Alan Lichtenstein, QPSA
January 2026 - Outdoor Laundry
About the Image(s)
On a trip to China, we took a junk on a narrow, backwater river. Local houses had steps leading down to the river, where it appeared that local junks and other small craft could dock and tie up. On one set of steps, we came upon this woman doing her laundry.
Gear: Olympus E-500, Zuiko 18-180 mm open to 65 mm
Data: ISO 100, f 5.6 1/160 sec.
Metering: Pattern
EV: -.7
WB: Auto
Date: November 19, 2011
This round’s discussion is now closed!
9 comments posted
Interesting travel image, I also like to photo those ladies who does the laundry in the river, very hard working. Posted: 01/09/2026 06:48:31
I thought so as well, but the judges don't concur. Didn't even merit an acceptance in several exhibitions. Posted: 01/09/2026 09:28:10
Alan, most likely because the overexposure in her back and in the items on the stairs. Perhaps a tighter crop would help Posted: 01/12/2026 15:54:00
Isaac, thanks for your opinion from your perspective as a judge is most appreciated. However, her hair was actually grey (the color represented). Posted: 01/13/2026 05:59:34
Alan, I did not say anything about the hair. My observation was about the overexposed areas and the crop. Posted: 01/14/2026 13:50:07
Issac, I see. I misread. Posted: 01/14/2026 14:18:51
Only about 30% are accepted in exhibitions. Perhaps the image does not have a great deal of impact, since this scene is so common in a number of countries. It might also not have been considered to be sufficiently characteristic for a certain culture. Would be interesting to see how it would do in one of the new PTDW sections. Posted: 01/13/2026 21:07:14
Tom, I know about the 30% rule, and while the scene may be common in many countries, the doesn't necessarily mean that the image should rate diminished consideration, compared to other images which are accepted (when looking at the galleries of accepted images), one wonders how the judges come to their ratings. However, I have entered it in PTDW exhibitions and we'll see what happens there, but I'm not hopeful. There anything goes and IMV PTDW is just going to be another PDIC, where anything goes and the studio set-ups dominate. Posted: 01/14/2026 06:06:36
Alan, I know that you are a purist with only out of camera images with no PP, but the judges do see the technical issues.... Posted: 01/22/2026 13:36:57