The Ddragon China Thread...

[Ddragon]

Well, I'm going to be here for a year studying some more Chinese in Changsha in Hunan Province (currently 9/23/2010 at 10:13pm) and I was finally able to get an SLR thanks to the fam for an early birthday present. So ummm yeah...I'll be posting some pictures of my time in China here because I want to share with you guys:D!

Hope you like them, these are my very first SLR photos so please be gentle guys:chuckles:

I'll probably post some pics from my old camera later on...


*edit: sorry, it's taking time to load my photobucket:chuckles: I'll post them up as soon as they finish uploading...

Some will be edited in photoshop and some might not, depending on if I feel the colors need to be changed.

[Crizzz]

this is going to be good

[Ddragon]

Finally got them uploaded!

Nightlife
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_00080.jpg

Back Street where students on campus can get food, supplies, etc...
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_00150.jpg

Some parts of Campus (softened and edited these images to try out some different stuff):
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0001copy-1.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0005copy.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0006copy.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0008copy.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0010copy.jpg



My new lucky moth(it's dead though...found it in my classroom)
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0018copy.jpg


Oh yeah, they don't have 5 gum over here so if anyone from the states wants to send me some more:D by all means please do!!

[Ddragon]

this is going to be good

Thanks Chris!!:applaud:

[guateracer1]

nice pics man and also how many packs of gum?:chuckles:

[Ddragon]

^Hahaa thanks man! Send as many as you want!:gap: I'm 5 gum deprived over here lol...

[Crizzz]

PM me you address man. I ship stuff over seas all the time. Next time i get a chance, 'ill send some gum your way.

[celicayounggun]

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0001copy-1.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0006copy.jpg

Oh yeah, they don't have 5 gum over here so if anyone from the states wants to send me some more:D by all means please do!!

i love these 2 man! i hope your having fun over there in China, you know we're going to be missing you alot!
PM me your address and ill get you some 5 gum, its the least i can do man

[Motor]

Nice pics! Have you sampled the street food? Whats the weather like where you live?

[DaBigTickett]

Nice pics.

[Zero]

I thought gum chewing was banned there. :shrugs:

Nice pics, B. Studying to be a Shaolin monk? :chuckles:

[J-Easy]

cool pics
i went to china a couple years ago, but i wish i visited the country side of china
i mainly stayed in shanghai and beijing

[Ddragon]

PM me you address man. I ship stuff over seas all the time. Next time i get a chance, 'ill send some gum your way.

Thanks Chris! I'll pm you in a sec. When you do send it though just let me know so I can look out for it because the school won't tell me when I receive something...:ugh:

i love these 2 man! i hope your having fun over there in China, you know we're going to be missing you alot!
PM me your address and ill get you some 5 gum, its the least i can do man

Thanks Dan! Trust me, since I got a new camera there will be a whole ton more!:D It's definitely a lot of fun man! Tonight I'm going to check out one of their clubs over here and see how they are. I'll pm you in a sec too!

Nice pics! Have you sampled the street food? Whats the weather like where you live?

Thanks Motor! I have sampled it and most of it is pretty good! A lot of the stuff is spicy too, the backstreet alleyway looking pic is where I usually go to eat and they have a lot to choose from. The weather is weird because last week was hot as hell (95F during the day and 82F at night) and now it's nice and cool because a cold front came through. It's pretty much cloudy but when we get the sun, it's nice!

Nice pics.

Thanks man!

I thought gum chewing was banned there. :shrugs:

Nice pics, B. Studying to be a Shaolin monk? :chuckles:

:chuckles: Thanks Chad! I'm still working on understanding ISO and other stuff because with my first camera I didn't look too much into it.

But yeah they'll never take me alive! lol You never know, I may return a kungfu master! The next Bruce LeRoy!:gap:

cool pics
i went to china a couple years ago, but i wish i visited the country side of china
i mainly stayed in shanghai and beijing

Thank ya kindly! The countryside is very beautiful, I'm planning on visiting Guilin during the next holiday because I didn't make travel arrangements this time. I've also been to Beijing and Shanghai too! How'd you like those cities? Did you check out the Pearl Tower?

[Ddragon]

This was a bar I found. Look closely at the oval shaped sign, it's all about the music, alcohol, and sex life.

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0024copy.jpg

[J-Easy]

Thank ya kindly! The countryside is very beautiful, I'm planning on visiting Guilin during the next holiday because I didn't make travel arrangements this time. I've also been to Beijing and Shanghai too! How'd you like those cities? Did you check out the Pearl Tower?

I loved both despite the pollution and I only saw Pearl Tower from a distance :(
oh well, i'd love to go back again.

