It seems everywhere I go in China people are getting married. There were four or five different wedding photos happening on that one day I went to West Lake. And you know what? I love these photo shoots. The photos are so terribly gaudy, and the photographers have no idea what they are doing. And before anyone accuses me of somekind of racism, I think that all wedding photographers are bad. Years ago a friend of mine got married and the photographer lined groom and bride against a brick wall for their photos, leaving me unsure as to whether they were going to get their pictures taken or be shot as enemies of the revolution. I still maintain to this day that yours truly took the best wedding photo they would recieve.
China has proven to be no exception to my ‘wedding photographers have no idea what the fuck they are doing’ belief. I have seen some magnificent fail in this country; on one of those exceptional BRIGHT days where th epollution is off on business in Beijing, a photographer will tell his victims to stand in an unshaded, open, white-stone and concrete plaza, and then take their pictures while facing the sun. And like fireman who goes into a burnng house with a lit cigarette and a can of gasoline, there’s a the photographers helper with one of those round, silver coated light reflecting things adding a little more light to the problem. it is just constant joy.
I’ve always liked ‘behind the scenes of photo shoots’ photographsThis picture taken in tandum with the next one make it look like the bride is trying to escape.“Take one more step and I swear I am going into the drink!”This guy kept on taking picture of me. So I got frustrated and I took a picture of him. He was ok with it, so he is now cool in my book. We’re bros now.No witty caption here. Just a bad shot on my part.This guy. This ‘photographer’. He was a delight to watch. If you cant tell from the clothes he was a tiny flamboyant Chinese man.But in these shots pay attention to where the shadows fall and which surfaces are burned out.Now, where do you think the sun was in relation to the picture?I’ll do it! I’ll fucking jump.The tail(?) of that dress is absolutly ruined. I don’t know how such things work, but I’m assuming that dress is on its last legs.I remember looking later to find that the dress was too damp to flutter in the windThe part of the dress resting on the bench is completly soaked.This photographer is normal compared to the other one.Here, he squints as the sun he was just photographing is far too bright for him to see the camera infront of him.I like this shot. It makes it look like these two are having a final embrace before the flood waters come for them. Blink twice if you want to be let go.This poor lady looks like she has no desire to be there.The dress shall remain dry for a few moments more.I think you can make out four brides in this photo.This area probably sees more wedding photos annualy then the rest of the country comined.
Locus Horribilis 