Peter de Rooij | Blog

Victoria Harbour

2012-09-04T20:20:00.000+07:00

A small example of the rapidly disappearing old in Hong Kong, next to the new. In this case, the old is a tourist attraction (the Aqua Luna). There are still many traditional pieces of Hong Kong left, but whenever I see them I cannot shake the impression it is dying out.

Shopping Nirvana

2012-08-16T21:18:00.001+07:00

A slightly strange photo. Probably mostly interesting photographers, especially if you are intrigued by reflections (and polariser filters). Others may want to keep moving, nothing to see here.

I shot this from the roof terrace of ifc mall, down through a light well to a corridor down below. The floaty things are decorations suspended from the ceiling, above the shoppers.

All of that is overlaid with a reflection of ifc2 (some 400m or 1300ft tall) looming above me, and the sky. The dark crescent at the bottom is actually the shadow of my own head. In that shadow, there is no reflection to speak of, so you see the shoppers quite clearly there.

I shot this in colour, but converted to black and white digitally. That conversion was very interesting. In most digital processing software, you can determine how to 'mix' the different colours to shades of grey. For example, make the blues darker shades of grey, and the reds brighter.

The reflection was mostly blue sky. Now if you push the mix to render blues very light, the entire top half becomes white. The reflection becomes so bright it overpowers the view down, leaving only a (boring) reflection of ifc2 on a white sky.

If on the other hand you push the blues to be very dark, the reflection almost disappears, and you have a clear view straight down.

I played with that a bit and decided to mix the reflection with the view down, for a slightly disorienting, dreamy look.

The curious thing was that I could regulate the amount of reflection with one slider, digitally, at home on my computer. Normally that takes a polariser filter, when you take the shot, with no options to do anything like that digital post processing.

I'd always heard and believed that you cannot do polarisation in post processing. As it turns out, sometimes you can, at least if you convert to B&W.

As I said, interesting mostly for photographers:-)

Bright Lights Big City

2012-08-09T21:46:00.001+07:00

I've been very negligent... No post for months, and there was enough to post.

For one, I am now located (at least on weekdays) in Hong Kong. Which is a photogenic city. See above. Expect more in the coming weeks. (Or maybe not, given recent history on this blog:-)

This is a long exposure from the top of a parking garage in Kowloon, across Victoria Harbour towards Hong Kong Island. The tall tower is ifc2 (International Financial Centre 2).

How much is that lens?

2012-03-09T17:07:00.000+07:00

The Vietnamese can be startlingly direct...

Being direct

This guy sat down next to me last Saturday while I was having a sugarcane juice on the street. He started talking to me, and skipped the usual questions (for VN) about my name, country of origin, age, and salary, and proceeded straight to the cost of my camera and lens.

He was quite OK with me taking his portrait, and was happy with the result, though he wondered why I did not use flash. In the shot above he was pointing at the button operating my pop-up flash.

Very direct

I can tell you that my wife is not typically that thrilled when a business contact remarks "you look old today". Personally, I am not going to try that one.

It works two ways

It's not just the questions they ask though. The same can apply to their answers. Take, for example, the following job interview question (which I heard from the interviewer).
Q: what would your friends say is a bad quality of yours?
A: I can be quite hot tempered. I really lose it sometimes.

Refreshingly direct, but maybe less advisable than the usual "I am a perfectionist".

Hà Giang Landscape

2011-12-12T16:13:00.001+07:00

OK, time for some variety. Hà Giang not only has wonderful people, it also boasts a very impressive karst landscape. It's a rugged mountain landscape, characterised by conical mountain tops. The highland close to Dồng Văn is a good example, have a look at the Google Maps satellite image below.

Despite all that natural beauty, I did not take many landscape pictures, because it was permanently hazy throughout our trip. Leading to very boring even grey images. There were a few exceptions, where the haze actually lent a beautiful atmosphere itself. The shot above is an example.

It was taken at the green arrow in the satellite image below. It's taken in South East direction, so you'll need to move the map to see the mountains it depicts.

View Larger Map

On the map you can see the strange karst landscape in the highlands. Think Ha Long Bay without the water. Or, as far as I can judge from pictures, from the more famous karst in Yunnan, China. (The border to Yunnan is about 2mi away from this point.)

Picture Sharing 2

2011-12-11T14:53:00.001+07:00

The camera is such a great prop. Especially someone else's.

We had lunch at this place in Dồng Văn in Hà Giang province in the far north of Vietnam. One of the cooks was very photogenic. With 4 photographers, someone is bound to ask and get a shot. And show it to her, on the back of the camera.

