Translated from and into Chinese: Yes, no, no more already, author, photographer and speaker

You go into a shop and ask for an item which you saw on sale last week.
The shop assistant replies in English:
'Don't have. No more, already.'

I decided to translate this with google translate, in case the sentence was a simple, commonly used, easy to remember, Chinese.

I wrote out the English, then looked at the Chinese, and divided it into component parts. Where English has syllables, Chinese has mostly two syllable words. One syllable fits inside a square. Two syllables fit inside a square by leaving them the same height but halving the width, which tells you that the two words are pronounced together, like an English word with suffixes.

The results I saw were:
Yes
No / don't have
Have
no more
already


是 没有 有 不再 已经

Shì
méiyǒu
yǒu
bù zài
yǐjīng

The word for yes sound like sher, to my mind similar to sure.

The word for no sounds to me like 'may yoh'. No and no have and don't have are the same.

This is great news. I can now listen to shop assistants and hotel receptionists talking to each other. I will be able to recognize yes and no and if they are speaking in Chinese (Mandarin).

About the Author

•关于

•的

•作者

•

•旅行 作家

Angela Lansbury,

 travel writer 

旅游作家

and  -•

•hé

和

photographer, 

shèyǐng jiā

author 

作者
Zuòzhě

and 

和

•

•hé

photographer 摄影家

shèyǐng jiā

and 

和

•

•hé

speaker -扬声器 •yángshēngqì

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Best Breakfast In Melaka, Malaysia

Flag of Malaysia

Maybe the best breakfast was at the restaurant which was full with a queue. We had a list of two or three from our hotel.

We were short of time because we wanted to get to the Peranakan Museum in time for the free guided tour.

So we went to the Backlane Coffee Bar which is not immediately obviouls from the main road, Joners Street or Jonkers Walks.

When we arrived the place was empty and they took only cash, so we wondered whether we would like the food and drink. However, we were pleasantly surprised.

Breakfast at
The Backlane Coffee
This restaurant took only cash not credit cards. The breakfast juices were tasty, tangy and refreshing.
The tea cup had a cover to keep the drink hot.

Freshly Squeezed juices at Backlane, Melaka, Malaysia.

Pancakes
My main dish was pancakes. They were not large thin pancakes like French crepes, not the smaller thicker English pancakes, not small, thick soldid pancakes like American pancakes, but the shape and size of American pancakes, like slices of circular muffins, but softe and aerated inside, like a sponge cake.

Service And Pace
Service was not fast. Let us call it relaxed. If you are not in a hurry and don't want to be hassled, a good place to be.

Photography
We thought nothing would happen. but a photographer turned up with a bride and groom to be to take their pre-wedding engagement photos.

They had with then the makeup artist and hairdresser. We watched, fascinated.

About the Author
Angela Lansury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Kawah Ijen, volcanic crater in East Java, Indonesia

Kawah Ijen. Photo courtesy of Trevor Sharot.

Wikipedia says: The Ijen volcano complex is a group of composite volcanoes in the Banyuwangi Regency of East Java, Indonesia.

Trevor says, "I spent 17 days living out of two rucksacks and a camera bag. I have 1,170 photos, so no more today. Here is one to be going on with."

For more of his pictures, see:
 http://trevorsharotphotography.com

For information about Trevor and the cameras he prefers and why, see:
http://trevorsharotphotography.com/about/

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. 

How to make camera shy people look good in photos

Problem
Your friend says:
Doesn't matter what I do, I look awful in photos. It akes a genius photographer to make me look halfway human.

The staging makes all the difference. You need to put some effort into it. You must have seen makeover shows. Here are some suggestions:

1 Take several photos when you are all dressed up - weddings, anniversaries, birthdays.

2 Wash your hair in advance of the special occasion. If hair is too fly away, use conditioner. You can buy conditioner, find it in hair dye packets, get it free in many hotel bathrooms.  Buy a shampoo containing conditioner.

3 If your hair is greasy or badly cut, or you have a blad patch, or roots of a tint showing, cover head with a hairband, scarf or hat or tiara or paper hat from a Christmas cracker.

