novelraw Chapter 5: Family Photography
Chapter 5: Family Photography
When Ding Heng got home, it was past one o'clock in the afternoon.
As soon as I entered the door, my stomach immediately rumbled loudly.
He smacked his lips, feeling a little regretful.
I should have eaten lunch at the hotel before leaving. After all, it's my own "territory" and it's free, so why not eat it?
Shaking his head, Ding Heng went straight into the kitchen.
Because he had been staying in hotels for a long time, he didn't have much food in his refrigerator. He found a carton of eggs, a bunch of scallions, and two packs of instant noodles that looked expired.
Ding Heng skillfully started boiling water in a pot, and while the water was boiling, he cracked eggs and chopped scallions.
This house was bought by my parents when they got married. It's been quite a few years, and the decoration style is still the simple and practical style from the early 2000s. Most of the furniture is also old, but it's kept clean and tidy.
My father, Ding Wenjie, graduated from the Journalism Department of Peking University. He was quite a troublemaker when he was young.
In his early years, he worked at CCTV in the capital, doing everything from cameraman and photographer to host and reporter... At his most reckless, he even impersonated a migrant worker to conduct undercover investigations in illegal coal mines.
Later, through an introduction, I met my mother who worked in Changsha, and was transferred back to my hometown to work at the famous "Toilet Station," where I settled down for the time being.
Unfortunately, this happy time did not last long, and his mother passed away due to illness.
This incident was a huge blow to my father. Disheartened, he quit his job at the television station and picked up a camera, becoming a freelance photographer who traveled all over the country.
Snow-capped mountains, plateaus, barren deserts, and Gobi deserts—they venture into the most remote and desolate places.
Border guards on the Mount Everest border, brown bears encountered on the Aotai Line, Siberian tigers in the uninhabited areas of the Greater Khingan Mountains...
The world he captures through his lens is desolate yet magnificent, and he has won numerous prestigious photography awards both domestically and internationally.
Right now, they should be near a nature reserve in Hoh Xil, watching the crucial moment when Tibetan antelopes give birth.
Ding Heng's photography skills were learned from his father, who was rarely home, through a series of casual, immersive experiences.
The equipment I took out today was something my father had replaced a couple of years ago after upgrading his equipment. It wasn't top-of-the-line, but it was good enough, and it had a bit of a "family heirloom" feel to it.
The moment the noodles hit the pot, my phone, which was sitting on the stove, started vibrating.
The video call invitation came from the father, Ding Wenjie.
Ding Heng wiped his hands and pressed the call button.
The image shook before stabilizing, revealing the father's face, tanned and reddish from the high-altitude ultraviolet rays. The background resembled the interior of a Tibetan dwelling, and he wore a brand-new, white hada (ceremonial scarf) around his neck.
"Hey son, have you eaten yet?"
Ding Wenjie's voice was hoarse, but he seemed to be in good spirits.
Ding Heng turned the camera towards the bubbling pot: "It's cooking right now. Whose house are you mooching off this time?"
"Haha, fellow villagers are so hospitable."
Ding Wenjie laughed twice, then routinely asked, "How's your summer job going? Did you pass your driver's license test? Have you visited your grandparents?"
"I went last week, and the two elders are in good health."
Ding Heng stirred the noodles: "I've passed the third stage of my driver's license test, so summer jobs are just so-so."
"OK……"
Ding Wenjie let out a long breath, his tone tinged with apology.
"I'll have to keep an eye on things here for a while. I reckon I won't be able to get back before you start school... I won't be able to see you off to university. Pack your things yourself, and let me know if you need more money."
"I know, you go about your business, I'm a grown man."
Ding Heng was already used to this.
"By the way, Dad, I need to talk to you about something."
"explain."
"I'd like to take your old equipment to the university, is that alright?"
"Take it to university? What for! You're not planning to do some kind of photography session at school, just to impress the girls, are you?"
"No way!"
Ding Heng protested: "I was just documenting the good times at university, taking pictures of the campus and my classmates. It's an important stage in my life, so I wanted to leave some visual records."
Ding Wenjie stared at his son for a few seconds, trying to detect a hint of guilt on his face, but finally he gave in.
"Whatever you want... That old thing has been with me all over the country for many years, so you'd better use it carefully and don't break it."
"Of course, I'll treat you like an ancestor!"
"besides!"
Ding Wenjie raised his voice and solemnly instructed, "Film something serious. The university is full of colorful things, don't learn from those irresponsible people who just film all sorts of rubbish."
Ding Heng immediately straightened his back, his face full of righteous indignation: "Dad! Don't you know what kind of person your son is? He absolutely promotes positive energy and records truth, goodness, and beauty!"
"Virtue!"
Ding Wenjie laughed and cursed.
"Alright, my signal isn't very strong here either, take care of yourself."
"You too, be careful."
The video call ended, and the noodles were almost ready.
