

Offerings

Nikon D40 @ 18mm, ISO200, f5, 1/100 sec.

The offering table presenting tea, alcohol, roasted pig, chicken and an assortment of fruit and candies.

Paying Respects

Nikon D40 @ 18mm, ISO200, f7.1, 1/200 sec.

Paying their respects to the temple. I've been calling them lions in the past few posts, but they are actually unicorns (look at the tiny single horn on the head).

I almost gave up on this picture because the white balance problem was hard to fix, but an article helped me tackle it. I am still not very good at getting perfect results based on the guide, so after overcoming the harder parts, I eyeballed the final tweaks to get the result I wanted.

Check out the great article here.

Click here to see the original picture.

春到人间

Nikon D40 @ 36mm, ISO200, f20, 1/500 sec.

This was why the lion climbed all the way up the pole, too bad I was standing at the wrong angle =/ Didn't catch the prosperous words on the scroll, only "春到人间" (literally translated as "spring is upon us").

Amazing Lion Dance Performers

Nikon D40 @ 18mm, ISO200, f16, 1/500 sec.

This was the height the performers scaled, amazing isn't it? There was no safety harness so it was a very skilled and dangerous feat. The people on the ground sat on the "legs" of the pole to stabilize it. This was my favourite picture from the shoot, I wish I had a wider lens though.

Happy Lion

Nikon D40 @ 70mm, ISO200, f14, 1/500 sec.

Finally reached the top!

Still Climbing...

Nikon D40 @ 32mm, ISO200, f13, 1/500 sec.

Climb

Nikon D40 @ 26mm, ISO200, f11, 1/500 sec.

These two has my utmost respect, you will see why in the next few days ;-)

Altar

Nikon D40 @ 62mm, ISO720, f5, 1/60 sec.

The altar of idols.

Prosperity

Nikon D40 @ 26mm, ISO200, f5.6, 1/125 sec, bounced flash (ceiling).

They said the God of Prosperity (财神) inhabited the lion temporarily, so everyone rushed to touch its head for good fortune. Pretty soon the lion was overwhelmed with the crowd and tried to shake everyone off by dancing.

New Year Greetings

Nikon D40 @ 18mm, ISO200, f8, 1/250 sec, bounced flash (ceiling).

Time flies, it's almost Chinese New Year again. To get in the mood I am going to post lion dance pictures I shot at a temple celebration last year, enjoy! =)