Celebrate Father’s Day with an Ice Cream Cone
Beijing, China 2007: Outside McDonald’s
What better way to celebrate Father’s Day than to take your Dad out for an ice cream cone? Is there a man or boy anywhere who doesn’t love ice cream? I know I bought some for my husband for tonight’s dessert.
I like this photo for several reasons: the man and his sons enjoying an afternoon together, always heartwarming. Notice how the small son imitates his father’s posture. Sweet! The fact that the Chinese like western food, particularly ice cream. Dairy is not something that they usually eat. In fact, Chinese foods don’t include dairy. No milk, cheese, or butter. The Chinese think we Westerners smell odd (unpleasant) because we eat so much dairy. And, this is a bit mean, the Chinese will soon be as overweight as we are if they keep eating fast food. I went to this McDonald’s to get some coffee. The store was packed.
Coffee is just beginning to make headway in China. I read recently that now Starbucks (in China) is filled with patrons, but the last time I was in China there was no one in Starbucks except me. After I sat down with my coffee, the server came over to practice her English. While we were talking, a Chinese woman came in. She studied the pastries intently as if it were difficult to decide which one to buy. When I suggested that she needed to be waited on, the servers said, “Oh, no. She’s just looking. She can’t afford to buy anything. Only Western people can buy.”
When you are on the street, keep your camera ready to shoot. Keep the lens cap off. (Leave it in your camera bag is best.) Have the camera on. Have your ISO at 200 to 400 so you will be prepared for bright light or deep shade. Shoot at your widest aperture with the focus point in the center of the frame. Focus and then compose. It can be done in a split second. Shoot wide and also shoot zoomed in. You never know which will tell the story best.