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Updated My Webpage..

PostPosted: Fri Jun 01, 2018 5:34 pm
by MaartenSFS
https://maartensfs.wixsite.com/shanzhaiquan

Leaving China means that I can finally access my own webpage again, so I updated it with a swordsmanship section and new photos. I hope that some of you find it informative.. :)

Re: Updated My Webpage..

PostPosted: Fri Jun 01, 2018 6:08 pm
by everything
man your photos and videos are just awesome as always.

and i like your martial art as well. -duel-

Re: Updated My Webpage..

PostPosted: Fri Jun 01, 2018 7:06 pm
by nicklinjm
Really professional looking site Maarten, will have to get some tips from you! Wishing you all the best with your endeavours now that you are in the US :)

Could you maybe add some lineage information on Zou Shifu's bagua and xinyi liuhe? Just curious how it links up with the branches I'm familiar with......

Re: Updated My Webpage..

PostPosted: Fri Jun 01, 2018 7:34 pm
by windwalker
Nice ;)

Best of luck your travels

"May you see the way wherever the journey takes you,
sailing safely over rough water and weathering the waves' dips and crests."

- Navigator’s Blessing, littlegoldboat -

Re: Updated My Webpage..

PostPosted: Sat Jun 02, 2018 2:08 pm
by Peacedog
If your martial arts are half as good as your photography your students should count themselves lucky.

Any progress on the coffee table book of photos?

Re: Updated My Webpage..

PostPosted: Sat Jun 02, 2018 10:39 pm
by Ian C. Kuzushi
Damn, those pics impress the hell out of me. Self-taught, you say? Well done! What are you shooting with? I love the landscapes and people, especially that shot of your teacher on the top page. Very cool.

Good luck. The webpage layout is very nicely done. I hope you get a steady and enthusiastic group together.

Re: Updated My Webpage..

PostPosted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 1:11 am
by Trick
Can't see yours webpage fully(because I'm in China?) but seen your photos and as I said before they're top class. Good luck and keep up the good work in the US, hope you continue to post about your practice and development in CMA's

Re: Updated My Webpage..

PostPosted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 2:12 pm
by MaartenSFS
everything wrote:man your photos and videos are just awesome as always.

and i like your martial art as well. -duel-

Thank you for your kind words.

There is another video coming up, but one of our last year's worth of adventures, shot on my wife's I-Phone.. 8-)

Re: Updated My Webpage..

PostPosted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 2:18 pm
by MaartenSFS
nicklinjm wrote:Really professional looking site Maarten, will have to get some tips from you! Wishing you all the best with your endeavours now that you are in the US :)

Could you maybe add some lineage information on Zou Shifu's bagua and xinyi liuhe? Just curious how it links up with the branches I'm familiar with......

Thanks, mate. The website was a bit of work, but having all the photos was the most important part. Just go to www.wix.com. It's FREE.

I'll try to remember to ask him about the lineages. I forget what generation of Bagua and Xinyiliuhe he is... He only knows the lineage information of several masters he studied under (there were just too many!), but those two he has told me about, as they were probably the most important.

Re: Updated My Webpage..

PostPosted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 2:19 pm
by MaartenSFS
windwalker wrote:Nice ;)

Best of luck your travels

"May you see the way wherever the journey takes you,
sailing safely over rough water and weathering the waves' dips and crests."

- Navigator’s Blessing, littlegoldboat -

Thank you for your blessing. Everything in Michigan is flat, so I definitely can see the way now.. ;D

Re: Updated My Webpage..

PostPosted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 2:22 pm
by MaartenSFS
Peacedog wrote:If your martial arts are half as good as your photography your students should count themselves lucky.

Any progress on the coffee table book of photos?

I hope that I'm lucky enough to find good students! Your words are well-received.

I just finished photoshopping the rest of my China photos and am working on that last adventure video, but the plan is to continue to write the book (as it will be stories and pictures both) after that. It may take me a while to get to it, though.

Re: Updated My Webpage..

PostPosted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 3:26 pm
by MaartenSFS
Ian C. Kuzushi wrote:Damn, those pics impress the hell out of me. Self-taught, you say? Well done! What are you shooting with? I love the landscapes and people, especially that shot of your teacher on the top page. Very cool.

Good luck. The webpage layout is very nicely done. I hope you get a steady and enthusiastic group together.

I'm glad you liked them, but I really, really wish that I had time to take more.. The days were extremely long and the weather, people and animals didn't always cooperate, but I made the best of it.. :)

One third of the work is using your photographer's eye to spot a good composition or getting lucky. The second third is taking the photo with the correct exposure settings (which means understanding those settings). Finally, the last third is post-processing it in Photoshop. Photoshop can only make a good photo great or a great photo amazing. It can't make a shitty photo into a masterpiece. The trick is to edit the photos to look more like what your eyes saw and not overdo it.

Notice that only one third of the above process depends on the camera. About a fourth of the photos were taken with a cheap Panasonic bridge camera and the rest were taken with an entry-level Canon DSLR and cheap lenses. There were also several that were taken with a cheap Fujifilm camera. If I bought a new camera now it would probably be a Canon 200D, which when paired with my excellent, but cheap 24mm pancake lense would be a great, light travel camera.

Still, you can take great photos with just about any camera in good light and good light is usually what you strive to shoot in. Make sure that your camera can shoot in RAW mode so that you can get detail out of the highlight and shadows. Another secret ingredient is using a polarising filtre to get nice colours and reduce glare. Before I went back to China in 2011 I borrowed all the books on photography that I could find at the library and learned the basics, then started to practise. Over time I learned new tricks and improved my post processing and the rest is history.. 8-)

That shot of my teacher and that shot of me on the first page were the only photos not taken by me! :P

Re: Updated My Webpage..

PostPosted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 3:28 pm
by MaartenSFS
Trick wrote:Can't see yours webpage fully(because I'm in China?) but seen your photos and as I said before they're top class. Good luck and keep up the good work in the US, hope you continue to post about your practice and development in CMA's

Ja, I couldn't even update my own bloody website when I was in China and it has nothing but good things to say on it!!! -evil- I'll definitely keep posting as long as people are interested. :)

Re: Updated My Webpage..

PostPosted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 8:21 pm
by Greg J
The website looks great, Maarten! I think this will serve you well when you land stateside. For better or for worse, the internet is people's go-to medium for information, and this will be a good way for prospective students to get to know more about you, your lineage, and the different areas you will be instructing and training.

Best,
Greg

Re: Updated My Webpage..

PostPosted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 8:41 pm
by Nazgarn
Absolutely beautiful photos, and love reading your posts here as well.

For 11 years you have lived out many people's dream! All the best with the teaching, hope you have many students :)