4 Place a plain person in a group photo with everybody in the same costume (like bridesmaids).

5 Dress up as a character at a fancy dress party in a costume with a hat which covers your hair and maybe part of your face.

6 Smile.

7 Add a cute cat or dog or bird or baby or soft toy.

8 Stand or sit at a distance next to an attractive feature such as a log fire in a hotel.

9 Take several photos to avoid ending up with only one in which the subject's eyes are shut.

10 Work out your most attractive feature (feet, legs, body, hands, face, eyes, hair, cleavage). Take photos which emphasize your best feature. 

11 Try different poses, such as back to camera looking over shoulder.

12 Try various outfits.

13 Go into fitting rooms of a department store and try on some fancy clothes and get a friend to photograph you.

14 Spend time photoshopping your photos. Cut out frown lines. Try showing yourself slightly blurred instead of sharp.

15 Hide behind a bouquet or vase of flowers.

16 Hold up a book you have written or your favourite book so the book is the central point of the picture.

17 Feature something you do, such as digging the garden, displaying a cake, holding a fish you have caught, standing beside your painting.

18 Put your head in a frame such as a circle, oval, heart.

19 If you are now old and wrinkled, do a collage of four or more pictures of yourself at different ages so that you or others can comment how gorgeous you looked in one of your photos when you were younger.

20 Do a funny face. Comedians such as Kenn Dodd and Mr Bean make a feature of their odd looks. Maybe you can be 'a character'.

21 Look at professional photos to find interesting poses. For example, two children or mother and child sitting back to back on a piano stool. Sitting in a meadow of flowers, hugging your dog, or eye to eye with a cat, and handing an animal a plate of food.

22 If you do any charity work, a photo of you collecting money or helping others has emphasis on what you are doing, rather than what you look like.

23 Be photographed next to the portrait or statue of your hero. 

25 Stand next to a sculpture in a sculpture park.

26 Take lots of selfies sitting at home or in the mirror in a hotel. If you take twenty-five photos you should have one good one.

27 Lots of people will say, "You don't want a photo of me!" or, "Why do you want a photo of me?" You might get them to pose if you say, "I want photo of your certificate," or, "I want you to hold the dog still".

28 Fussy people might well reject most of your photos but pick out one which they like.

29 Hide behind stage make-up such as a Union Jack or American flag on a national day or sports day.

If all else fails, and one person doesn't want to be in a group photo, ask them to take a photo of others.

Author

How To Preserve The Joy of Photographing Pets And Wildlife On Trips

Spider. Photo by Trevor Sharot.

My husband's photo of a forest was short-listed in a photographic competition run by National Geographic magazine contest for photos of forests. He was runner-up, with his photo displayed at the shop in Regent Street (shop now moved location). The outright winner won with a photo including a small living creature, contrasting with the giant trees.

Add Animals
You can enhance a photo of nature by adding a human being - your companion, a dog, or cat, or a car to get the scale of a tall tree. For a video add something moving such as a fish, or still, such as a spider. If nobody else is around, try a selfie. But in case you are too ugly, or your movement creates camera blur, have other photos without the living creature. 

Before And After Photos
You can also do before and after pictures. Present them side by side as a pair. Or as a threesome. The scene changes when the visitor arrives. The scene is enhanced or destroyed by the happy campers. When they are gone, it is empty again.

Animals Facing Obstacles
I watched a video of a small porcupine eating a slice of banana. I had never seen a porcupine close up. 

We would simply peel a banana. We would eat a small piece in one gulp. The little porcupine makes a five-minute meal out of a small slice. The little darling is struggling to hold it with teeny hands. A major challenge for the baby porcupine is to extract and eat the banana off the inside of the peel.

The Challenge For Animals
We have loads of things to do and for us often food is merely fuel. In one sense we eat to live but a cow lives to eat, eating all day, as does a bird (except when singing for a mate.) You could also argue the reverse. We eat to live. But the porcupine is totally engrossed, living to eat.

Analysis
A friend, Jane on Facebook, asked a question I have previously asked: Why do we find these animal pictures so appealing? She used the lovely word enchanting.

My first answer was: They concentrate so hard. They seem to be enjoying it. Their eyes are wide open. It's funny because they eat so fast, as if scared you will take it away.

