Work Diary - Eighth Shoot - Chinatown

For this session, I went to Chinatown aiming to capture the Asian culture that is found in that particular area. At first, I found this fairly easy as I had done some culture shoots before and I knew how to adjust the aperture for each picture so that the correct amount of light enters the lens, however, as the shoot progressed, I began running out of ideas of images to photograph. After walking around the area, I decided to try and focus on the buildings as I thought this could show culture in some way; most shops had their titled translated into another language on top of their entrances, I found this very interesting as this area was in Central London, yet consisted of a whole other culture, where individuals would speak a completely different languages and have different traditions. I also tried capturing this through the architecture found in Chinatown as most of their buildings had a roof with a kind of upturned "artichoke leaf" design, which is normally associated with Chinese culture. In addition to this, I also tried capturing people more, allowing me to show specific individuals in society and match them with the area I was photographing.

I think this picture is one of my favourites from this shoot; the angle was very well thought of and planned carefully before the image was shot. I was aiming to capture a Chinese archway in front of a British-like building. I positioned the camera in such a way that the archway was not included completely but just enough so that the viewer can see what I was trying to achieve. I also like how some shadows are present on the front of the archway, restricting the viewer from seeing some of the designs and writings on it, however, they can still see the writings on the side of the archway so they are still able to see what I want them too whilst still keeping some sort of mystery, making the viewer wonder. Furthermore, the buildings in the back add the element of colour to my picture as they contrast with the colours of the archway, creating diversity and making my image more attractive.

I really like this image, however I should have composed the picture better because the green extension is blocking some of the view, which would have made the picture brighter and clearer for the viewer to imagine. I could also have used a better angle in order to show how people in society see different cultures on a daily basis but think of it as normal, highlighting how cultures can easily adapt to societies and fit in.

In the future, I would like to focus more on individuals in society. By photographing them, I will be able to portray their feelings and emotions, as well as their personality and highlight the different types of personalities that can be found in one society.