sunwei

Sister Pagodas in Guilin taken at night with my Canon G9 powershot.

In the daytime the coloring is not apparent, but as you can see after

dark the pagodas shine in silver and gold.

A still life in a famous Xi'an temple which once had a Japanese head

monk called Kogi from Kyoto in Japan. Kogi changed his name to

Xi'an which is interesting because at this time in Xi'an's history it was

called Chang'an. Is it possible that the then emperor decided to

change Chang'an into Xi'an? If so why was this? Or was it just a

stange coincidence?

Islam Street in Xi'an is always an inspiration for photographers. The

vibrant colors and constant buzz of activity make it an exciting

kaleidoscope.

Here I am trying to create an artist's still life composition, notice the

triangle and what looks like a brush in a paint pot.

Hope you like it.

I was in Singapore at the same time as you and missed this lovely night time landscape, I'd guess it was taken at dawn, the street lights are on, but the sky is blue. I love this time to capture a landscape! I remember a close friend and fellow landscape photographer taking me out to a bay in the UK to take similar shots. Ah! The joys of photography!

Beautiful portrait, lovely composure and subject in soft focus, which is good.

Suggest you blur the background more to make the subject of the photograph stand out, also crop the photo a little at the top and sides.

Its great to see the model in context, ie in a location, but the subject is of prime importance.

Beautiful street portrait in China, I find the people here mostly warm hearted and kind, especially the older people. Here in Xi'an there is a big contrast between city life and life in the countryside. During Spring Festival nearly everyone is returning home, its a time of vibrant energy.

Used this image as a cover for my mystical fine art photography book. It

shows Buddhist bamboo growing in Hong Kong, its certainly a fine

specimen, but what do you think? Comments please.

A positively evil looking phoenix , partially hidden under the eaves

in a temple in Osaka. Please tell me what you think about this one?

Both my wife Angela and I were entranched by this beautiful image, my wife said "It looks like a scene from a movie".

Aesthetics - image looks really good, attracts our attention. The composition is wonderful with the lady's intense gaze towards the magnificant wise bird of prey. The gloved hand, the way her other arm is held aloft, the interesting dress and the atmosphere are all superb. My score: 6/7

Originality: Yep, really amazing and unusual. My score 7/7

Now we are both looking forward to see more of your work, well done! I specialize in mystical photography, but this image takes the biscuit!

A Buddhist tree taken near a temple in Hong Kong. Please feel free to

comment on this one!

Both my wife and I liked this image very much and one day it would be nice to go to this place ourselves.

Aesthetics : There is much sharp detail in this shot, I will spend some time looking at the individual scenes. Did you do as I sometimes do, lie on my back to point the camera straight up? Wonderful subdued colors. My score 5/7

Originality : Well, I suppose this image is readily available, so my score 3/7

I like this image very much, it looks a good place to do a location shoot. Fortunately there are still many places left to find a good background here in China, but the re-development is taking its toll.

Aesthetics : I tell my wife not to look gaudy, not to wear more than two colors to make a good impression, here we have a lady in black. Wonderful. The composition is excellent too , with the models legs cutting fine angles. My score : 6/7

Originality : Well, you are a professional, but its still hard to find uniqueness. My score : 4/7

This looks like it was taken in Korea from the writing, the stance is classic martial arts. In China where I now reside , kungfu is distinguished from wushi, the latter actually refers to marshal arts, whilst kungfu is actually a reference to acquiring a great skill in something. Very interesting shot.

Aesthetics: looks good and would make a great contribution to a book on swords. Composition - I particularly like the angles of this stance, and the intense stare which the subject is making, showing no signs of anger, just impassive, perfect. Tones: shadows are wonderful on the figure and with the long thin shadow on the floor. 6/7

Originality: this image is more original because of the writing, however it would be possible to take similar images across Asia. 4/7

I like this portrait very much. Please be patient with me as I'm trying to learn how to rate images using Photonet's guidelines.

Aesthetics: Your image certainly looks good, it attracts & holds my attention.

Its an interesting composition with a muted background (ie the plain stone wall which doesn't detract from the subject). Tones are wonderful, particularly the wear around the face. My score : 6/7

Originality: Its not particularly unusual, but you have captured the mood of the subject very well. My score : 4/7

I just wonder what he must have been contemplating, or thinking about?

One of the reasons I love living in China is because I enjoy taking photos of beautiful Chinese ladies, they certainly take some beating. This image is a wonderful head & shoulders shot. Please be patient with me as I am trying out Photonet's rating scheme for the first time.

Aesthetics : Image looks great, composition is fine (eyes are angled which is great), interesting colors (headgear, necklass & earrings) My score 6/7

Originality: Ladies in costume are a little rare, but not so diificult to find if you know where to go. My score 4/7

Okay that was a little painful, using Photonet's guidelines.

Can I just say that the background could be blurred more, using Photoshop to improve this image.

