Enjoying the Lantern Festival together

(Chinaculture.org) Updated: 2016-01-21 17:45

Photos by Vladimir Totolhua, who won the third prize of the 2015 Just Share It contest.

一起欢度元宵节

摄影：Vladimir Totolhua

2015年乐享中国——欢乐春节征集活动三等奖。

I'm an amateur autodidactic photographer. What I’ve wanted to capture since my early pictures is everyday life, and what I try to express in them are the small pleasures, the details we invent to endure the routine or try to discover or underscore the details we are embedded in. Maybe a color, maybe a cup, maybe the disposition of the fruit in the market, maybe the neon lights or natural lights, maybe a bicycle, maybe a reflection.

In these photos I wanted to express something that I never had seen before until I came to China, since in Mexico we don't celebrate Chinese New Year. It is an interesting period for pictures. Although the cities are empty, there are some days during the festivities, such as the Lantern Festival, that are special occasions for taking the camera and trying to capture the beauty of these giant lanterns. These photos express how families go to the squares and enjoy the night walking under the bright light of the moon and the lanterns, and solving riddles.

我是一名自学摄影的业余摄影师。从很早开始摄影的时候，我想捕捉的就是每天的生活，从中我想努力表达出的是生活中的每个小喜悦，我们努力忍受常规的生活细节，或是努力发现或重视我们深留脑中的生活细节。或许是一种颜色，或许是一个杯子，或许是市场上水果的配置，或许是霓虹灯或自然光，也许是一辆自行车，也或许是一道反光。

在这些照片中，我想表达的是，在我来到中国之前，我从未见过中国新年是什么样的，因为在墨西哥，我们不庆祝中国新年。这是这个有趣时期的照片。虽然城市都空了，但是在过节的一些日子里，例如元宵节，这都是拍照的好日子，我努力去抓拍下这些美丽的大灯笼。这些照片展现了在月光和灯笼的光照下人们是如何走上广场享受夜间散步和解谜语的。

[Photo/Vladimir Totolhua]