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Clase: Insecta
Orden: Orthoptera
Familia: Pamphagidae
Género: Eumigus
Especie: cucullatus almeriensis
Cineaste365 (December 5, 2013 - Day 055): Today's selection for Cineaste365 goes to Lu Chuan's "City of Life and Death".
Heartbreaking, brutal but the most honest portrayal of the atrocities committed in Nanking for cinema.
For so long, I have waited for a film of this caliber to be made on the "Rape of Nanking". Because it would probably answer a lot of questions for many people of why there are continued tensions between China and Japan. But also to understand how war can make regular people do terrible things.
Back in college, I learned a lot about the Armenian Genocide and Nanking Massacres but while my college due to its large Armenian student population would have memorials for those who were killed, there is not much out there for people to know about what transpired in Nanking in 1937-1938 unless you go out and look for it.
Having studied Asian culture, it was interesting to see things on my brother's side who is more closer to Chinese culture and him experiencing first hand through his Chinese in-laws or friends of the long-lasting pain and anger that Chinese have towards Japanese. It was an intriguing juxtaposition because I recently wrote about how my grandfather fought against the Japanese in World War II but he told me that what happened then was due to war and he was able to forgive.
So, as I was researching this film, I ran a quote by director Lu Chuan with Filmmaker in which the director said, "Why is there war? I wanted to make a movie about the Nanjing massacre, but then I started to explore the history of massacres, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and learned they happened everywhere. It’s not something that belongs to Japanese people. So I decided to [articulate] this kind of feeling in my movie. I don’t want my son or daughter, younger brother or sister to look at the Japanese [in the] way [we did]. It’s not true. The massacre was in 1937. After 70 years, we have to reconsider it from a different angle. The Japanese troops were criminal — but the biggest criminal was the war itself. It twisted human nature. It pushed normal people to pull the trigger. I was in the army for several years, you know. I know if I was in uniform on the battlefield, I would pull the trigger on strangers if the [military] authorities asked me to.”
And in China, since childhood, people are taught about what happened during their war against Japan and what Japan did to them, it doesn’t help when Japanese nationals continue to say that the genocide was fabricated. And while the modern younger generation (in Japan) feels no attachment to what transpired in the past, they are not taught about the atrocities committed by their own people and pretty much, it’s part of the history that is hidden from them. But many young people know that Japan at the time, are responsible for a lot of terrible things due to war, a lot of other countries have also done the same throughout time.
So, war is always ugly and war brings out the worst in humanity.
And what happened to the people of Nanking back in December 1937-January 1938 is shocking, disturbing and you can’t believe how people can be so cruel and barbaric but it happened. And there is only so much one can do by reading a book, online and seeing the photos. But for many people, they need the visual and “City of Life and Death” amazingly captures the massacres, the pain, the suffering of people with so much efficacy. People have to remember, this was a low-budget film featuring hundreds of people, many who have never worked on a film before. But yet, each role was crucial, each scene must look realistic and for everyone who participated in this film, they did a magnificent job in making the film real for us viewers.
As mentioned earlier, this is the second film where I had to pause and collect my thoughts and just take time and wait a few minutes because the massacre of innocents was making me feel sickened and to the point where I felt like crying because I have never seen humanity become so cruel to innocent people. I know genocide has happened within my lifetime but what took place in Nanking is shocking. From the massacre of 300,000 people, from soldiers having contests on how many people they can behead (and this was featured in a major Japanese newspaper publication as two soldiers were having a contest), to the rape of thousands of women and girls who were raped repeatedly until they died. And there was no respect for these women. These soldiers did their thing and not shown in this film but you can find photos are what soldiers inserted in women after they killed them.
And what is so unforgettable are the details captured by the cinematography of the film, when thousands are shot to death, people being buried alive, trying to escape but they can’t. But just looking at the eyes of the characters, the tears, the lifelessness, the fear and in death.