Which is the moment I captured. She's shy but flattered, looking at her fresh portrait.

Technical: The lighting is simple - all natural, from the open shop front on the left. Classic window lighting I guess, but in a fairly dark room.

Picture Sharing

2011-12-09T11:32:00.001+07:00

I've been posting a lot of what could have been posted on this blog to Google+. I will catch up and repost and expand some of those posts here.

One of my favourite images from the Hà Giang trip.

It captures one of the best things about it - the joy of digital photography not just to the photographer but also to the subjects. Whenever we turned around the camera to show our (their) shots, the smiles just beamed. It turned the one-way click of the shutter to real contact. And that usually rubbed off on the rest of the shots.

I tried to capture this many many times, but only this one worked. I simply tried until luck struck, and all faces lined up just right.

I hope to go back one day, and give some of my subjects a print. (No, that is not entirely altruistic:-)

Like the next post, this also shows what a great prop a camera can be - especially the back of someone else's camera. More to come!

Hà Giang Portrait

2011-11-20T22:21:00.001+07:00

I spent a week on a phototour in Hà Giang province, in the far north of Vietnam. This area is very remote, very poor, has impressive scenery, and is not at all touristy. The most amazing aspect for me were the people though. So I'll start my Hà Giang series with a portrait.

This man waved us in when we walked past his shop and invited us to a cup of green tea. (This turned out to be quite common - we had lots of green tea. And rice wine.) I asked him in my best Vietnamese whether he grew the tea himself. He said so, and then showed us the tea in a big store bought container. I'm still unsure whether he misunderstood me due to my bad (and Southern) pronunciation or simply recycled the container for his own tea.

After we drank the tea, I asked him whether I could take his picture. He smiled and looked into the camera.

Often, the first shot is a stiff unsmiling pose, requiring more attempts before I get a smile or relaxed pose (of which more later). Not so in this case. One shot, and I knew I did not need more.

Edited to add technical info: natural light, short telephoto. He is sitting in the shade, just inside his shop, facing the very sunny street. The shop entrance acts as a huge soft box.

Hospitality

2011-10-23T11:33:00.000+07:00

OK, I'm seriously behind on this blog... This is from last June, close to Sa Pa in North Vietnam.

Sa Pa (or Sapa) is fairly touristy, known for the rice terraces and colourfully dressed ethnic minorities. But the vast majority of tourists stay a few days only, and never venture far from the town. I stayed longer and one of the things I did was a 'homestay' with a Red Dao family about 30km (20mi) south of Sapa. They are guided hikes (guide mandatory), in this case to a remote village, where you stay at a local family's home. The guide had a hard time finding the place, evidently never having been there before. He also kept moaning about the lack of night life.

The house was a farm of a Red Dao family. Think one big room, mud floor, wooden partitions. Chickens roaming around. One entire extended family (3 generations, including an infant and two toddlers).

Initially, I felt very uncomfortable, thinking I was taking their best bed (I didn't). Matters did not improve when my guide used their kitchen to make a meal just for us, using our own ingredients.

But after our dinner, the landlord killed a chicken - evidently a party was in order. And I was invited. I could not decline (though my guide stupidly decided to seek out the non-existent local night-life). And I am happy I didn't - I was really made to feel welcome, and had a really great time.

I ate little of the meal (one dinner is generally enough for me). But I could not decline the rượu (rice brandy). Which was served at incredible speed. Fill all glasses. Double handed handshake, say 'chúc sức khỏe' (wishing good health), clink, and bottoms up. Refill and repeat. When I started to try and slow down, they insisted - it'd make me sleep well. I explained in my best Vietnamese that with a little, I'd sleep well, but too much and I wouldn't sleep at all. Which luckily did the trick. I could take the tempo down to a sip per round, rather than bottoms up.

All of this ended at 8, when the entire family watched a Vietnamese soap opera on TV (the fruits of running a home stay?). At 9, everyone was in bed. Except the landlord who decided to repair his motorcycle. Lots of clinking sounds, but I have my doubts as to the results.

The alarm clock (rooster) went off a 4:30, and by 5:15 everyone was in the fields, working. Except for the landlord, who looked a bit worse for wear.

The Perfect Camera

2011-09-29T11:40:00.002+07:00

The perfect camera does not exist. There is no camera with the control and quality of a medium format technical camera, the versatility, handling, low light performance and responsiveness of a DSLR, and with the ease of use, size and cost of a point and shoot. So the name of the game is compromise. You will have to sacrifice some less important features to get the ones that are important to you.