Ding Heng deftly scooped out the noodles, poured the soup, sprinkled on some scallions, and slurped down a large bowl in no time. After washing the dishes, he turned and went into his study.
The study was small, with a huge bookcase left by his father against the wall, which was filled with all kinds of photography books, geography magazines and travel notes.
Ding Heng sat down at his desk, turned on his computer, and connected the memory card from his DSLR camera.
For photographers, taking the photo is only half the battle; the long post-processing is the real test.
Especially when dealing with cosplayers whose "own conditions" are too different from the characters they portray, yet who still have unrealistic expectations for the final product, the photo editing process is a double torment of conscience and physiology.
You need to carefully push and pull the outline with the liquefy tool, erase the blemishes little by little with the healing brush, and also adjust the colors, smooth the skin, and add special effects to "create" a beauty.
During this time, I had to constantly reassure myself – "This is an artistic re-creation!"
Fortunately, Wenjing and Zhao Yanxi are both girls with excellent natural features. At the age of eighteen or nineteen, they have faces full of collagen, smooth skin, beautiful features, and their makeup is also very suitable.
Wenjing, in particular, with her slightly shy and tense demeanor, perfectly matched the character's temperament.
Ding Heng first screened the photos, removing those that were blinking or blurry, and then imported the remaining forty or so into professional software.
His photo editing habits lean towards naturalness, mainly adjusting the light and shadow and color balance to make the image more transparent.
For Wenjing's solo photo, he deliberately preserved the natural blush on her cheeks, only slightly brightening her eyes to make them appear even clearer. He also subtly enhanced the light and shadow effects on the skirt and white silk, highlighting the texture and the slender lines of the girl's legs.
The whole process took nearly three and a half hours.
Afterwards, he compressed the photos into two zip files and sent them to Wenjing via WeChat.
[Ding Heng]: The photos are edited and divided into two folders, one for your photo and one for everyone else. Take a look and see if you like them. If you don't, let me know and I'll delete them.
After sending the message, Ding Heng leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh of relief.
Ding Heng wasn't worried that Wen Jing wouldn't like it. Even if she had her own concerns, she couldn't stand having Zhao Yanxi by her side.
After spending most of the day with her, Ding Heng basically figured out that Wen Jing was a typical nice person who didn't know how to refuse, was easily led by the nose, and was used to obeying and accommodating others.
Many times, I'd rather suffer in silence and go with the flow than make things ugly or embarrass others.
From the moment they first met at the comic convention, Wenjing acted passively.
When asked her name, she answered honestly; when suggested adding her on WeChat, she obediently scanned the code; when taken to the rest area, she followed quietly; when asked to pose or lift her skirt for photos, she did so obediently…
Ding Heng could even guess that his decision to say goodbye and leave at the hotel would not only fail to put Wen Jing at ease, but might actually intensify her guilt and unease.
It's just fortunate that she met herself.
If she were to encounter a bad person who preys on young girls, the consequences would be unimaginable!
Ding Heng shut down his computer and was about to take a nap when a WeChat message popped up.
【Good Luck Xiaojing】: [Awkwardly scratching her head.jpg]
【Good Luck Xiao Jing】: How do I open this?
Ding Heng was taken aback, then burst into laughter.
Good grief, you can't even unzip a compressed file?
He patiently sent her a voice message, guiding her step by step on how to decompress and view the files.
A while later.
[Good Luck Xiao Jing]: Yan hope told me I absolutely had to thank you, she was super satisfied with the photos!!!
With four exclamation marks, Ding Heng could feel Zhao Yanxi's excitement even through the screen.
Ding Heng: [Smiling] What about you?
The message "The other party is typing..." appeared intermittently at the top of the chat window for almost a minute. Ding Heng could almost picture the girl on the other side of the screen, holding her phone, frowning, typing and deleting repeatedly in a state of frustration.
In the end, all that was sent was a short sentence.
【Good Luck Xiao Jing】: I'm very satisfied too.
Ding Heng: Really?
【Lucky Little Jing】: Really! [Little rabbit nodding seriously.jpg]
Ding Heng smiled, deliberately teasing her.
【Ding Heng】: [Phoebe Q version hands on hips awesome.jpg] Mainly because our little "Phoebe" is too cute, she looks good no matter how you take a picture of her.
The message "The other party is typing..." appeared again, flashing repeatedly.
This time, the interval was even longer.
Finally, a message popped up that seemed to jump slightly off from the previous topic.
【Good Luck Xiao Jing】: Um... I'm sorry.
Ding Heng knew that Wen Jing was talking about the misunderstanding in the elevator.
He didn't pretend to be magnanimous and say "it's okay," nor did he ask "what am I sorry for?" He simply went along with it and brought today's exchange to a gentle end.
[Ding Heng]: You should get some rest. I need to take a nap too.
【Good Luck Xiao Jing】: Hmm, good afternoon.
【Good Luck Xiaojing】: [Little Rabbit waving.jpg]