Filmmaker Lu Chuan had encountered many challenges in making of this film. From those who didn’t want to support it because of its content or that it was a film that a young director could not handle, but he proved them wrong. He was able to write and direct a film that captured the atrocities and brutality against the Chinese people but also trying to show not exactly sympathy but to show that even the Japanese like the character Kadokawa did things that he did not want to do but because it was war, he was conflicted and starts to eat upon his soul.
The Blu-ray release is absolutely fantastic, from amazing picture quality and an immersive lossless soundtrack to a making-of that is not your average run-of-the mill non-exciting feature but there is a lot included in terms of sharing with the viewer of the challenges and the emotional state of the talent who took part in this film. Because it was a thought-provoking film that has not been explored in this magnitude and the result is literally epic.
In fact, this film had so much of a profound effect on me that I hope to one day visit the Memorial Hall of Victims of the Nanjing Massacre in Nanjing.
Overall, “City of Life and Death” is the most visceral war film that I have seen to effectively capture the atrocities and the brutality of the Nanking massacre in cinema. This is an unforgettable film that resonates within you for a very long time with its realistic and stunning cinematography.
Director Lu Chuan has created a masterpiece!
Foto NHHS recently covered a super fun event Sangria Kjellerforbrødning. Check out these amazing captures by our photographers! :)
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Classés au Patrimoine Mondial de l'Humanité en Juin 2011, les Causses et Cévennes ont désormais acquis une reconnaissance à l'échelle mondiale, ce grâce à l'accord de l'Homme et de la Nature via l'agro-pastoralisme et l'architecture.
Remake des "Oiseaux" du grand Alfred ... j'avais appaté ce corvidé avec du pain ...
I had enticed this crow with some bread !!!
In the summer of 2006 I bought my first camera ever: the Canon PowerShot S3IS. I wanted a camera to capture memories of people I love, but little did I know that I would be interested in photography. I didn't know much about photography at the time and I bought the S3IS simply because it had a good optical zoom. Then around Christmas of last year I realized that even though the S3IS has served me well but in many ways its limitations were hindering me from doing more in photography.
So I decided to buy a DSLR and I thought I would buy either a Canon or an Olympus. A Canon because it is probably the most recognized camera brand in the world, and an Olympus because I once heard some relative say that Olympus make really good cameras. But when time for me came to decide what to buy I decided to research different DSLR cameras from different brands for to see what they have to offer. I didn't want to make the same mistake I did with the S3IS, after all it cost me $800!
So I went online and started searching for different DSLR cameras that were mainly Canon and Olympus. But pretty soon a brand that I wasn't familiar with, Nikon, started surfacing whenever a serious talk about DSLR cameras came up. It seemed that very few people had to say negative things about Nikon so I decided to look into their cameras. It too me a couple of months to realize that what I really needed and/or wanted was either a Nikon D700 or a Nikon D300.
Why those two cameras? Well I made a list of what was important to me in a camera and they both excelled at it:
-Fast and accurate focusing system
-Excellent high ISO performance
-Captures a wide range of exposure dynamics
-Good built quality
-Intuitive to use and feels good in the hands
What I didn't care about, but many camera companies were using to market their cameras were, (this annoys me because as an engineering student I find it wrong that products are not sold based on how well they were designed and built but sold based on marketing strategies):
-Video capability (HD or non-HD)
-Large mega pixel sensor
After reading about the D700 more and more my heart started loving it as much as my mind was impressed by it. So today, after 1 year of searching online for my dream camera, I finally bought it: the Nikon D700.
The reasons I chose the D700 over the D300 were:
1) I love the D700 and if I didn't buy it then in my heart I would've probably always wanted it.
2) It is a full frame camera which means if I had bought the D300 then in few years when I will want to upgrade to a full frame camera I will probably have to get rid of my DX lenses, and buy FX lenses—so in the long run it sounded cheaper to just buy a full frame camera now. (I know that I can use some DX and FX on full frame and cropped sensor and vice versa.)
3) The D700 is not much bigger or heavier than the D300.
It wasn’t until the release of the recent Canon 7D that I considered buying a Canon because I am very impressed by the 7D. But I've already spent a year searching Nikon cameras and lenses and so Canon production of a camera that finally impresses me (and many other photographers) was just a bit too little too late.
