Vorbidden ? Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

The military police taken in one shot together with the portrait of the great leader Mao what is still mounted at the gate of the vorbidden city.

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phi75 (0) 2006-05-05 6:10

excellent compo!
no more to say, it's great.
regards;
philippe

tatadalou (818) 2006-05-05 6:15

Hi Jos,
Very good composition. The military policeman seems not to appreciate! Funny view with Mao supervising his policeman!
Delphine

Alexc (15) 2006-05-05 6:18

Beautiful reality even if there is no joy
Cheer

Alex

fotobram (386) 2006-05-05 6:19

You captured it all in one. The blur of Mao is OK. If the pointing hand was sharp too, that would have been nice.

Goed gedaan :-)
BdM

roamermark (1588) 2006-05-05 6:24

I think this works brilliantly....very well done

Cheers
Mark

david (3972) 2006-05-05 6:29

heya jos,

great shot of the guard at the forbidden city. this looks like a tough photo, your aperture is wide open but your shutterspeed is only 500. must have been bad weather.

getting your shutterspeed up would have been good, to capture his hand in perfect focus.

digital cameras, by nature, tend to have a slight grey fog over the shot when it comes out. so it's generally a good idea to do some post processing to edit it out.

i've done two workshops. one shows the difference between processed and unprocessed photos ... the other is a 'finished product' ... :)

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scalerman (25633) 2006-05-05 6:29

Verbotten? A stunning protrait. Untouchably perfect.

c

PixelTerror (86032) 2006-05-05 6:31

Hi Jos,
Superb compo using the DoF, efficient, striking and powerful, with an adequate framing to stick to the essentials. Did you get in trouble for this one o rjust ran away ? I have been to China recently and we were told not to shoot any person in uniform, even a postman !
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

leiju (1679) 2006-05-05 6:50

Brilliant composition!
A lovely view of something rather unlovely :D
It's a little on the grey side, but that can be fixed in post-processing (like done by david in the workshop).
It would have been nice to have the hand also sharp.

Great idea, great realization nevertheless!
Julia

SelimAzad (457) 2006-05-05 6:50

Excellent composition correct timing.. the Military Police with Mao overlooking at the background conveys the whole story .. No elaboration needed

vincent24 (9038) 2006-05-05 6:59

Hello,The picture is impressive,it seem to be a message to occident giving by Mao by the finger of the young soldier..well i'am going to far may be..congrats for your courage,you got him straight in the eyes!
have a nice day,
vincent

Keitht (1110) 2006-05-05 6:59

Superb composition. Throwing the image of Mao out of sharp focus has worked well. The positioning of the policeman is great.

jeanguy (684) 2006-05-05 7:12

Hi jos,
What a nice shot! Nice details and sense.
TFS.JG

ALSOM (6616) 2006-05-05 7:40

Mao over your shoulder like Big Brother is watching, great shot!

olejator (482) 2006-05-05 7:40

Good timing and composition ,I`m curious what happend next ,have you got any consequences?

thaprem (2458) 2006-05-05 9:00

Cracking shot!...
The policeman wants your camera?! :))
Absolute lesson on framing & PP with the workshops!.
Well seen & well done!.
Cheers,
Prem.

FilipDzik (282) 2006-05-05 9:38

Dear Jos,
excellent photo!!! The best showcase of the Mao's rules. His face in the back is like a refrain of Sting's song - "Every step you take I'll be watching you". Amazing focus of the military police.

Cheers
Filip

zmfactor (288) 2006-05-05 11:12

Jos, this guard thought he was in control, with his finger pointing and stare and all, but you took the opportunity and turned it into a big win for yourself. I personally would have been scared and ran away... haha. Nice work to capture this moment.

jkos (981) 2006-05-05 11:53

Excelent shot. Perfect use of DOF. This way, one can not be sure if it a person or a picture in the background... Just if it was not Mr. Mao...
TFS,
Joel

jjcordier (24158) 2006-05-05 12:09

Excellent instantané avec un très bon choix de cadrage et une bonne mise au point (qui a dû pourtant certainement se faire dans l'urgence). L'image a de la force!
Regards
JJ

Zanni (5885) 2006-05-05 12:14

Good use of dof for this suggestive portrait that is not only a portrait: the fine composition coul tell us an old story (with the Big Brother behind the policeman :-)

CaptainJack (0) 2006-05-05 21:32

Brilliant! Can just picture the moment you hit the trigger, the challening pose of the guard must have been frightening. The out of focus portrait of Mao really adds so much to the mood of control and discipline throughout your image.

bip-bip (1837) 2006-05-06 6:55

Clever composition
You caught here at the right time
Well seen
Véro

zou (221) 2006-05-06 6:57

geart protrait to illustrate dictatorship
very stong sight, and the finger has add a value for a shoot
:)
BRAVO
Zou

ahmet54 (2223) 2006-05-07 13:43

Hi Jos,
great double portrait. The blurred chairman Mao and his watchman. I was there two years ago, but I was to much coward to take such a shot. The finger pointing at you even frightens me. Excellent work.
Kind regards,
Roland

colinbrenchley (6130) 2006-05-29 6:53

Jos
Well captured. I to tried to get of shot of this guard and they did not like it - which seems strange as they are standing in front of probably one of the most iconic pictures in the world. Yet I took pictures of the guards infront of Mao's mausolium and they didn't mind. The pollution is the problem with lowering the light content of your image - not much you can do about that. Great shot
Regards Colin

mphotographies (1976) 2006-07-16 21:32

Hey Jos,

It does say "Forbidden City" all over this man's face. I guess some people there in China aren't that excited when your taking their picture. For me this a GREAT shot, maybe a risk but you nailed it with good bokeh with the chairman not minding at all.

