Tea Pourers

Comments regarding the elbow are expected and accepted .

Hi Stuart,

A great subject! I consider myself something of a connoisseur of tea. Obviously I was mistaken! I have never seen this! Where is this happening? Could you provide some background to this interesting ceremony?

The elbow? It hardly matters. The uniqueness of the scene and the earnest effort by the performers has us riveted. The elbow is a very late issue to consider and by the time I see it, I already have enjoyed the picture. There are probably many other pictures in this series from which you could clone extra parts if you so wished. I just look at the gestalt of the whole picture and find it intriguing. I'd like to see more pictures if there are any and also perhaps have you thought of lightening the shadows in the faces. I feel that the picture will make a great print when the tonalities are optimized with an S-Curve.

Thanks for sharing!

Asher

Stuart, this is one of the most amazing pictures I have seen. I would like to know more. where,why and
is this an everyday thing or reserved for ceremonies.

Thanks for introducing us to something so unique.

Best.

p.s. me too engrossed in pic to notice elbow!

Thanks for the comments Asher , Fahim , this image is from a chinese new year festival and was part of a range of performances from that culture . The teapots are swung rhythmically around and over the body , then poured in ever increasingly difficult positions . I believe this is more of a performance rather than having it's roots in ceremony . This shot was taken at an outdoor event at night on a very poorly lit stage while the crowd was standing in light but steady rain and was the only image I was able to successfully take while dodging between umbrellas .I do have another image from this event to share , it is of a Shaolin Monk just before he was to have a long poled spear thrust into his throat until the pole was splintered in two .

Stuart: beautiful shots, both of them. They are extremely dynamic and the lighting is superb.