So how do I describe the Nikon D700? I think the best word would be "ridiculous". It's like a little magic box that transforms you to the world's best photographer without any efforts! I have no idea how Nikon did it! And this is also the only thing I hate about it: I am afraid the temptation of taking just any picture and then think it is great because of its great focus or depth of field is hard to resist even though the capture might not have any photographic significance.
The thing that surprised me about the D700 is that when you dream so much about something for so long you are usually disappointed by it when you get it because in your mind you have made it seem more perfect than it really is. Not the D700 though…it is more amazing than I dreamt it would be.
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Do I really think that the camera or the brand make all the different in photography? No, not even close. That's like saying "anyone who has a Ferrari can be as good as Michael Schumacher!" But I believe when you buy a product, especially something that you will spend so much money on and so much time using, you should get the best possible product. If one company is offering me what I need while the other is offering me what they want to offer me, I obviously will buy the product of the first company.
I am not saying you should buy a Nikon, or this brand or that. But if you are going to buy something make sure you don't just follow the hype and do research to find the product that suits your needs. May be you are into video production or require to print your photosin the largest possible size. Whatever camera you choose or have remember that it plays little role into creating memorial captures :)
Let me give you another example. Ever since I decided to buy the D700 and started searching for FX lenses for it almost all people online said that Nikkor lenses is the way to go. But as I searched third party lenses by Sigma, Tamron, etc, I realized that having all Nikkor lenses may not be the choice I will make. So today when I asked the sale's person about different lenses from different brands he confirmed this and showed me amazing captures taken by a Sigma zoom lens that costs 1/4 the price of its Nikkor's equivalent not to mention the weight. So make your own decisions and choose what suits your photography style.
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So if you have wondered why I am not as active on flickr as I used to be a year ago. That's because of my new "photography resolution". Last year as I was going through my photostream I was very disappointed by the low quality, and meaningless photographs I had taken. So I deleted many of them, and then I asked myself, "How can I prevent or minimize this from happening again?" So I put what I called my "photography resolution", and it goes something like this (in no particular order):
1) It is better to take few good photographs than many bad ones.
2) Don't take pictures for the sake of taking pictures. Having a camera in my hand is not a reason to go around snapping photographs of this and that. Just like having a pen is not a good reason to write a novel! A scene must have a meaning and good artistic value—this to me is a good quality photograph.
3) Be creative but don't force a shot to happen if it is not meant to be. In other words, don't try to photograph something like a snail on a sidewalk and then try to be creative with the depth of field, and post processing to make it into a world class photograph. The truth of the matter is that the photograph will always be of a snail on a sidewalk, and nothing more (unless it is a unique capture, of course).
4) If I have taken an image and after viewing it on the PC I found out it is really not good, then don't try to spend hours post processing it to make it useable. That's what recycle bins are for. Beside, we learn best from our mistakes. (This includes: blurry, over and underexposed, and very bad composed shots.)
5) Stay away from digitally added frames. Now, I am not completely against frames, for example, I particularly like the top and bottom black bands as frames. But adding a digital frame to a picture to make it better is like adding a huge spoiler to those early 90s Honda Civics pretending they are super cars…we all know how ridiculous those look.
6) Photograph different topics. In other words I want my photostream to be composed of portraits, nature, cars, flowers, fall colours, macro, animals, architecture, etc. I want to see and capture the beauty of the various creations of God and man.
7) Do not upload many photographs of the same subject. Choose one good one. If there are more than one capture that each communicates something new to the viewer then put them all into a collage and upload them as one photograph. This also means: try not to upload two consecutive photographs of the same category—keep my photostream diverse.
8) Study the photograph I want to capture and prepare for it. That means surveying the place to see what times of the day the light and shadows look better. What angles to shoot from? What can I do to improve the shot? And so on. But the most important questions are, "Why am I taking this shot (Why am I bothering with it in the first place)? And what message do I want to communicate?" Most importantly study the composition. A good composition is like a good storyline. In any work, if there is a good story probably that work will be successful. Best example cars that have rich heritage: we buy them because they have a story. Stories make us relate and feel that we are part of that work.
