I went on to shoot some chinese opera , despite a poor attempt by a local forum asshole who tries to scare me off from shooting opera some time ago.
Here’s the recap of last message I got from him.
Taking strangers to the backstage to shoot the performers doing their makeup is a bit of a problem. I only take those whom I know as they will have to follow my instructions.
As I am allowed full access, there are some rules that I want all my fellow photogs to follow:
a – they cannot touch the costumes and other equipment unless permision is given. The costumes are expensive and all imported from China.
b – there are a few performers whom you must not shoot during the make up stage – else they chase you out. I will let everyone know who they are.
c – flash cannot be used during the make up stage. Use only fast prime lenses. This is very important.
There are also certain pantang things that we cannot do dt the back stage – I normally give a briefing to all photogs prior to the shoot.
This is why I normally don’t take people whom I do not know. I simply cannot know how they will behave. I had come accros photogs who remarked loudly “alamak the actresses look so horrible when they put on their makeup”. Needless to say these photogs are banned from my outings
Are you male or female?
and of course , I had no issues with what he mentioned nor I had issues photographing the most rural area on planet earth. I always believe in respect even to those who have nothing to eat or wear. Obviously, this guy is an asshole asking me whether I’m male or female. He’s probably a retard looking for a chance to shoot with girls only, as expected I never got any message from him after I told him I’m a male
Now back to my story.
I never gave up the idea of photographing chinese opera. I’ve always wanted to photograph people in culture. Fortunately my girl friend (co photog too) told me there are a lot of shows these days and we can sneak in to take some photos.
So here are some captures for sharing
This old chap looks cool too when he is smoking but I had a hard time capturing it.
I like the way she sits still there and just kept quiet most of the time.
I was told by a leica sifu I met there that they are maybe the last generation of chinese opera performers in Malaysia.
While Malaysian government is busy imitating pendet ,barongan dance and many more from indonesia. They neglected what we have on our own backyard.
Modernization has probably corroded our culture and heritage. The young generation prefers to work wearing a tie inside an air conditioned office. I would like to return yearly to shoot these, but I’m not sure for how long. Someday maybe we will look behind and realize what we have lost