[mrluilou]

very nice man !!! i really like the pics just take it easy on the processing on some :hide:

[youngxlos]

very nice man !!! i really like the pics just take it easy on the processing on some :hide:
i was about to say the same thing
great job Brandon keep them coming

[Soon2beriding]

more!

[Ddragon]

I loved both despite the pollution and I only saw Pearl Tower from a distance :(
oh well, i'd love to go back again.

Yeah the pollution is not too cool but I think I got used to it. The only thing I don't like is this smell from one kind of tofu that turns my stomach upside down everytime:puke: But yeah man you should definitely visit China again whenever you get the chance!

very nice man !!! i really like the pics just take it easy on the processing on some :hide:

Thanks Luis! Yeah I was looking at the pictures again and I'll tone down on some of the soft light/overlay. I guess I wanted to try and capture a old style kind of look for the first few but the ones I post later on won't have too much of it like these first ones. Please feel free to critique the pics and help me out man!

Once I get back into the states I'll invest in getting the D90 and better lenses!

i was about to say the same thing
great job Brandon keep them coming

Thanks Carlos! You got it man! The features on this camera are so much better than my old point and shoot!

more!

You got it sir!:D I'm going to try and get some pictures in the mountain and some good shots of the city for you guys! If possible, I'm going to see what other cities I can visit depending on if I'm able to get a long break from school.

[SmutasticGT]

Nice pictures Brandon! I've shipped to China, Taiwan, etc so pm me ur info n lemme know what you want from the states that you can't do without for a year lol

[mrluilou]

i think making the pictures a bit warmer would make it look a bit more vintage looking

[Ddragon]

Nice pictures Brandon! I've shipped to China, Taiwan, etc so pm me ur info n lemme know what you want from the states that you can't do without for a year lol

Thanks Jeff! I can't think of anything at the moment but you know I'll hit you up if anything! Thanks man!

i think making the pictures a bit warmer would make it look a bit more vintage looking

True true, I'll try it out:o: I may even try that fish lens because it's growing on me. What is it called?

[mrluilou]

fisheye lens? :ugh:
I've noticed that sliding the temperature slides more towards the yellow side and the other one towards the green side. it gives that retro look to it.

[J-Easy]

Yeah the pollution is not too cool but I think I got used to it. The only thing I don't like is this smell from one kind of tofu that turns my stomach upside down everytime:puke: But yeah man you should definitely visit China again whenever you get the chance!





haha is it that fermented tofu thats deep fried? :laugh:

[Ddragon]

^YES! I hate the smell so much man! I hate to insult but it smells like some hot ass sauce lol!

[Ddragon]

fisheye lens? :ugh:
I've noticed that sliding the temperature slides more towards the yellow side and the other one towards the green side. it gives that retro look to it.

Yeah I use the color balance, curves, and some of the other stuff underneath the image tab menu. I'll try out the green too on some of the images. I gotta upgrade my photoshop though. You don't like the fish eye lens:chuckles:

[J-Easy]

^YES! I hate the smell so much man! I hate to insult but it smells like some hot ass sauce lol!

yeah me and a friend ordered it once thinking "stinky tofu" was just a name they had for the dish but it was literally stinky. its a scent i'd rather not smell again

[mrluilou]

dragon the fisheye lens is fine if its an actual lens and not some adapter

[ateens4]

Hey:wave: great pics as always.
take a pic of yourself and a chinaman. it'll be like chris tucker and jackie chan:chuckles:

[Ddragon]

yeah me and a friend ordered it once thinking "stinky tofu" was just a name they had for the dish but it was literally stinky. its a scent i'd rather not smell again

I have to pass by it everday when I go to class lol...this one guy makes it on this street we call 'business street'. I just try to hold my breath whenever I pass by haha

dragon the fisheye lens is fine if its an actual lens and not some adapter

Yeah I want to try and look for the actual lens because I feel some images if done right will come out really nice! Not sure how much it's going to run me though...

Hey:wave: great pics as always.
take a pic of yourself and a chinaman. it'll be like chris tucker and jackie chan:chuckles:

Thanks ateens! The next guy over here who tries to take a picture of me I'll just tell him let's get a picture together and have my friend take it. Then I'll post it up saying "this is one of the many that try to sneak pictures of me...":chuckles:

[Ddragon]

I tried to calm down on the processing on most of these:chuckles:...

Decided to climb the mountain right after class with a few friends. Some of these were manual adjustment and I was happy they came out nice!

Enjoy guys!

