Yao woman in her farmyard. Jiang Yong village, Hunan Province
The photos I took with Jim’s 1960s Olympus PEN camera look as old or older than the camera itself. I am thrilled with the way a bunch of holiday snapshots transformed into something that looks worthwhile.
Jim developed and scanned the photos for me on Saturday night. Here’s a galleryof all the photos I took in Hunan and Guangxi provinces.
Hello, I’ve been a silent subscriber to your RSS feed for several months now and I’ve found your site to be fun and informative. (I’ve gotta try those recipes someday) I originally found your site through a mention Scott Lockman made on his podcast about your tutorial on how to edit Moveable Type templates. Anyhow, I’ve been enjoying your trip through China and I was particularily struck by your recent set of photos. They really do look like old photos from decades past. Quite inspiring. It makes me wonder how I can create a similar effect with my digital camera. Have fun and keep posting.
Keith
Posted by: Keith Fox on July 18, 2005 11:04 PMi like the water buffalo pictures: they seem to sum up a lot of things about life.
and mr. jon too - he looks exactly like many jon’s i have met, which is hard to explain. he just looks like a jon.
then too i like this elephant you carry around. better in black and white - becomes less a thing, an ornament you stuck in, and more symbolic. black and white i think makes everything more symbolic and less real. in which case, jon and the elephant become the same, equal images, protaganists looking for sense.
it’s not like that in color.
looks like a fun trip. where to next?
Posted by: james on July 19, 2005 12:12 AMYou can’t imagine how really deeply happy it made me to see you do these with a camera I could so happily provide you. I’m glad I made you wind the reels and do the developing - that way, these are so much more yours.
James: Jon & Zoupi get along well, so I’m sure neither would mind the equalization via black and white. I love the water buffalo, too. There were so many—every afternoon, women would walk them in pairs on leads through the villages to grazing spots and watering holes.
Jim: thank you again for the camera loan. And even though I fretted that I ruin my film, I’m glad I helped you do the developing. It was like a magic art project!
Keith: the best way to get an old look is to use an old camera. I’m learning that as great as digital is, it has its limitations. That said, I’m sure you could find some Photoshop filters to add grain and scratch up the perfection of your photos.
Posted by: Kristen on July 19, 2005 08:29 AMSimply breathtaking.. your photos are like a photojournalists circa 1940…. Robert Capa would be impressed.
Posted by: T on July 19, 2005 03:01 PMWow, great photos! Zoupi seems to be having fun as well:-)
Water buffalo in zen contemplation is very impressive!
lovely!
Posted by: julianne on July 30, 2005 10:22 PM