Regards,

JHCris

franckamente (13) 2006-08-06 8:52 [Comment]

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keribar (42726) 2006-08-22 23:25

One of the best I've seen in the Beijin pictures of TE.

Excellent shot - Bravo - Izzet Keribar

Stepan (27167) 2006-08-23 2:31

The light is a little grey, but the focus and the dof are perfect. A brilliant inspiration, well realized.
Stéphane

Andre-H (1407) 2006-09-01 4:52

Hi Jos,

Don't mess with Mao! This is great stuff. You've got the focus on the guard, drawing attention to him, while in the background, both physically and metaphorically, Mao stands tall - and though blurry, perhaps due to the passage of time, there is no mistaking who that painting is of. I once got a picture of a guard outside the Forbidden City talking through a megaphone, telling people not to take pictures, but this is far more striking. The look on Mr. Military Authority's face is pricelessly numb and intolerant - quite appropriately - and his pointing finger highlights his function. To top it off, another symbol of Communist terror & repression sits on his cap: the CPC emblem.

On the technical side, I agree with Stepan that it's a little grey, but this can be remedied.

This is for the faves.

;-D

André

LSH (174) 2006-10-19 21:42

Chapeau Jos!

LS

Ghivelder (0) 2006-11-12 5:42

What to say? Perfect moment. Unless you didn't pay him to keep his hand up...

managua (902) 2006-11-12 5:49

Hi Jos,
what a beautiful picture! You catched it in the perfect moment and with a perfect composition! Looking at that you can truly feel China and its rules.
Congratulations
Regards
Andrea

sam-sby (385) 2006-11-12 23:26 [Comment]

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muriel (69) 2007-02-04 15:28

excellent!!

Really nice and succesful shot. The pic of Mao in the back and the guard's expression.

Well done,

Muriel

rinoacq (134) 2007-02-07 4:07

Great shoot!
Bravo!
Ad Majora.

zumoduvas (1974) 2007-03-09 12:05

Hello Jos.

Excellent image, nice composition and colors.
Fantastic.

Regards.
Jose Luis.

japiey (9471) 2007-04-13 3:08 [Comment]

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fleurdaubergine (358) 2007-05-18 7:26

Digne d'une couverture d'un journal politique. Merveilleuse illustration de la profondeur de champs et de ce qu'elle peut apporter en terme de message. Magnifique !

Liekje (574) 2007-05-27 11:28

Leuke compositie van de twee 'koppen' naast elkaar

waris (338) 2007-05-28 7:36 [Comment]

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noborders (14197) 2007-07-04 10:47

Excellent photo, you captured very well the expression and the imperative gesture that many policemen are having in China, plus in the background a portrait of Mao :
GREAT !
Cath.

cerenguven (202) 2007-08-14 21:49 [Comment]

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NikoFantom (163) 2007-09-01 13:17

Zdravo
Odlicen moment, vklopen so pozadinata.
Pozdrav Niko

Spunkie (276) 2007-09-17 7:59

ha, a humourous picture for me... as it seems like he's going "Yo! Don't you dare take that picture" and snap!
I wouldn't call Mao a great leader (I can say that as i'm in Hong Kong, not mainland China. But if you don't see me for the next few years, you know who's captured me). His socil and political moves had caused loss to culture, economy and not to mention lives. But that still reminds a controversy and it's always easier to comment in hindsight.
Anyways, good shot and good depth of field. Thanks for sharing.
Natasha

itamarberman (135) 2007-10-18 7:28

A very powerful shot.
What more can you say when a Soldier is pointing a finger at you with Mao at his back.

Terrific.

touristdidi (8561) 2007-10-21 18:00 [Comment]

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velocista (879) 2008-03-29 5:52

olá,
great look!! your composition is simply perfect with this policeman and the portrait of Mao in the back!! congratulations pedro almeida

JBotelho (147) 2008-06-03 17:53

Hi Jos
Excellent picture and moment. Good job in WS of David.
REgards
João Botelho

lucasgalodoido (16537) 2008-06-07 20:21

Olá Jos,
uma fotografia bem interessante essa com um DOF perfeito. Ainda bem que não confiscaram sua câmera lá.
Parabéns e Abraço!

Pentti (376) 2009-02-13 10:47

Hi Jos,
Well captured event. Strong presentation.
Good job! Just to participate to discussion in WS I try to make my point also.
Have a nice evening!
Pentti

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