Taxi Town

[Don Ellis]

Not all shots have a pristine elegance -- some are as messy as life itself.

For those who know the area, this was taken in Hong Kong just above Lan Kwai Fong. The Fringe Club is in the lower left corner. The main street is Wyndham, with Glenealy entering from the upper left.

All 11 vehicles are taxis. I took 24 pictures of the same scene over several hours and never got more than one private car in the frame at a time.



The six "hash mark" areas in the roadway are pedestrian crossings. The two cross-hatched diamond patterns are no-go areas if you're not moving (so you're not blocking an intersection when the light changes).

Right below the balcony at the top of the picture is the Noodle House. Try #12 if you like seafood -- huge, good, about US$6. Only US$3.50 during Noodle Happy Hour.

At 1/4 sec., there was no way I was getting everyone stopped because they're rolling as soon as the light changes -- often before.

That's construction (as usual) in the lower right. Leave Hong Kong for six months and you return to a different city.

Cheers,

Don

P.S. The color cast is reality.

[Roger_Cavanagh]

Don,

Nice idea for a shot! But this looks as though you could have beefed up the sharpening

Regards,

[marie]

Dons quote >
At 1/4 sec., there was no way I was getting everyone stopped because they're rolling as soon as the light changes -- often before.

I think Don explains here why all can't be sharp in the picture ?

I love the shot.
Love that it was seen and photographed too

The colours are perfect , blending together.
Very nice of the taxi co. to make sure the taxis match the rest of the scene, just and 'specially for the photographer : )

I collect (some) little dinky , and likewise, lorries and some cars, have over 100,
and the photograph of the taxis, from a height, look just like them, only the colours are more perfect in the picture
Very, very nice
Also really loved that picture of 'Ted'
Have sacks of old teds etc
(not as cute , or, maybe, as valuable, as the Ted in the forum picture though)
have them put away in the attic
Once they 'get ' a personality , can't be flung out (ever : ) and Ted , in that picture, was a real catch. Mine were worn out from 'loving' many years ago
marie

[Roger_Cavanagh]

marie wrote:
Dons quote >
At 1/4 sec., there was no way I was getting everyone stopped because they're rolling as soon as the light changes -- often before.

I think Don explains here why all can't be sharp in the picture ?

The buildings and the sidewalks ain't moving.

[Don Ellis]

Roger_Cavanagh wrote: The buildings and the sidewalks ain't moving.

But my hand probably is. Anyway, here's another try just for you, Roger. If you like it, I'll log it in as my most sharpened shot ever...



Oh, taxi!

Don

[Don Ellis]

marie wrote: I love the shot. Love that it was seen and photographed too. The colours are perfect , blending together.

Very nice of the taxi co. to make sure the taxis match the rest of the scene, just and 'specially for the photographer : )

Thanks, Marie. It's not only nice to hear you enjoyed the photo, but why you liked it.

Also really loved that picture of 'Ted'

Thanks for that as well. Ted is the only one of the 15 or so bears we have who has made it in front of the camera. They range in size from 30 inches to handheld and usually one manages to leap into a suitcase before we board a plane.

It's hard not to like a teddy bear.

Cheers,

Don

[Roger_Cavanagh]

Don Ellis wrote:

But my hand probably is.

I knew it wasn't your hand. I'd already looked close enough to decide that.

Anyway, here's another try just for you, Roger. If you like it, I'll log it in as my most sharpened shot ever...

I _do_ think it is an improvement (may be you don't agree). I had to download both versions so I could tile them in Photoshop and compare side by side. I get too much glare of my office window first thing in the morning to make viewing easy.

Anyway, while I was there I ran the latest version through iCorrect EditLab, thought you be interested to see the result:



I downsized to save a bit of bandwidth.

Regards,

[Don Ellis]

This should prove that we can do this all day.



This image was done with a custom white balance, rather than fluorescent. Then I duplicated the layer and screened at 50% to lighten it closer to your image.

Before posting the original image in my first message, I converted the RAW file four ways in BreezeBrowser -- auto white balance, custom white balance, fluorescent and tungsten -- and then compared them. The fluorescent was closest to the yellow cast of the street lamps.

For my tastes, the iCorrect image is a little too "night into day" but I appreciate seeing what the program can do.

I do agree that the second sharpening looks better.

Cheers,

Don

[Griffin]

Don,

Frankly, I like to original. It is near the Fringe Club, isn't it? The color is that "muddy" and the last one looks a little "artifical" to me.

Anyway, Don, you can really grab the moment. It is very important in street photography. Congradulations!


Griffin.

[Leighow]

DON

What a mad house.

My biggest taxi related achievement is my shrill through-the-lips whistle”. Well OK, its just a small life skill, but I did develop it at the age of 12.

You see my Dad had failed to master the alternative, a two-fingers-in-teeth approach. So, one day we were together waiting for a cab, and to his amazement I unwrapped my whistle (until then secret)and stopped a Montreal cab in its tracks.

So you can see why I have mixed feelings about your photo. I fear that if I were let loose at this intersection I would cause nine (isn’t that an unlucky number in China) of your white-topped-clones to crash. Either that or I would get driven to the Kowloon cricket club and I know nothing about that game.

HOWIE

[Don Ellis]

Hi Howie,

Taxi-whistling is in excellent life skill that I never picked up. Always memorable to surprise Dad with an unknown (and useful) talent.

Nine is a fine number in Chinese. It has connotations of longevity and power. Four is the bad one.

This is keeping in mind that there are 11 taxis.

Cheers,

Don