My Compromise

I already have a nice DSLR and I love it. But have found it has one big drawback. It is too big and heavy, and too conspicuous to have on me all the time. So I miss shots because it is at home. To fill that gap, I wanted a small truly pocket-able camera, with good quality, decent low light performance, and most of the control that my DSLR gives me. For me, the Canon S95 perfectly fills that gap. (The new S100 which is soon to come would probably be even better.)

Pros:

small and light (easily slips in a trouser or shirt pocket)
excellent picture quality in most circumstances
decent low light performer, helped by image stabilisation and an f/2.0 lens (though only at wide angle)
shoots RAW, and has all the controls I need (PASM modes, plus the usual scene modes)
clever controls, such as the dial around the lens, partly make up for a shortage of dedicated buttons
good 720p HD video

Cons:

small (so hard to hold well)
short battery life
no focusing and only digital zoom during video
no viewfinder (which would help better framing)
not as fast or responsive as a DSLR
not as good in low light as a DSLR

Competitors like the Canon G12 (which has the same sensor), Nikon P7000, Olympus XZ-1 and Panasonic LX5 reduce these drawbacks. But they're bigger, would not fit in a jeans pocket, and would be at home much more often.

The same holds even stronger for the compact system cameras (such as the Olympus PEN, Panasonic G, Nikon 1, and Sony NEX families): they get quite close to a DSLR in quality and versatility, but in a small package. But they're not cheap, and not small enough to have always with me (jeans pockets!).

Which is why the S95 is the best compromise for me as a second camera. Together with a DSLR it does almost all I want, and the overlap (where both work fine) is remarkably big! (The shot above was taken with it.)

Your Compromise

Your best camera will depend on what you want to do with it, on your budget, and on what you already have. Assuming you are serious about photography, here are some suggestions.

If you want one small camera to do it all, but jeans pocket size is not a requirement, and you can afford it, then the Olympus, Panasonic or Sony compact system cameras may be the ticket. I suspect (but may be proven wrong) that the Nikon 1 won't have the image quality for these users.

If you are less concerned about size, go for a DSLR. If it's your first, pick the brand your friends have.

If you are thinking of a Fuji X100, a Leica M, or some other "niche" camera, you should know why they are the best for you and should not need advice like this:-)

For second cameras, think of the S95 and the competitors I mentioned above, but also your iPhone, or a standard point and shoot. Any new smart phone or recent point and shoot will take great pictures in most circumstances. Consider saving the money for lenses for your first camera.

Street Portraits

2011-09-11T18:58:00.000+07:00

For street scenes I am quite happy to take candid shots. But for "close" people shots like this one I generally don't like sneaking the shot when they are unaware. Nor do I like just shoving the camera in someone's face and taking their picture. Which leaves me one option: ask for permission.

Asking a stranger may sound like a daunting prospect. Until recently, I was a bit apprehensive too. But a trip to a market here got me over that.

First of all - just do it, it truly isn't that hard. Hardly anybody minds being asked, and you will be surprised at how many people are fine with being photographed.

It is easier if you go with a few other photographers. And it is a lot easier in a place like District 4 in Ho Chi Minh City. Formerly notorious as the 'mafia' area in the city, it is still poor. But the people are amazing. Hospitable, friendly, and many are even eager to be photographed. Nice combo with a rich crop in characters and photogenic faces.

Vietnam is a good place in general for people photography for these same reasons, especially outside touristy areas. People like being photographed, and they make for good subjects. And they easily engage with you, making for quite natural portraits. I've had very little trouble with badly posed and stiff pictures here. The only sometimes annoying habit is the V sign. But some people pull that off too:-)

More Later!

Creative Driving

2011-08-31T20:52:00.002+07:00

Just got into a horrific traffic jam in a taxi here. 10 minutes, no movement. The driver had gotten out pretty quickly, and as it turned out, not just to chat. He was negotiating with the two lines of parked trucks that locked us in to make some space, so he could move two lanes over. The next barrier was a 1-foot high curb, but nothing a few wood blocks could not overcome. With some directions from other drivers he got over that too, onto the clear slip road. What do you mean, traffic jam, and locked in by trucks?

More Hoi An

2011-08-28T10:25:00.003+07:00

Looong overdue post... So let's catch up. Hội An first.

