Letter Writer, Wan Chai, Hong Kong 1974

You see, there is a title: Letter write to explain the phoho.

In past, the women can not get the education. They can not read and write. Then letter writer, it is a profession to help them.

This is really a interesting photo which record the past of China, the woman of past. It makes me to remind my grandmother.

As soon as I saw this shot, I recalled your previous POW from a

few years back, the one of the Italian men in the midst of

discussion, and I was positive the shot was yours--which means

I recognized the originality and distinctiveness of your voice,

which stood out among the hundreds (and possibly thousands)

of shots I view on photo.net all the time. That, I hope, says a lot.

Best wishes.

Agree with Doug Burgess's view. Very fine work with good technique. But it may lack depth or expression from a Chinese' view.

 

Still congladuration!

Hey Doug now your are spooking me! I can't see the attachment...what happened and how were you able to see it?

Your perception of static and no action is understandable. I think one requires some felt significance to Chinese culture in order to appreciate what you describe as missing.

 

The slight frown on the left woman's expression speaks of a commonly observable intensity among the older generation, listening to the uprightly seated gentleman, apparently reading out loud what he has (possibly) just written. The seated woman is in a posture also common among the older generation at attention - upright, arms folded, and possibly with the same intensity in facial expression. The scene, to me, communicates a level of seriousness in whatever's involved, and the intonation of Cantonese spoken with high emotion also rings in my ear, but is possibly only apparent to those familiar with Asian cultures.

Interesting point, Michael, but if that's the case, then can we say the picture fails a bit more because it does not reveal, or teach us those things about Chinese culture that we need to know about in order to fully appreciate the photo? Can we say that it appeals to those who already know, and those who don't know won't understand? Ok, with some explanation, it's a more meaningful picture, yet still very static and I can't see how the static issue can be fully resolved without changing something, like camera position, or moving a body, etc, however, Isidro's crop goes a long way in that direction, working with what's there.

 

Indicating again that the picture is not bad, and that I don't object, or find bewilderment that it strongly appeals to many. There is nothing "wrong" with it being static. Perhaps because of this static effect it allows more speculation about what exactly is going on?

 

The Norman Rockwell association perpetrated on us by the elves: Close, but not quite a Norman Rockwell in my book. Rockwell's work, as I recall, always had a feeling for something about to happen, or having just happened, or something of that nature. I get none of that from this photograph. The composition, the light, the setting, the characters are Rockwellian, but the image lacks the Rockwell sense of action, both actual and implied.

Many thanks to Isidro and Doug for the effort to tune up the image. Cropping, as

Doug points out in his own POW thread, is a very subjective of aspect of photography.

To me, in this case, the loss of the calendar at the top of the image (the date being a

primary part of any written communication) would seem to detract from the meaning

of the photo.

 

Regarding cropping, my own approach is just to take my viewfinder as a given. It is

the proportion with which I visualize the composition of an image and given the two

options available, horizontal or vertical, a reasonable composition can be made of

most subjects of photographic interest. The presentation of photos in a consistent

format also makes me feel that I'm creating a body of work rather than individual

objects. Doug also seems to recognize this in his elegant use of the square format as

part of his style. Every image may not be perfectly presented in the chosen format

but the strength of the portfolio more than compensates.

 

I tend to agree with the point about the need for an additional element in the photo

to bring a spark of life - a more expressive hand or facial gesture, something that has

more of "the decisive moment" about it (to use the HCB/Dummett phrase). The

intuition and the quick but steady reflexes necessary to capture that moment are

what separate gifted from competent photojournalists, no doubt. My tendency is to

shoot when movement is low (especially in this case with slow film in a small alley),

and, in fact, most of my photos reflect contemplative rather than emotional moments.

Shooting during points of low movement will often guarantee a good shot, while

trying to capture the decisive moment is a gamble: it may never come and an

otherwise good photo will be lost, or it may be off just enough to ruin the shot.

Sometimes there is the opportunity to take several shots. More often there is not.

First let me start by saying I like this photograph technically [as Doug described earlier] it works good overall, nice lighting and good exposure showing nice amount of details.

 

But when I start looking at it photographically, it bothers me more with questions than answers. My teacher in school told me once in my school dramas that never show your back to your audience. I believe that?s the issue here, this scene is more like a story/event/episode and one of the important characters of the story is showing her back here, which is like a dark detail-less shadow, which doesn?t contribute anything to photograph. Other is their expression are just serious, nothing more than that, it doesn?t excite me as it just tells me that they are involved in something serious here but I don?t know/understand what it is [language barrier] I guess.