Animals are oblivious to table manners. They eat with their mouths open. 

Humans are trained not to be obsessed with food. We speak. We say please and thank you. But animals are wholly expressing their hunger or pleasure by gestures which exaggerate what we would do. 

We also gain the voyeur's delight. They are concentrating on the food and don't realise we are sneaking up with an ulterior motive and secretly making a film. 

We get vicarious satisfaction from their joy at eating the food. Plus the joy of being let into their secret world, never before seen. 

We have a sense of power, control. They are tiny. Easily pleased. Kept in one place, in front of our camera. Put down a tiny piece of banana and we have a porcupine which is thriving, happy, obedient, devoted, the perfect camera model.

Animal Or Insect Alone
You can get over your fear or disgust at seeing a spider or a line of ants if you are concentrating on another task, getting a good photo. Instead of the wild word encroaching, invading, spoiling your day, the wild world has enhanced your experience and provided an opportunity for camera work.

Spiders
I never knew a spider's legs could come in three colours. I can identify the spider in Wikipedia, and be sure it is a 'normal' indigenous spider, not a dangerous spider. 

Leave it outside, busy with its valuable work, catching flies. It sits patiently, waiting for the prey, as patient as a photographer.

Sharing With The World
If you have a great photo, you can share it on Facebook and numerous other websites. If you are wondering how to locate and sign up for Pinterest or another website, simple go to a news story on the BBC or another page and click on share. Up pop half a dozen media outlets and you can sign up for a new one.

Angela Lansbury
Travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
See my other posts on this blog and my new blog
http://luxurytravelforless.co.uk

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Me A Model? At My Age? Maybe Yes. Maybe No. Agencies in Australia, UK, Singapore

Australian Model Agency 

I have a friend, William, who appears in TV serials in Australia. He is signed on with an agency. They got him work on TV. Great success.

UK Work
Film Extras
I once answered an ad for extras in a film in the UK. We sat around all day in a church as part of a crowd at a wedding. We had to come with a hat. Most of the time you did nothing except sit silently.

No Pay
We filled in a form at the beginning. Everybody was asking everybody else, 'How much are you getting paid?' People were reeling off lists of film shoots they had been in earlier that month. I was at first too embarrassed to admit I was not being paid.

Payment
However, when I finally said I was not being paid, one of the older men who I thought would sneer at me instead was very kind and protective. He was indignant on my behalf and told me to say I came from his agency because I would then be paid a small sum of about £20. That was not much for four hours (plus travel) but a lot better than nothing.

Spotlight
I was asked to join Spotlight after my late uncle died. I had phoned them to cancel his subscription and to explain that he had died and they asked if I would like to join. This would have been really right for me a couple of years earlier when I would have loved to be featured in a professional listing. Unfortunately, at the time when I was in touch with them it was not a sensible use of money because I was a full time, on call, carer for my late father and I did not want to work, to be away from home. 

You had to pay an annual fee for membership which included a listing in their directory. If I remember rightly, to be listed you had to supply a professional photo or two, ideally one face close up and one full body.

Now I'd like to fulfil my dream and be a character actress. My favourite actress was the little old lady in The Ladykillers. She was in the film with Peter Sellars, and Alec Guinness.

Singapore
I passed a sign for a model creation agency in Singapore. I thought I'd go in and find out if they had any opportunities for an English voice over.

I filled out a form and was told to come back for an appointment. Because I had other engagements that day, I made an appointment for the following day. Meanwhile, I checked them out online.

It then transpired that I had to pay about 600 Singapore dollars - the sums were quite complicated, so much for the photographer, plus the make up artist, and the hairdresser, and that included so many photos for them to send out, plus several for me to keep, but after the first mailing out another set of photos would have to be printed, but I would not have to pay for these, it would come out of my first salary.

What if I did not ever get a job? Would that be a debt? I was told I would not have to pay the second sum. However, nothing in writing. I can't prove to you what was said, and that was what put me off the whole deal.

Apart from the actual cost, I was concerned that they could not give me any written account of the sums involved, just wrote it out on a piece of paper. To me that did not seem professional. The sums might increase. I had no way to be sure of the total.