It's a UN Heritage site, and totally overrun by tourists and tourism. But I think it still retains a lot of its charm. Yes, there are about 15,000 shops selling lanterns (at about $2) or making shoes or clothing to order (avoid the cheapest ones - you get what you pay for). But those lantern shops are really pretty at night. The town somehow still has something magical.

And great food - probably the best we've found in Vietnam so far. Avoid the waterfront though. We really liked 'Morning Glory'.

Hoi An

2011-05-23T23:40:00.005+07:00

From a recent trip to Hoi An (which we loved):

Maybe the great hotel had something to do with it.

But the town itself was very nice too. It somehow survives the deluge of tourists and the multitude of souvenir shops and keeps some character. And the food was amazing (the Cao Lau here is a must).

Highly recommended.

(I think the above shot works because of the low position - inches above the water. That way the pool runs all the way to the horizon.)

Lost in Translation II

2011-05-09T21:08:00.004+07:00

Fancier places in Vietnam (like pretty much anywhere I have been) will play piped music. And like elsewhere, the music is sourced from a small number of services. So you'll hear the same music in several places.

In the past week I heard the same play list in two different places, played by electronic piano and synthesizer orchestra. These are a few typical songs, in no particular order: Yesterday, Woman in Love, Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Bridge over Troubled Water, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.

Yes, this post is written in May.

Lost in Translation

2011-05-04T16:25:00.000+07:00

Maitre d' in an expensive resort: "Will you be having diner with us tonight?"
My wife: "Yes, could we make a reservation for 7 on the terrace?"
M: "Yes. There is also space inside."
W: "We'd like to dine on the terrace."
M: "Or we could set a table at the fireplace."
W: "No, we'd like to eat outside."
M: "We can also arrange a private room for you."
W: "No, thank you, we prefer eating outside."
M: "Where would you like to eat?"

The attentive reader may be able to guess the response.

Another one, another night, same place:
Me, walking in around dinner time: "Could I see a menu please?"
Waiter: "Excuse me, what is your room number?"

Or this one:
My wife: "Is there a special menu tonight?"
Waiter: "Excuse me, what is your room number?"
Me: "1301"
Waiter: "let me check." [Disappears and returns a little later] "No, tonight is only à la carte."
My wife: "Ah, so no menu tonight".
Waiter: "No, only à la carte. Or you can order a set menu."

Paying Bills

2011-04-19T22:45:00.000+07:00

A much delayed blog post, but what do you want with this subject. Also, the picture is only tenuously related to bill payment (I think she is doing inventory, or maybe invoices:-) but this post needed some colour.

Paying bills involves - of course - motorcycles. Every month, men on motorcycles show up with the new telephone, electricity or TV bill. They hand it over, you give them the cash, they write a receipt, and that's that. If you happen to be away, you have to go pay in person at the utility company's offices.

I suspect that electronic transfers may not yet be totally feasible as an alternative to pay bills. First, you have to figure out the bank branch code for the payee's bank account, which of course is an unknown quantity to them or to their call centre. So you call your bank, who will then investigate and call you back an hour later. Then you set up the payee, and make the electronic transfer, listing your account details.

Sometimes that works.

I recently paid one bill in my wife's name. I made the payment from our joint bank account, listing her name in the message for the transfer. A few days later, they called my wife and informed her the payment had been returned, apparently because it came from me and not from her. After more quality time with call centres I have decided to go pay in person and in cash tomorrow. The company and industry in which it operates shall remain unnamed.

Deliveries

2011-04-05T21:32:00.003+07:00

Now living in a much bigger place than our "cosy Victorian cottage" in London, we bought a desk, a sofa, and a bigger TV. I guess nobody reading this blog (or living in Vietnam) will be surprised at the mode of delivery.

Admitted, the motorcycle for the sofa was a three-wheeled pick-up contraption.

Craftsmanship

2011-03-24T22:51:00.001+07:00

With a new house there are - of course - some things that need fixing. Such as a broken water heater in the kitchen. The process was a little more involved and more interesting than I expected.

Day 1, a technician diagnosed the problem: the on/off switch had burned out. (Interestingly, the wires were disconnected from the burned out switch and neatly capped off.)

Day 2, another technician confirmed the diagnosis, and took out the burned part of the switch.

Day 3, a third technician came to install the replacement part. He took the cover plate off, and then asked if he could use my sandals. I did a double take, and then realised that he was planning to install the switch on live wires with only the protection of the rubber soles of my sandals. He declined the offer to switch off power, and expertly installed the switch. Wearing my sandals. Impressive, and a little scary. Do not try this at home.

