Photography Class 1

Yesterday I went to my very first photography class. We bought our EOS camera almost 2 years ago and even after trying to read the manual, I still don't know how to properly use the darn thing. There are so many settings and most of my pictures just do not come out right. I almost always end up using Auto. Today I learned that is bad. I learned all about WB- White Balance, Av- Aperture, Tv- Shutter Speed and many other things. It is definitely going to be a learning experience through trial and error, but from just one class (which was almost 6 hours long) I feel like I know SO MUCH more about my camera. This makes me VERY happy. With all of the trips we go on and all the nieces and nephews, I need to learn to capture all these precious moments as best as I can. Since we spent a lot of money on the camera, it would also make me feel better about it. So here are a few things I learned. They are not the most interesting photos, but they show you what I am learning to do. We have 2 more classes and lots of homework. I can't wait to practice in Boracay. ;)

This may not look great, but I learned how the WB and shutter time can make a huge difference in the light in the picture. This was sitting in the teacher's apartment and just aiming at the window. Great view, huh?

Here is our teacher, Baja (pronounced Buy-ya). She is from Holland and use to be a lawyer and then changed careers. She was great. This is a photo of her moving. We learned how to adjust the shutter speed and make a moving person, or object be still. I think this will be very useful for sports and dance photos and the like.

I am pretty proud of this one. I know it's not great, but it took about 50 tries to get it semi-right. This was learning how to make a moving object still, and blur the background. Go me!

 This was an attempt at the guy being still and background blurry. He was too close to me though. However, I like the picture anyway. This is a typical scene in Shanghai. Lots of men and women pedal these bikes with stuff on the back. Sometimes they are packed so high, it amazes me they can even move the bike! I will try and get a snapshot of that someday.

I liked the "store" here in the alley way. All kinds of good stuff to buy! Another typical sight in Shanghai.

Here I liked the colors and lightening. This was nothing special, but again another little "restaurant" in Shanghai. This was a "walk up and buy place".

So, that was session 1. I have some interesting homework to do. I will be learning how to focus on certain things and blur backgrounds and foregrounds too. I didn't have a good picture of that to show, but once I do my homework, I will share it with you. That's all for now. I am off to go enjoy the sunshine with Krystle and Amanda. Happy weekend!

C

Curiosity...

You know the saying, "Curiosity killed the cat"? Well, the same goes for the Chinese...or so I believe may happen. It amazes me that I have yet to see a local Chinese person get nailed by a bus, taxi, or other vehicle. Before moving to this buzzing metropolis, I was told I would get stared at by many locals. This is a gross understatement. While I did what I could to blend in...dyeing my blond hair brown and straightening it as often as possible, some things can't be changed. My boobies (among other physical traits I was blessed with) tend to draw some attention, thanks to their size and the 'barely there' clothing one must wear in the sultry summer.


First, let me back up a bit. It is a common sight to see a local on a bike staring at a Westerner. Doesn't sound to dangerous you say...well picture this: Rush hour, cars turning in all directions, traffic lights as mere suggestions and a culture of 'only the strong survive' and 'whoever gets there first' wins, tends to create dangerous situations on the roads. Mind you, scooters, bicyclist and buses that don't have to follow any rules are also in the mix. So, when I say the locals stare, picture them doing this in total chaos surrounding them. They start on one street, stare at you and turn the corner into traffic and somehow survive, weaving in and out. It is truly unbelievable. The traffic and lack of following traffic laws in a big city is definitely something to get use to.

Now getting back to my boobies, one instance stands out in my mind. It was the first week we moved here and we had a big, fancy work party. I was wearing a strapless dress that was tight in my chest, as most of my clothes are, for obvious reasons. As we walked to the Metro, we passed a traffic light. There was a semi-truck (Chinese semi-truck) with four men in the front seat (also a common sight and another story) sitting at a red light and all of them were pointing at me with smiles on their faces and saying something (I am sure about my boobs). They continued to stare as the driver somehow sensed the light was green (it may have been the continuous horn honking behind him) and drove off, eyes still on my chest. It was quite comical.

I guess I will talk about my boobs whenever I can...but my point is that the curious stares of the local Chinese frighten me. I worry that someday as they stare at us Westerners, they will one day see that they do not have 9 lives as a cat does....

Beer

As I was walking home from school on Friday, I saw an expat couple walking down the street with a beer in each of their hands. This is not uncommon to see in Shanghai. When I saw them walking and drinking beer, it of course, made me want one myself. It was a tiring week and I was ready to pop the top and sit on my couch with my sweats on.

So I did. I went to Lawsons (a corner store near our apartment building) and grabbed a 600 milliliter bottle all for myself. I went up to the 8^th floor pulled on my sweats and sat. Shortly after, I was summoned to a happy hour. I'm a sucker for Lychee Cosmos at Cottons on a Friday night. My big dilemma however, was that my beer was not even half way gone. Problem solved- I now had a roadie. So I walked out the apartment (I did manage to change out of my sweats) and climbed into the cab with my beer in hand. The driver made fun of me (and so did Krystle) as he pointed and laughed at my beer. Off we went, drinking beer as we made our way to the French Concession…

Everyday life

I recently read a book called “Shanghai Snapshots”. The woman that wrote the book was a French expat and had lived in Shanghai for four years when she wrote it. She shared everyday stories of normal life in Shanghai. It inspired me to do the same. Although I can’t write nearly as well as she can, I hope to entertain our friends and family in America, make our friends here in Shanghai laugh with me as you know exactly what I’m talking about, and just paint a picture of life in this unique, big city. So enjoy, I hope you laugh at the stories and not my writing…