 

But on the brighter side photograph has lot of detail, which you can refer to and come up with your own story as I see lot of envelops in the background, does that mean they are in a post office [may be in a village]. Wound on old man?s forehead just creates interest but I guess its not part of the story as these two females are not related to this gentleman and even crumpled paper lying on floor adds some spice but not enough.

 

But above all this is a very good effort and I would like to congratulate Bill for this.

Oh my, a fine photograph as a POW! The question of static/dynamics raised by Doug is, I believe, more a matter of content, not composition or form of this photograph -- the distance between the subject and the photographer here is extremely important to the content. It puts us in a position of a passerby, a traveler, perhaps. Getting closer to the subject(s) would disturb a wonderful balance between the moment observed and the observer -- it's not 'right in your face' kind of shot. Bill's shot shows life as it has been in 1974 Hong Kong and all the little details inside that room, and most probably people in there, could never be looked upon again if it has not been for this photograph. Static? Yeah, it is a peaceful moment devoid police sirens and I am thankful for it because life, at least mine, is full of such moments. But I suspect that photography of life as is does not sit well with digital aesthetics on photo.net -- the aesthetics of aggressive close ups or colorful and necessesarily empty spaces.

 

Btw, Doug I believe your pow station shot had a similar atmosphere and it was a fine photograph.

I agree with the others who said this, my first impression was "Norman Rockwell"

 

Just a wondeful photo.

 

Mark

Poached from yor website intro :

"For years albums of travel photos have occupied a shelf in my California

home, unused save infrequent attempts to amuse family and friends with a

tedious slide show."

 

If I lived in CA and knew you as a friend, you would never put your slides

away. I don't normally comment on the POW discussions as I feel I am too

inexperienced in the subject of photography to give a justified critique.

However, the quality of your portfolio has simply stunned me, thank you for

enlightening my otherwise dull and repetitive morning.....NB

This is a wonderful photo: subject is the personal drama contained in the letter; lovely composition, with each of the three people connected together in the act of letter writing; beautiful soft light, with the highlight on the letter, and accents on desk, chair and paper on the floor; rich context with the backdrop and desk clutter.

Looking at Bill's portfolio, there are a few things I particularly like. Lots of natural settings; people engaged in what they are doing, lovely compositions and lighting.

I just came back from taking the grand tour through your portfolio and I have but one thing to say?you the bomb man! Your people pictures are extraordinary.

Isidro,

 

It's a little unsettling to be called the bomb man these days, but I'll take that as a

compliment. Thank you.

I love the soft colors in the photo - they create an ambient feel. However, I cannot help but be distracted by the lady with her back to the camera. She takes my attention span away from the other two people. Congrats. on your POW>

I just saw this photo today. It brought back memories of my youth in Singapore with her more than 85% 'overseas' Chinese ever eager to send a note and money home to relatives in China. I do not find the photo static since not much movement occur during these events till its time to pay. Bill, you have frozen the subjects and while seeing the middle character might have added interest I like the composition as is. I love the rich tone, and all the items on the table, wall and floor. The colors remind me of scenes from the movie "A Man for All Seasons'. Thank you for sharing. I'd like to see more of your work.

Bill's comments, and the responses of others, helps to clothe this picture with a greater understanding by highlighting its merits the way a tailored garment accentuates one curve, or deemphasizes another. Taken in the nude, and generally speaking, the picture raised a few eyebrows among those who, like me, had no deeply rooted experience with Asian culture, although it resonated deeply with those whose lives were more closely associated with the region.

 

Its consistency within Bill's body of work is acknowledged, especially in light of Bill?s comment about sacrificing a minor point of composition in order to fit an image within a broader collection of work, an idea I can appreciate, and one which is worthy of note to photographers who wish to develop a unique style, or vision of their own, and who are prepared to be misunderstood as they choose the broader aesthetic over that of an individual image.

 

I?m still unconvinced this picture compares with Norman Rockwell's work, except for the glimmers of Rockwell on its surface. Is it possible for an foreign tourist to make a quintessentially Asian image of Rockwellian insight? I suppose so, but my feeling is that this image conveys an likeness, more than the status in much the same way a person can physically resemble a parent, or ancestor, yet they are separated in body, by time, by differing life experiences, and by the genealogy of the other parent.