Moving

2011-03-21T23:01:00.000+07:00

Our stuff finally arrived from London last week, and we have moved into our permanent place. Finally out of our hotel - sorry, serviced apartment.

OK, our move did not quite look like this. Though it was not quite what I was used to.

At previous moves, I have seen two Dutchmen, four Mexicans, three Polish-Australians, and four English show up. The same move packed by four English in two days was unloaded and unpacked in a little over two hours by ten Vietnamese.

Admitted, the unpacking did not result in a single sensibly ordered closet anywhere. But nothing broke, as far as we have seen, and nothing's missing.

Don't Wait...

2011-03-14T22:58:00.001+07:00

for a better opportunity. In photography, I mean. (No life lessons on this blog.) Take it when you can. If you get a better opportunity later, you can always chuck the first shot. If not, at least you got it.

For example, the above shot is of a random chicken on the street in Hanoi. It now serves as a meagre surrogate for the rooster that used to sit on the street corner opposite the Intercontinental Hotel in HCMC. The story would have been so much better...

Ho Chi Minh City House Hunt Highlights

2011-03-11T22:33:00.000+07:00

In anticipation of ending (finally) our house hunt, here are some highlights, accompanied by a few quick snaps. If all goes well we will be taking possession of the keys to our house here tomorrow, and move out of temporary accommodation next week.

First, a house is called a villa here. And many do have definite White House aspirations. For example, two-story columns on the front.

Other favourites include the sweeping spiral stairway in the living room and 15ft ceilings.

Then there are the quirky design features. Such as a swimming pool in the living room.

This house also was a beautiful design with a curved glass wall on one side (left in the picture). Would have been very beautiful and light and if the house would have been built more than a foot away from the neighbour's house.

But my favourite was the very airy house with the round atrium in the middle reaching all the way to a large round skylight in the roof. No doors, and all rooms give out on this central space. Very nice. Especially the fountain with the three nymphs and multi-coloured lighting on the ground floor.

We went for something slightly more restrained.

Circling

2011-03-08T23:31:00.001+07:00

Simple tip to improve your photography, in two parts:

shoot more;
show only the best.

For example, I took the above shot because I liked the curve and lighting of this spiral stairwell in the atrium of a hotel. I also took 27 other shots of the same stairwell. From the 6th floor down to the 3rd floor; from straight down to oblique angles; from below; with people on it, etc. Some of these 27 are OK, some are horrible, and most are boring. None are as good as this one, and none will ever be shown.

Why does this work (for me)?

Trying all these different angles helps me hone in on the 'best' angle. Some people just walk around their subject and look, and then take one shot. Some take even more shots than I do. But you'll get many more good shots by giving your subject a good look first. Experience (by shooting a lot) also helps of course.

And only showing the best gives me slightly better odds of not looking like an idiot with a too-expensive camera.

Oh, and in case you think this is very clever - this approach is far from original.

A Wired Nation

2011-03-04T22:46:00.002+07:00

This is quite typical for Ho Chi Minh City. Frenetic traffic and scary wiring (sometimes with loose ends dangling onto the sidewalk).

And it has its foibles. We can attest to the value of a generator, after four power cuts today... Correction, make that five.

I will be shopping for a UPS, because even a good generator leaves a few seconds of no power. Laptops are fine. External drives and routers, not so much.

Hanoi

2011-03-02T22:27:00.001+07:00

Sword lake.

Last week, we spent a few days in Hanoi, Vietnam's capital. More dignified, stylish, charming, and less frenetic than Saigon. Though not nearly as tranquil as this shot may make it appear. And traffic may be less busy than Saigon, that is compensated for by a more aggressive driving style. Less busy, but in the end, scarier.

I did not spend as much time looking around as I wanted to, distracted as I was by some offerings to the porcelain god. So for now only a few superficial impressions and comparisons to Ho Chi Minh City.

First and foremost, Hanoi is a lot better in maintaining its history. The old town still has many French colonial buildings, and the entire district is still laid out as before - organised by guild (Cotton Street, Bamboo Street, Fish Street, etc.) with really narrow and long 'tube houses'. Nice to see that not everything is being torn down for yet another gleaming highrise.

Hanoi is almost 2 hours flying north. It is less sunny and a lot colder at this time of year (18°C vs. 34°C ‐- or 65F vs. 94F).

Finally, a little opinion: the people in HCMC seem a little friendlier and laid back, while the food is heartier up north (more meat, more deep fried, a little less fruit and veg).