Pathway to get to the main path:
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_01235copy.jpg


Stone at a crossing:
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_01945copy.jpg


One of the passageways:
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_01465copy.jpg


Another passageway I saw:
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_01435copy.jpg


Made it to the top:
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_01665copy.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_01675copy.jpg

Other side of the Mountain facing the city:
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/Untitled-25copy.jpg


A restaurant:
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_01905copy.jpg


Saw this this morning:
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_00875copy.jpg

[2KGTS]

Gorgeous!

But if you're trying to calm down on the processing you still have work to do. :D

[mrluilou]

i think you need to calm down some more !

[Ddragon]

Gorgeous!

But if you're trying to calm down on the processing you still have work to do. :D

Thanks man! Yeah the next ones I post up I won't make them dark at all

i think you need to calm down some more !

Hahaa Sorry Luis, the next ones won't look like these:o:

[Ddragon]

Ooooookay guys...I didn't edit these pictures (aside from the borders and the ones with my screenname lol...those were my favorite ones).

So I had gone to my friend's apartment with a few friends in Changsha to eat and drink beer and we were fooling around with the camera later on:D. I also found out he had a tripod and was able to get a good picture of part of the skyline from his apartment. Enjoy!


His complex's terrace:
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/TerraceAreacopy.jpg


Before Sunset:
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/ApartmentViewcopy.jpg


He took this one (minus the tripod):
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/SunsetatApartmentcopy.jpg

Beer and Uno:
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/BottleSkylineclosecopy.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/BottleSkylinecopy.jpg


Now with the tripod:
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/CitySkyline02.jpg



Some fooling around:
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/LolSmileyFacecopy.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/Mynamecopy.jpg



Yeah that's right guys, I gain superpowers at night:chuckles:
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/AllStarcopy.jpg

[Ddragon]

Here's one more I just took of the other dormitory. Shutter speed was 8 seconds. I just placed it on the windowsill and held it up...

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0039copy.jpg



Ooookay, yeah I edited some of the colors but it was just dealing with the clouds:gap: I didn't do too much except make the edges darker and make one layer of it overlay with Gaussian blur.

[leemaverick]

Haha you are talking about stinky tofu/ cho tofu. I am a Chinese and even I can't stand that smell. But everybody says it tastes awesome.

Enjoy the 7 day national day break man.



Yeah the pollution is not too cool but I think I got used to it. The only thing I don't like is this smell from one kind of tofu that turns my stomach upside down everytime:puke: But yeah man you should definitely visit China again whenever you get the chance!



Thanks Luis! Yeah I was looking at the pictures again and I'll tone down on some of the soft light/overlay. I guess I wanted to try and capture a old style kind of look for the first few but the ones I post later on won't have too much of it like these first ones. Please feel free to critique the pics and help me out man!

Once I get back into the states I'll invest in getting the D90 and better lenses!



Thanks Carlos! You got it man! The features on this camera are so much better than my old point and shoot!



You got it sir!:D I'm going to try and get some pictures in the mountain and some good shots of the city for you guys! If possible, I'm going to see what other cities I can visit depending on if I'm able to get a long break from school.

[2KGTS]

I'd love to get my hands on that 'before sunset' pic but when I rt-click it, it tries to save as untitled.bmp?

These are AWESOME shots!

[Ddragon]

Haha you are talking about stinky tofu/ cho tofu. I am a Chinese and even I can't stand that smell. But everybody says it tastes awesome.

Enjoy the 7 day national day break man.

Yeah man, it burns my nostril hairs everytime I pass by:chuckles:. There's no way I'm ever trying that stuff. I like eating tofu but this stuff takes the cake.

I'd love to get my hands on that 'before sunset' pic but when I rt-click it, it tries to save as untitled.bmp?

These are AWESOME shots!

No problem man! I'll pm you my email address in a sec. But when I click on my images (right click, save as, yada yada yada...) it comes out as a jpg image for me :shrugs:.

[PaLng_CeLca]

BRAAANNDOOONNN!!!!!!!
I stopped coming here since there was no need to since you went away. But I was wrong! So you got SLR?!!? that's awesome bro. got your wish man. Pictures came out great by the way. Place look so dark and moody. I hope you're doing good! I'll keep contact thru PM

[Gootz311]

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/ApartmentViewcopy.jpg

This pic looks straight outa the game Mirrors Edge.

[Ddragon]

BRAAANNDOOONNN!!!!!!!
I stopped coming here since there was no need to since you went away. But I was wrong! So you got SLR?!!? that's awesome bro. got your wish man. Pictures came out great by the way. Place look so dark and moody. I hope you're doing good! I'll keep contact thru PM

Yooo! YGPM good sir! I had edited the first pictures to get a mysterious look but for the rest of them when I take some more I'm not gonna do anything except small details:D Thanks Byung! Miss you my friend!



