So What If……

So my client in Beijing asked me to shoot a well known weightlifter in front of the main temple at the Summer Palace. Which is fine, and doable.

But as photographers, we are charged with going into imagination mode, pretty much all the time. It’s just part of the job you get used to, as you articulate your twist on something, often traveling into the realm of the impossible or difficult or just outright strange. And we get used to the various reactions at the meetings we are called to which often range from exuberant delight (somewhat rare) to outright incredulity to slack jawed, head tilted, eyebrow arched, sarcasm infused feedback……”You want to do what?” Think of Bubba’s mom in Forest Gump, Mrs. Blue, confronting Forrest about his plan to be a shrimping boat captain. “Are you crazy or just plain stupid?”

So, the question we always voice is….”So, what if…..”

The weightlifter doesn’t lift weights, he lifts two little gymnasts, the kind of youthful sprites China is known for producing by the bushel basket. We’re in the realm of discussing Olympic sports, right?

So, we traveled to the Summer Palace and instead of weights, Lai Guo Song lifted Du Si Yu and Wang Jia Rui, who are both about 30kg. Which means Lai is pretty strong. And the picture is a little different.

Gear used:  Nikon D810, 24-70mm f2.8 lens, Profoto B4 with an Octa, camera left.

More tk….