That this picture evidently raises so many questions in some viewers minds is part of it's strength, in my opinion. I, too, am untravelled and unfamiliar with much of Asian culture, yet it seems apparent that the subject of this picture, at least in my mind, is a matter of some seriousness and importance. That the specifics are uncommunicated, however, seems unimportant. It's a very human scene that reinforces the notion that, whatever one's cultural background, there will at times always be weighty matters to be attended to. I like that ones imagination is left free to explore what those matters may be, uninhibited by more information. A very good POW choice. Thanks.

Really a beautiful photo, to me. I have now left Asia but have lived in such places for about 12 years, and I'd like to be a bit clearer than I was when I left my first comment, so long ago...

 

Doug speaks of the static aspect of this image, and no doubt, it IS static, BUT... My personal memories of places like this in Asia tell me that streets are often busy, but that in these streets, we can still find house entrances like this one, which seem otherworldly, and where movements seem actually so much slower than the streets' activity. It seems to me Bill actually captured fantastically the peace we feel when we discover such scenes. I also completely agree with Michael Chang's remark about the atmosphere here being pretty much what we should expect from the older generations.

 

Doug has perhaps a point as he said that the person in the foreground hides part of the scene; but at the same time, this person adds a lot of mystery, which could also be seen as a good thing. I don't see this as a very informative picture, but I don't think EVERY street photo should necessarily be very informative. It really is a slice of life for me, a slice of peace extracted probably from the back lane of a busy street. It caries peace and beauty, I would even say: harmony. In that sense, it is a wonderful portrait of the entire Chinese civilisation in my view, and need not be any more specific.

 

Bill also wrote: "My tendency is to shoot when movement is low (especially in this case with slow film in a small alley), and, in fact, most of my photos reflect contemplative rather than emotional moments. Shooting during points of low movement will often guarantee a good shot, while trying to capture the decisive moment is a gamble."

 

I think this is all very true, and I find myself guilty of loving slow movements too, in fact, but here again, there is a good side to this coin: nothing beats a slow scene to emphasize what seems to be eternal in reality, or to emphasize peace and harmony.

 

congrats, Bill, and all the best.

Great photo

30 years old. Lovely Kodachrome 25 - what a challenge in a dim alley in HK.

 

Nice fast prime lens on a manual Nikon F2.

 

I wonder if there will be many digital captures 30 years old being around or available for us to look at in the future?

 

Just a thought...

Bill, geez you take a nice picture! Congrats on making the POW² club.

The scan is great: lots of shadow detail with the richness of color that makes Kodachrome so striking.

How was it scanned? On a desktop prosumer model, or something more hi-falutin'?

Referring to the age of the shot, a good pic is a good pic. As commented above, they don't "do" letter writing" anymore in Hong Kong. So it's a valuable record in addition to being a fine photograph, as fresh as if it was taken yesterday.

One last thing... if you ever find out anything more prosaic about the circumstances of this image, please keep it to yourself. I'm still living down the "Opera Society" episode.

To Tony: this scan was on a Nikon LS2000. I now use an LS4000 and get much better

results, I think. I must admit, although this image looked good to me on my old

monitor, it now looks too dark. There should probably be a forum here just to

discuss scanning and the difficulties of presenting photos on the internet. I could

have been mistaken about the letter writer,of course - he may, indeed, have been an

organizer for the seamstress' union.

 

To everyone: My sincere thanks to all of you who have chimed in on this weeks POW.

And thanks too to the elves. It has been quite an honor to be chosen a second time -

I guess I'll have to renew my subscription now. But I also have to take the elves to

task. As I've looked through the portfolios of other members of the community this

week (I always scrutinize the portfolios of those that comment on my photos -

especially the critics) I have found that the wealth of talent on this site is tremendous.

It is not without some guilt that I have spent the week here knowing that many

deserve a first POW much more than I deserve a second. In any case, my thanks again.

Bill, that's what the 'favorites pages' are for. I would very much like to see what someone of your photographic experience likes.

 

I like the ambiguity between indoors and outdoors, and am struck by your courage to go out handholding in ever changing conditions with ASA 25 film, even with a fast lens.

enagaing muddy or earthy colors....a well executed portait of someone in their natural

enviroment doing what they do. I like the organization of the information provided. There

are details all over, yet the image isn't cluttered. Excellent photo.