This pic looks straight outa the game Mirrors Edge.

:chuckles: I had to look it up and I definitely agree Frank!

[striver]

Thanks for feasting my eyes!

[Ddragon]

^:chuckles: Ohhh Spammers...:faint:


Update, got some new pictures from the middle island in Changsha. Enjoy everyone!

Some of these are HDR because I was fooling around but I still have the original photos...


http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0126.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0128.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0133.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0131.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0139.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0140.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0141.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0142.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0145.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0148.jpg

[mrluilou]

5th pic is really nice

[Ddragon]

Thanks Luis! That's one of the HDR'ed photos

Here's another one, my friend put his hand up so you guys can check out it's size

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0155.jpg

[Soon2beriding]

holy crap thats a huge spider

[mrluilou]

Dragon you should take some of the women over there :naughty:

[Ddragon]

holy crap thats a huge spider

Yeah man I got worried when I sprayed it too lol...it just walked away as if nothing happened:ugh:

Dragon you should take some of the women over there :naughty:

You know I have man! But I'm not sure if I can post their pictures up just yet:gap: I will tell you though you should know what happened judging from my new sig:naughty:

[Motor]

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_01235copy.jpg

That's a sweet pathway.

[Ddragon]

Thanks Motor!:D


Here are some more for you guys I took the other day!

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_00475.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_00485.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_00505.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_00515.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_00635.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_00645.jpg

Manual Focus:gap: and yeah, the stink bugs are here too except they move a lot slower...
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_00665.jpg

[mrluilou]

i really like the 4th one but that damn bush kills it a bit :(

[ateens4]

I like the 5th one

[Ddragon]

Yeah Luis, that was the highest up I could hold the camera without dropping it:chuckles:. I'm going to try and see if I can get a better picture of that place next time.


Thanks Johnny!:)

[youngxlos]

why no updates!
btw i just got a D3000 =)
the D5000 was my friends and he gave it to his gf.....
so yeah ill make my own thread soon
till then update

[Ddragon]

Hehe sorry Carlos! I know I've been a little MIA on this thread but I'll be posting up some more later on this week! Congrats on the D3000 man!:thumbup:

[Ddragon]

HOLY MEGA ULTRA UPLOAD BATMAN!!!

:chuckles:

Yeah what's up guys? So here's what's been going on...

We are on our winter break right now until the 20th of February and a few friends invited me to travel with them to a few places in China. So about 9-10 days ago I took a trip up to Beijing, Harbin, and then Yabuli by train with them. To get up to Beijing it took 15 hours from Changsha where we started. When we got up there, it was cold as hell...I mean like -6F and -37C kind of cold up in Harbin...

I took a crap ton of pictures (over 700...) and got the chance to visit a lot of places while on the trip. I'll only be uploading some of them by the week though. We spent 3 nights in Beijing and a few on the train rides going between cities. But enough of talking...here are the first batch of pictures with descriptions!



Forbidden City Pictures:
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0111copy.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_01462copy.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_01662copy.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_01713copy.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_01832copy.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_01872copy.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/Untitled-1copy.jpg



Inside one of the rooms in the Forbidden City (an exhibit):
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_01983copy.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_02023copy.jpg



Near Tiananmen Square (I have pictures of Tiananmen Square too):
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_02143copy.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0280copy.jpg



Temple of Heaven pictures:
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_02282copy.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_02312copy.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0257copy.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_02592copy.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_02742copy.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_02752copy.jpg




The light in my hotel room (I set the ISO on a different setting):
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_03082copy.jpg













Here's a couple of some to come soon!
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_04003copy.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0405copy.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_0377copy.jpg






And one of me:chuckles:
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/Ddragon/China%202010/DSC_02402copy.jpg

[mrluilou]

seems like you're blending right in :ugh: :chuckles:

[Ddragon]

:chuckles: Yeah I'm going native! lol

*edit gotta make a few changes to the pictures...

[XBernie]

Where are the stanky leg pictures brandon?? bahahaha

[youngxlos]

Wow I really like the wall of china one.

[Ddragon]

Where are the stanky leg pictures brandon?? bahahaha

Hahaa:laugh: Wait til I get back! Every picture...stanky leg...:chuckles:

Wow I really like the wall of china one.

Thanks Carlos!:o: I wish we had some more time to go around the area but the tourguide only gave us 2 hours...

[ateens4]

do da stankky leggg do da stankky leggg:laugh:

[1d0_2ZZ]

moooorrree!! Love the pictures man :thumbup:

I want to go the China and Japan someday.

[J-Easy]

I wish I got to experience more of the Great Wall when I was there. Instead we were trying to get away from the rainstorm that rolled in.