Master Class

Serendipity
Once in a while you round a corner and run into a spectacular vision. Such was the case when I saw this teahouse. By selecting a camera position that included the shadowed people and the bridge in the foreground I was able to create a three-dimensional photograph that captured the complete scene. Most of the people were getting as close to the building as possible and missing the entire picture. It wasn't just the teahouse, but the setting. The red and gold sign on the side of the teahouse welcomed everyone to the building, which has stood there for the past 150 years.

As I approached it I was struck by the contrast between the old and the new.

Eat And Shoot
Although the menu inside was both in English and Chinese, it was nice to have my own interpreter who could help me select something to my liking. One thing that I found that I absolutely loved was this tea with fresh fruit cut up and put inside the glass teapot. Most Chinese tea has the actual tea leaves floating in the tea. This selection, however, was with tea bags and a fantastic selection of fruit that permeated the taste. What a delicious treat! I wasn't going to forget that, so I photographed the teapot and captured it forever in my memories. Oftentimes, it's little things like this that people forget to record with their cameras.

Focal Length Variety
Everywhere I looked there were picture opportunities that most of the tourists passed up. My eye varies with the focal length of the lenses in my case. I knew that with a long focal length I could bring together items that actually were far apart. That's how I composed this picture just outside the teahouse. The statue stood in the middle of a pond framed between one of the flags very close to me and the oriental structure in the background. I chose this camera position because of the effective backlighting of the statue and flag.

Catch The Light
As each day came to an end I downloaded my files into my laptop and selected some to put onto the message board on my website at: www.montezucker.com.

One evening as I was uploading I was surprised by a large burst of firecrackers outside my window. I later learned that everyone does that when they first move into a new home. It's to scare away the demons.

As I was looking out the window I spotted the sun hitting one building in the distance. The rest of the area was fairly covered with smog. I took a chance. There were only seconds until total darkness. I quickly pulled out my infrared EOS D60 and made a single shot. It was almost miraculous that I caught this shot and ended the day with a huge smile on my face.

I have so much more to show you that I'm saving the rest for next month. Thank you for all the nice e-mails that I've been receiving from you. Also, thanks for the huge support I've been getting on my website from Shutterbug readers. With each article I write I try to educate with practical knowledge. It's paid off. Within the last year the registration for my website has more than doubled--can't do much better than that!