Gin Jay Procession under fire! Here is another shot from the Gin Jay festival in Thailand. This Gin Jay (Chinese Bhuddist Lent) procession is comprised of about 11 different Taoist deities that rid

Here is another shot from the Gin Jay festival in Thailand.

 

This Gin Jay (Chinese Bhuddist Lent) procession is comprised

of about 11 different Taoist deities that ride on these sedans

carried by young thai men. They'll start at one temple and go

wind their way through the town to the next temple.

 

Along the way they stop in front of each shop (primarily ethnic

Chinese) where the shop owners have put up a small alter to be

able to recieve blessing and good luck. The shop owners have

long braids of firecrackers hanging from bamboo pole that they

light and shake over the deity to receive good luck.

 

Children and adults also light and toss firecrackers into the fray

and target western photographers. ha ha... easy to lose an eye

here! The din of firecrackers is insane and the amount of acrid

smoke and gunpowder makes it tough to breathe. It's even

tougher to focus as my eyes kept tearing up.

 

I was picking bits of red firecracker paper out of my gear for

about a week afterwords. ; - )

 

 

Im looking for feedback on the following:

 

1) Does the image work as a 'travel/journo' image?

 

2) Does it convey the intensity of the fireworks well?

 

3) What would you have done or tried to do composition wise

with this shot?

 

4) Any one with any tips for shooting in very smoky areas?

Maybe a tip how to get more contrast out of the smoke?

 

5) Also interested to hear from anyone shooting with the RZ67 II

Pro or any similar camera with this kind of subject/environment.

 

 

cheers,

Luc

This is a very neat pj photo. The colors accent it, the pair of diagonals formed by the pole and the bottom edge of the thing(?) that their carrying add tension and motion. I'm a bit confused though, because I don't know what I'm looking at - what is the Gin Jay procession and how/why is it under fire? Is this an attack - or a tradition? The crop on the left bothers me a bit, just seeing arms floating, but its very hard to get everything perfect in this kind of shot. Still, I give it 7 and 7, because it tells a story in an aesthetic way, which is what a good pj shot is.

Great street photograph. Interesting to read the details behind it. The image has a bit trouble standing alone...the explanation adds immensely to its enjoyment. Street photography is difficult, but this turned out well, especially considering the chaos surrounding it. Kind regards, m.

I was really drawn to the image. However, I was looking at it for a while, I think about 1/4 or a bit more could be cropped off the left side I think to give it better balance.

 

Really love the color andsphere the image creates, also the MAMA logo on the guy's shirt making your eyes bounce back and forth the strong red areas.

 

 

I disagree with TJ, Don't cut off anything, you remove that last 1/4 and you'll loose the support for that pole. Lovely photo, I can smell the black powder, hear the noise and even feel the shreds of paper hittin me! Thanks for the photo.

Lucas - Wonderful image to go with a picture story. Love the colors and the movement you caught in the flying firecracker paper. - Tom

I wish I had seen this before I shot a chinese new years event with lion dancers just a few months ago... If anyone is going to be shooting in this type of environment, I would seriously suggest ear protection as the fireworks they use are much louder than any I have ever heard. My ears were ringing for days. Also protect the gear as best you can - If at all possible bring several loaded cameras so you don't have to open up to re-load. It took me forever and a couple of cans of air to clean out my gear after opening up the back a couple of times. The smoke and paper gets into everything. However, if I had another chance I would go again!

Great action and impact in this one. The tilted "seat" and the flying crackers work well to create the mood of the scene as you've described it.