the rainy season hits the wet market Photo

Photographer’s Note

This photo was taken in the 'wet market' at North Point, on the eastern side of Hong Kong Island.

We are certainly in the rainy season at the moment. You leave your home in sunshine and 5 minutes later the weather is like this.

'Wet markets' get their name from the fact that they sell live fish and poultry - and of course dead pigs.

This street market is bisected by a motorway slip road. The other side is even busier as it has a tram track too.

It is actually nice to see the market empty, normally you are trampled by the crowds.

Several years ago I saw this street in the middle of a typhoon, with the water forming a perfect arch off the top of the green roofs and all the way down the street. Unfortunately, that was in the days before TrekEarth i.e. I left my home without my camera! I am still waiting for another typhoon no.8 so that I can capture that scene again.

Tech: Taken with umbrella - no tripod! Originally a portrait shot and then cropped landscape. Brightness -3 and contrast +3. Resized and sharpened.

[With the kids being on summer holiday, I haven't had much time to post my photos on TE or critique others, but hopefully I will be more active in September.]

Cos, nwoehnl, Quentin, digi-mom, pamastro, serrano, kajenn has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

serrano (176) 2005-08-17 0:25

Very nice work! The (almost) emptiness gives a melancholic feeling to the picture, and the water falling from the shed´s ceilings and the rain itself increases such sensation even more.

And also, the composition is perfect.

kevinos (6927) 2005-08-17 1:17

Oh, a loely picture. You have captured the monsoon season so well. It's not completely over here. That reminds me to take my umbrella this afternoon. Your subject is perfectly placed in the frame and I like the perspective that carries the eye back into the picture.

faubry (32521) 2005-08-17 3:24

i like this atmospere monsoon... good composition and capture
francine

Cos (1562) 2005-08-17 3:36

Hi Andrew
I love the expression on the woman's face - it reflects the atmosphere of the shot very well. The landscape crop works well and I think the texture of the picture emphasises the wet surroundings. Well captured.
Regards, Sarah

nwoehnl (120) 2005-08-17 3:42

Wow, quite a downpour you captured here, Andrew. If appears you must have gotten soaking wet even carrying an umbrella ... Excellent diagonal perspective up the small road with all the shop details, and the woman sure must be wondering what that guy is doing there shooting photos under these very circumstances. Nice one.

ngythanh (8496) 2005-08-17 6:11

This is "live".
Looking at this, I feel like I am under the rain with the photographer right on the street, rather that just sealing my eyes to a picture.

Thanks for giving an experience of Asian monsoon.

Regards,

joaoferreira (0) 2005-08-17 6:16

Well composed. I like rainy pictures. Regards!

devimeuxbe (56536) 2005-08-17 7:19

Hi Andrew
Very nice picture with a great atmosphere.
I like the capture of the rain.
Congratulation.
Bertrand

zig (2450) 2005-08-17 8:37

Very interesting photo. Very nice, I almost feel the rain drops trembling on her unbrella and on the buildings.

Quentin (5278) 2005-08-17 13:44

Hi Andrew
A really interesting shot. I love this kind of weather. When
it change from sunshine to rain very quickly. I like the
composition of your image. Well done!
Regards
Quentin

Georges (11185) 2005-08-19 6:41

oula tu as du te mouiller ici pour faire ce type de scene. quelle impressionnante averse.
Bravo pour cette image peut commune Andrew

nbournas (3223) 2005-08-20 9:27

Brave photo because you risk your camera in such rain. Thanks for sharing the info on the wet market.

maphoto (8076) 2005-08-20 12:07

Nice daily life Andrew, this is heavy rain, nice capture, well done.

pamastro (7215) 2005-08-24 23:37

Great daily life shot Andrew. I love how the rain is so well captured. The heaviness of it is very clear. And the way it beats down on the girl and her umbrella also adds to that heaviness. Her face and her hair seem to be soaked and drooping and so is the umbrella, looking like soaked hair. The contrast is excellent, from bright to dark. And it has a great atmosphere, one in which I can feel the warm rain and hear it hit the metal and asphalt and concrete.

jmdaoudal (82) 2005-08-25 3:27

Tis is a very good tropical shot.
What a rain.
Well caught for the person here.
A good one
Jean Michel

kajenn (2325) 2005-09-04 20:30

Nice to see you back, Andrew. We all have reasons keeping us away from TE from time to time, but the most important is that we eventually are coming back again... :)

I see you've been busy in the rainy season and I guess this is what's known as a 'downpour' and it's not far from forming your arch. You've done a magnificent capture of the intense rain and how it's dealt with in the market. The composition is great and the DOF too - with some help from the precipitation. I especially like how you've managed to capture the woman's facial expression and the man trying to rescue his products. 1/40 sec seem to be just the adequate time to capture the rain - both falling and on the ground. Very well done!

teta5 (1201) 2006-07-07 15:36

hello Andrew :)
great picture. The women under umbrella, the man with bag... the rain.. every element is so simple, but the composition, the situation is really great. Especially the woman's sight...
good job
TFS
best regards from Poland
Aneta

Jeweller (4) 2007-03-25 7:25