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I was fortunate enough to attend the Phuoc Hue Buddhist Temple in Sydney on 28 Jan for Lunar New Year festivities. This is a major event in the calendar of many Asian communities and was attended by about 20,000 people I was there from 4 pm to 1:30 am to record the festivities and, along with a few others from the forum, was lucky to have unlimited access (so we could get ON the stage to photograph and behind the barriers for the fireworks and lion dance). A tremendous thanks to Birdy and the temple community for their generosity. Here is the first batch from the 1,028 pics I took. These are all people shots (not my forte), and I must warn you may contain the odd cute child shot. For a larger version click a pic.

All shots were taken with the 24-120 VR unless noted otherwise.

This first one is a lousy pic, but gives an idea of the crowd




50/1.4 Nikkor








50/1.4 Nikkor

Well it's nice to see you taking a step out of your comfort zone Peter. You have some great story telling elements in this series and as you warned us some cute kids too. Can't wait to see more (I'm expecting great things from the fish eye and 12-24).

many people
Nice capture of the children.
Happy Chinese New Year!

'Not my forte', says Peter. Well i beg to differ from your opinion and would say that it IS your forte and the pics you have presented are perfect examples of your skill. Well done!!!

Number 3 is an absolute ripper!

A great start Peter and I'm sure there are plently more to come. Love #5 and #7 particularly. If this is your "weak" photography genre, you are a damm talented photographer

At the risk of performing a major cultural faux-pas, why is that guy headbutting a pencil case?

Very true Steve,

Peter, you have shown some great people shots in the past, and so are these, love them.

I'm looking forward to the rest of your photos and from the others.

Cheers and a Happy New Year,

André

Hi Peter,

thanks a lot for sharing this with us.
The photos are great and they bring across some atmosphere !
That is a great achievement.

Well done,
CD

Nice set of images Peter. The first one - for some reason I can't get past the apparent look that the crowd has been photochopped in... I don't know why, but for some reason the crowds look 'fake'.

I'm awaiting more of perhaps the liondances and/or fireworks - cos 'cute child' faces don't do anything for me... maybe it's the demographic I happen to fall into. They're just generic stupid looking kids to me.

johndec wrote:At the risk of performing a major cultural faux-pas, why is that guy headbutting a pencil case?

 LOL it could be someone played a trick on him with superglue...

Excellent photojournalism Peter. The images are beautiful.

Great shots - looking forward to some more. CNY is a great time for people photography - I'm not comfortable about sticking a camera in someone's face yet so well done on your efforts.

Craig - Thanks. I have some fish eye shots, but didn't use the 12-24 (I was playing with birdy's 20/2.8 instead)
Tyrone - Thanks - A lot of people and a fun time. Never been to Lunar New Year before.
Steve - Thanks. - Guess what I meant was I'm not really known for my people shots since I rarely do them.
Michael - Thanks. #3 shows the beauty of the 50/1.4 in low light. It was fairly dark there and this shot would not be the same with a flash. Great example of waiting for the moment too. I had taken two shots when the little girl turned around and looked straight at me
John - thanks - re: "weak area" see above. The pencil case shot - Hopefully this anglo gets this kinda right - People ask one of the buddhas for guidance on something. The cylinder is full of numbered sticks. They are shaken until one stick falls out under the guidance of the buddha. At the side are a whole stack of numbered pigeon holes, each with a piece of paper and a fortune written on it. The one matching the numbered stick is the answer to your prayer for guidance.
Andre - Thanks. I'm never going to live that comment down.
Christian - Thanks. The shots can only convey a touch of the fantastic experience. If you ever get a chahnce this is a must visit event.
Chi - The PS effect is probably the crap lighting. Knew you'd not be a fan of the kiddy pics (me neither normally), but these just grabbed me.
Matt - Thanks. Looking forward to your work too.
Paul - Thanks. I'm not super comfortable with people shots either, but I'm getting more comfortable with it. At the temple the people are always very friendly which makes things a lot easier (especially since being a westerner I feel a little like an intruder)

great photos stubby, well done! you really captured the moments at the temple last night.

Happy new year everyone! Gong Xi Fa Cai

excellent shots peter, like your polaroid treatment of some and the soft guassian blur gives the imges a real nostalgic feeling and innocence
the kid shots are standout.

Brilliant shots Peter. The shots of the children in particular are outstanding and well caught. Well done

Peter,
Very beautiful shots.
Thanks for sharing with us.
That is exactly what Asian people feel in the new year.
I am now in China and most shops in street are closed and people
try their best to stay with family.
-----------
Regards
Poon

Nice work Peter... It's a shame that I couldn't come along...

I love that last portrait...

Great shots, I wished there were as much stuff happening here in Brisbane as I couldn't find much things going on here...

The feel of the photos are very nice.

Technik, Wendell, Mark, Poon, John & Grev. Thanks for your comments. As an avowed "I'm not a big fan of kids pics" supporter I have to confess to being quite happy with the last one in particular. This little fellow was incredibly tired (about 11pm) and just sat there in his proud father's lap watching the show. Philo has their address and I'm going to send them the pic.

Stubbsy, i think all this series of pics you have taken at the temple are great, i have enjoyed looking at them and seeing a differant culture is cool. Well done mate i think they are fantastic the lot of them.
Cheers
John

Peter just caught up with this one. My it was a busy evening. The people shots are very good, and after all isn't that what this event is all about...people?

John & John. Thanks. The experience of all those people enjoying themselves on a very important day for them was amazing. And everyone was so friendly.