They admitted they had very little chance of finding work for a Caucasian of my age, except for occasional government ads which features people of all races when promoting services for the retired.

I asked why I could not use my own photographer and they said it was a question of copyright, as well as having suitable photos of the kind they needed.

I looked at reports online for scams. One website I looked at said that any agency which insisted that you use their photographer was a scam.

CV and Portfolio
I would still be interested in putting together a portfolio including professional photos. If you look at online agencies you can see what is required. 

Some charge a monthly fee to reveal job ads. The ones I looked at required one face photo and one full body shot. If you a modelling any other part of your body, such as hands for nail polish advertisements, you are advised to include those. Some sites have a minimum number of photos. Others have a maximum.

Another promotional activity is to have a showreel of yourself, demonstrating your skills such as accents or singing or clips from previous amateur or professional productions.

Your CV will include age, height, weight, vital statistics (bust, waist, hips), language, accent, race, maybe shoe size. So if you don't know your weight and hip size, you might want to find out.

First, the photo. You need a professional photo (with copyright, meaning permission to use it by printing it or online for self publicity without paying the photographer for every use). It should be in focus. Ideally several shots, serious, smiling, assorted expresions. Clear background. Also any unform you may have (with permission to wear it).  

Angela Lansbury, travel writer

Photo Credits: why you need to credit a photographer

Problems
1 I have written a post on another blog on blogger.com and the pictures and layout are all in HTML which I do not yet know. In the olden days, until earlier 2016, I could see the pictures in my draft text in the create box on the create and edit page. So I could know which picture was where and move it up and down into the right part of the page to match the text. Now, when I create my blog post, when I am creating I cannot see how big the photo is until I see the preview.

2 Why do you need to credit a photographer? (Why not? because it's a nuisance if you move photos around. You might forget to do it. The speaker is more important to you and the reader than the photographer.) Who should get the credit for the picture of one of the speakers? Often the photographer will say they don't need a credit.

3 TripAdvisor rejected our photographer's photos with his copyright symbol on them.

Sometimes I think that a post is so out of focus that I don't want a credit.

Answer
I need to credit each picture, especially if I have more than one photographer to avoid confusion if somebody wants more pictures of an event. And give credits for photos. Some professional photographers (me and my husband) insist on it.

Story
The websites are increasingly asking if it’s your photo. You have to state author’s own work or public domain. Wikipedia is getting tougher - you must only use your own photo and can’t even have a church or shop signboard with text because it’s somebody else’s copyright unless it’s in the far distance. or if you have permission to use it. You tube rejects videos which have you playing a piece of music which is copyright, even if its your piano, clarinet. Happy birthday has only just been make public after repeated court cases in the USA.
I need at least couple of hours with my husband to do the HTML and I’ll do it this evening or at the weekend.

Tip
Make a drawing or mind map of each post.
Introduction, paragraphs 1, 2, 3 with the suitable photo. Add the photo to each section not at the end. If you have to add photos later, do your blog post in pages outside first and then load it up with the photo captions in the correct place in order.
When copying a photo from Wikipedia, include the dete of the photo and the author in your Information caption, or the details. That way you can find a Wikipedia

Action
1 Create a fold for draft blog posts.
2 On a non busy day or in the evening after your important daytime tasks are done, add captions to pictures including names of photographers or authors of photos.
3 Superimpose your author name on all your photos to protect copyright.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.
See my posts and photos and performances on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest. Please like my pages, follow and share.

Xmas Lights in London courtesy of Trevor Sharot Photographer

Photo of lights in a side street near Piccadilly, London. Taken in November 2016.
Photo courtesy of Trevor Sharot, photographer.



Photo of Burlington Arcade in London, Taken in November 2016.
Photo courtesy of Trevor Sharot, photographer.



Notice the clock in the middle of the building and the Christmas trees in the windows.
Photo of Fortnum and Mason department store in London. Taken in November. Photo courtesy of Trevor Sharot.



Notice the sculpture and the statue in the forecourt.
Photo of Royal Academy of Arts. Taken in November. Photograph by Trevor Sharot, photographer.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.