I love this image because it reminds me of my work with Crown Agents, they all used to wear bowler hats, carry brollies and talk "frightfully, frightfully". But they still needed a 'diamond in the rough like me' to do the dirty work.

Quality: Top quality workmanship here! The tones and shadows really make the shot ping.

Composition: The repeated images and collage of splintered images look really great, as does the multitude of different poses. The Catholic priest serves to inject more humour. I'd be very interested to learn how you composed this fine picture.

My score : 9/10

A beautiful image which evokes mysticism and wonder! Is this Noah's Ark left high and dry at the last Great Flood? I have read about a recent discovery of the Ark and would to love to have more information.

Quality: Pin sharp detail, very fine tonal balance, maybe you have set your camera at the hyperfocal distance (if you used a film camera, that is!) to get the whole wonderful scene in focus.

Composition: The wreck set against the wild sky is magical and the two sets of tracks make me wonder, is that the trail of just one person ascending and then descending?

My score: 9/10 Really excellent shot!

When I first saw this image my mind told me this is surreal, but also art deco. My wife , also intrigued by this picture, at once tried to mimic the pose with great difficulty I should add. The trapeziums in the background conjure up a feeling of art deco from the 1930s, as does the lady's hairstyle.

Quality: A beautiful professional photo, pin sharp with wonderful body tones and great interest.

Composition: Excellent combinations of subject and background. Terrific pose.

My score: 9/10

This is a wheel of life, it shows the twelve animal signs of the

Zodiac, 2010 is the year of the tiger. I was born in 1951 the year of

the rabbit. Our destiny unfolds according to unseen laws. The inner

circle contains Kanji, denoting two hourly intervals in each day.

Please give me your thoughts on this one?

A beautiful exotic portrait which has much of interest. As a student of Japanese culture over many years, I am at once reminded of ' honne' and 'tatamai' when looking at this image. Honne is the public truth, or what is outwardly portrayed by the subject , whereas tatamei is what is the underlying truth. All the components of this picture depict great meaning, for example the designs on the lady's kimono. The delicate black bamboo leaves and the graceful bird contrasted with the white background. The knot pattern on the kimono with phoenix mythical birds. Then there are the tiny carnation flowers on the bright gold headress and the intricate knotted braids.

Quality: A sharp, top quality image, possibly some reworking has been done to sharpen the lady's chin, I prefer a more soft focus view, but thats just a personal preference.

Composition: An engaging presentation with the subject's gaze on some point to the right, outside of our view. A fine head and shoulders shot.

My score: 8/10

I found this portrait most interesting, it appears to be subject with her mirror image. Did you know that everyone has a left side and a right side? By using a reflection in a mirror we can see the marked difference between both sides of the face. In fact when you are trying to judge a person's character, just by looking at the expression on someone's face, you need to look at and compare both sides, before making your attribution. But enough of psychology!

Quality: a top quality portrait, really sharp and full of contrasting and interesting tones.

Composition: An excellent composition including an interesting reflection. Particularly like the lady's eye and eyelashes.

My score: 9/10

The best scanner I've come across is made by Hasselblad, it can scan medium format film at up to 200 MB. I don't know what format you have used, either 35 mm or medium, but my point is scanning film is the way to go.

Quality: Your image is soft focussed, particularly on the model's forearm, also the exposure is such that her forearm has merged with the sheet on the bed. Its always a conumbrum when it comes to shooting white subjects on white backgrounds, maybe you could have used a different colored bed cover. The lady's face looks very beautiful and her expression denotes peace and contentment.

Composition: You have a nice triangle formed by the model's elbow, but I feel that the shot would have been better if you had included the lady's legs, photography, particularly portrait photography is all about capturing angles. Not sure that the multitude of cushions do much for this image, they are detached and serve no purpose.

My score: 6/10

This image has a timeless quality about it, its a wonderful portrait which speaks without words about some of the fine people who live in England. It is a widely held view that the further north you go the better the beer becomes. I agree wholeheartedly with this view having grown up in the Kent coalfield, then lived in Lancashire and in Dunblane in Central Scotland.

Quality: The image is top, perfect with incredible detail, just look at those lamps strung across the road in background. This image should be printed on museum grade archival acid-free paper so it can last for a hundred years. Its a superb record shot.

Composition: Henri Cartier Bresson similarly waited on the corner, until the boys ran around for his capture of the moment. This is not like that, there is posing here, the two subjects eyes are engaging with those of the photographer, maybe it could have been done a little differently to greater effect. Photography and portrait photography is all about angles! The figures here are limp, but they are also most interesting. You have cut one of the two guy's feet off, but does the picture still work? The composure of these two characters shouts out "We're working class!".

My score: 9/10

When you are living in China you get a chance to glimpse into the

ancient world and can see exotic images, quite unlike those I've grown

up with in the UK. This image was taken at Tang Paradise in Xi'an,

Shaanxi, PR China, using a Canon G9 Powershot camera. Please feel free

to air your comments.