Arches-4-1
Apr, 2014Views
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chiaroscuro
January 03, 2015
Superb composition. I found myself captivated and intrigued! I am a huge fan, I'm inspired by your style and vision. I have a similar style. You posted a winner!
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in the Forbidden City in Hue in central Vietnam. This emperor's city was built using the Chinese (Beijing) Forbidden City as a model. This Vietnamese version is smaller. Perhaps most famous in U.S. History for its role in the Vietnam War (which the Vietnamese refer to as the American War). During the Tet Offensive, when the North staged an intense, coordinated attack on U.S. And South Vietnamese forces throughout South Vietnam, some of the most ferocious fighting took place in Hue's Forbidden City. If you look carefully, you can see bullet marks around the front arch from this battle. These arches are in an isolated section of the city that has not yet received restoration work.Time
Late afternoon during the golden hour, perhaps 5:00-5:30 pm.Lighting
The light was perfect as the sun sank low in the sky.Equipment
CanonPowerShot S3 IS. I was on a prolonged trip through Southeast Asia with my 22 year old nephew and needed to travel light, so no DSLR. Unfortunately, mirrorless cameras had not yet come on the scene.Inspiration
I was with a small group of doctors and nurses (my brother is a doc who leads medical groups to Vietnam twice a year to train Vietnamese medical personnel and to perform surgeries on children with cleft lips and palates and other birth deformities in the Mekong Delta) that were doing some touring after completing their work. It was late in the afternoon and there were no other tourists in this portion of the Forbidden City. As we approached the arches, the perfect light, the repetition of forms of the arches, and the quiet serenity of this hidden corner screamed to be photographed.Editing
Lightroom 5. Minor cropping, contrast, white balance correction, sharpening and noise reduction, and clarity.In my camera bag
Canon 5D Mark III w 16-105 mm, Canon 7D w 100-400 mm, and Sony NEX 7 w 18-50 mm z And 50-210 mm.Feedback
In a locale like the Forbidden City of Hue, there is much that is stunningly spectacular to photograph that it is sometimes easy to miss the harmonic interaction of its parts. Finding patterns is helpful.
