As I took to venture out and see China in the extreme heat, I wanted to see the old beauty of this country. While in Yangzhou I had a guide, that took me to see places not just the tourist come to see but to place the locals have a great respect for.
On this day he took me to different areas, some for quick looks and other for more of a history lesson. Of course with me holstered with my camera, I was out to take the photos and ask questions as I went along. Sadly, I never really took much notes from his history lessons but did take in and remember a few more import things he was expressing.
Being that it was so hot and I really almost would have rathered stay out of the heat, but I didn't go to China to not see it. My guide, while I cannot remember his name, was a professional local guide. What impressed me about him was just not his knowledge but his passion he had for his city and its history. There is one thing to love what you do for a living but it's another when you love to talk about this small portion of China and care so much about it. Even though I forgot his name, I did get a photo of him and I was so surprised when he thanked me for taking the photo of him.
So even though the weather was not friendly I had to respect him for wanting to guide me with the love for his home. Sure he was hired to show me around, but he never gave off that this was a job for him, and for me, that speaks volume about a person. I have had guides that just take you on the tour and take very little interest in showing you their passion for what they are doing.
The first photo was from a boat trip through the lake in the middle of Yangzhou. On this boat trip through the tree lined area, I was amazed at how you couldn't see any buildings from Yangzhou. In most of China's big or small cities, they build up and not so much out. So that means that you will find twenty or thirty story buildings all over the place. But on this boat trip, it was like I was there hundreds of years ago. And asking the guide, he was quick to point out that, no building can be built in the area if it can be seen from the park. Very nice.
It was the trees and the design of the landscape that stuck out. Sure there are weeping trees all over the world, but these made the areas sing to me. Speaking of singing. Other than my guide on the boat, was the operator. She was a native woman from the town and she actually sang a native song that is in their native language. Very beautiful it was. More on the native languages another time.
What I knew all along that most of my photos were going to be converted into black and white. Not just because I love the B&W art but because of the weather. With the heat and humidity, I knew that most of the photos were going to be hazy and hazy and color don't always work well together. But with B&W, there is so much more you can do to make those hazy days so much more interesting. Sometimes it work okay and other time, wow, it even has surprised me.
So to all those young photographers, never underestimate what your photo will look like later. That is why there is editing. A photograph is only halfway done when it is taken, it's what you decide to do with it later, in the other creative process that can take it to a whole other level.
Love what you shoot, like my guide loved talking about his home town in Yangzhou, China.