9) Research other photographers' work, analysis photographs I like, read, ask and learn.
10) Minimize the number of shots taken for a scene. Taking 25 shots of a scene and having one of them look good is not a sign of a good photographer. But with the age of digital cameras it is so tempting: anyone like me with a digital camera can go around snap, snap, snap…snap and end up with one decent capture. This method doesn't employ creativity and talent but the laws of probability and statistics! As the number of captures goes to infinity, the chances of taking a good photograph increase!
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My goal for the D700 and photography in general is first and foremost to honour the Lord Jesus Christ. My other two goals are: to buy a good zoom full frame lens, and to photograph Roger Federer in action! (I know the last one is kind of a silly goal but those little goals add flavour to life, don't you think so?)
Wish me God's best with my new little (not so little!) friend, and I welcome any suggestions and feedbacks about DSLR cameras all the way from lenses to: what in the world is RAW, and why should I shoot in RAW?
PS: Neither this capture nor videos about the D700 do it justice. If you really want to know how good it is you have to go to a store and test it yourself. My only warning is that it is kind of irresistible! That's why I have my textbooks in the background of this capture…I was just wondering if I will be able to choose doing triple integrals over photographing with the D700!
(Toronto, ON; winter 2009.)
The enchanting trail to the summit of Mt. Daniel on the Sunshine Coast, BC. It's a steep and rugged climb but I loved it. The air in here felt & smelt amazing.
(Captured on iPhone SE)
Câmera:Canon EOS-1D Mark II N
Exposição:0,008 sec (1/125)
Abertura:f/5.6
Distância focal:200 mm
ISO:100
Lente:Sigma 70/200mm 2.8f
Flash: Canon 220T (full power) - 550EX (1/64) Strobist
We Were Still Young and lived our absolute BEST lives on Saturday night.. see if you can spot yourselves in our pics by the amazing Captured by Corinne and make sure you book tickets for the second instalment of this emo-fused club night on May 13th!
Classés au Patrimoine Mondial de l'Humanité en Juin 2011, les Causses et Cévennes ont désormais acquis une reconnaissance à l'échelle mondiale, ce grâce à l'accord de l'Homme et de la Nature via l'agro-pastoralisme et l'architecture.
Another amazing capture, this time of the Silver Jubilee on its regular Kings X-Newcastle run, here hauled by Quick Silver, one of four A4 built for this service.
Tous droits réservés - All rights reserved.
J'aime particulièrement cette image car c'était il ya plusieurs années, mes premières prises de vue de ce type. Photo argentique scannée.
I particularly like this picture because it was several years ago, my first shootings of this type. Silver shot, scanned and slightly cropped.
Foto NHHS recently covered a super fun event Sangria Kjellerforbrødning. Check out these amazing captures by our photographers! :)
You'll also find us on facebook:
facebook.com/FotoNHHS
Foto NHHS recently covered a super fun event Sangria Kjellerforbrødning. Check out these amazing captures by our photographers! :)
You'll also find us on facebook:
facebook.com/FotoNHHS
Foto NHHS recently covered a super fun event Sangria Kjellerforbrødning. Check out these amazing captures by our photographers! :)
You'll also find us on facebook:
facebook.com/FotoNHHS
Amazing capture by @barbara_dutra , thank you so much 🙏❤️ #onurollstyleonthego
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Photos prises lors du Brevet du Randonneur Caussenard 2008 parti de Mostuéjouls, empruntant le Causse de Sauveterre et ses corniches surplombant les Gorges du Tarn, "petite" balade magnifique de 30km.
Classés au Patrimoine Mondial de l'Humanité en Juin 2011, les Causses et Cévennes ont désormais acquis une reconnaissance à l'échelle mondiale, ce grâce à l'accord de l'Homme et de la Nature via l'agro-pastoralisme et l'architecture.