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This is an HDR from a single RAW file! I shot it while on an escalator inside a building… while the escalator was moving! I would have to say that one of the top three questions I get is “How do you make an HDR out of a moving subject?” Well, that is covered in page 3 of the HDR Tutorial here… Maybe some people don’t make it to page 3? I don’t know. It’s easy! 
Also, I was recently interviewed on NPR for a the station WUKY. You can listen to the NPR interview here online. Enjoy!
If you all want to try out “Netflix for Lenses”, read my new review of Lens Rental from BorrowLenses. I think it’s a great service. I gave the service a full run recently and came away happy!
This pic below was taken in China. It’s curious isn’t it? I’ll open it up for discussion… see who can figure out what exactly is happening in the photo… (don’t forget you can zoom into the original size on Flickr)
Hong Kong airport is a great one, as are many Asian airports. They put US Airports to shame. The security is actually nice to you there, and you don’t get all the attitude of the TSA. The TSA looks so important with their little uniforms. I think they are just silly… but it is remarkable how people react to uniforms.
I was going to find a pic of the silly uniforms so we could all make fun of them, but then I found out that the TSA has a blog! How boring. It makes me real happy that my tax money is going for the TSA’s social media operation. Look at this TSA blog entry on the Fourth of July and the YouTube videos they provided (especially the charmer about the dangerous “Sparkler”). Don’t worry everyone, the US Government is now blogging for you.
I found this woman outside the train station in Hangzhou. She was sitting by herself waiting on someone or something. Like most Chinese, she didn’t speak a word of English, and none of my international gesticulations seemed to trigger a response. Except, that is, for the one when I asked if I could take a photo. She nodded happily and sat serenely while I grabbed a shot. I walked on, and turned around to wave. She gave me a little nod.
There are a lot of the older generation in China that I am sure are completely amazed by what is happening of late there. I wished I could have asked her a few questions, but my Mandarin is woefully inept. My 8-year-old son is taking lessons… maybe I’ll have to take him with me next time to act as translator!
Look at this crazy place I found in Shanghai!
This was inside one of the many government buildings. It was a multi-story complex dedicated to the past, present, and future of Shanghai. It was filled with multimedia presentations on the water systems, photo exhibits of the Bund under British control, and video extrapolations of what the city would become in 2020.
Of all these cool things, the best was this gigantic model of Shanghai. I walked around it about five times, trying to get some kind of sense of how to photograph the dang thing. Then, finally, I decided to grab a shot that included a few tourists to show the scale of this monstrosity.
By the way, thanks so much for all the interest in the Newsletter yesterday! I put a map on that page showing where all the early subscribers are coming from. I was, frankly, surprised how many people signed up! Now the pressure is on to deliver something that is worthwhile!
I crossed under the river one night from the Bund to get a closer look at the Oriental Pearl Tower. There was a cool fountain at the bottom and no tourists around.
This is a good thing, since it is always hard to make tourists look “cool” in photos. No matter what, everyone ends up looking like a gawking Rick Steves. Speaking of which, his travel series on PBS called “Europe through the Back Door” always gave me cause for concern.
It was dark in Hangzhou, former home of the Song Dynasty in Southern China. The Songs ran the show until the Mongols invaded in the 1200’s. No one ever expects the Mongol invasion.
Now it is devoid of Mongols, but it is filled with cute Ewok-like creatures that live up in the hills and along the idyllic lake.
It was well after sundown when I finished some meetings, so I went down to the Bund to take some shots across the river of Shanghai. Even in the middle of the night, the river was full of boats coming and going, all lit up with various festive colors. Everything had an electric feel and I very much enjoyed walking up and down the river as the lights changed and new boats came and went…
Ahhh… Chinese royalty. Of all the royalty in the world, I don’t think anyone lived quite as well as the Chinese. Maybe that’s open for debate? I suppose luxury is a state of mind, but they certainly had all the component parts.
Here in Hangzhou, the royals would summer, languishing about these gardens and lakes, staring out across these lily ponds.
In other news, I have a new article that is a short version of my HDR Tutorial up over at Abduzeedo, which is one of the world’s top design blogs. I keep that site in my RSS news reader and can usually find some good design inspiration there!
On the weekend while in Shanghai, I was in the mood for an adventure, so I went down to the train station to buy a ticket to Hangzhou. This was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty in the 12th century and it was in the middle of the Yangtze river delta. The royalty established a number of temples around West Lake, the dozens of tiny freshwater lakes that were created for the emperor.
As I explored around, there were many beautiful things to be seen. Here is one of many more I have to bring you.
Shanghai looks huge and amazing no matter what side of the river you are visiting! I think I went back and forth 8 times to see it from one angle then the next as the sun was setting. There is this electric train that goes in a tube under the water that is surrounded with enough flashing neon to send the average Japanese kid into seizures. It’s all fantastic and electric — and both banks were covered every night with people admiring the view… Normally I don’t like tourists in my shots, but this one was kind of about the viewers of the city viewing the city.
Believe it or not, there is a small documentary being filmed about me. I don’t know what to think about it – only to assume it is going to be rather boring! I think it is going to be a lot like Grizzly Man, just without the bear.
As this gal is going about her process of gathering materials, she asked me for a few of the original shots from Hong Kong so she can show them during the documentary. I was going back through my old shots, and found that I had never processed THIS one of Hong Kong, which has a really moody dusk sky, so I spent a few hours to clean it up for publication.
I hope you like it!
This is Sophia Froeschl, an Austrian model I met in Hong Kong. I am not sure I remember how I met her and her boyfriend, but it was either up at the peak or later at the bar while I was editing photos. See, I am a total geek and when I am in hotels, I don’t go to the bar to drink alcohol… I go down there, order tomato juice, listen to good music, and edit photos until my battery dies. I usually pick a remote corner, but people occasionally see me editing photos, and since they are some level of bored, they come over and start talking. Anyway, Sophia and her boyfriend could not have been nicer – they sat down and we drank and talked. I asked if I could take her photo since she was the prettier of the two, and he said of course!
This was found on Lamma Island, just a short ferry ride from Hong Kong. I wanted to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city for a while, and this quiet little island had some very quaint little shrines like this.
The Chinese love to shop. I can say no more.
I’m not sure how I got in this position, or how I got the camera on a timer, but I did it. Just afterwards, I cut open my knee when jumping across a tiny gap in the wall to get back to my camera. Getting this shot was a lot like playing Braid, in retrospect.
You can see the Great Wall there on the left (and under me).
I had decided to eat out on the streets, since there seemed to be such a variety. The real reason might have been there was this guy with a giant vat of fresh unagi (eel) which happens to be my favorite. I bought enough to feed a small family and ate it while I marched around with my camera, looking for a good spot for the shot.
The second shot below is of a famous Chinese dancer warming up for the Olympic ceremonies by launching himself into the air, just beside the official flag.
No… I am not living in Hong Kong, but I’ve always wondered what it would be like. I was surprised to see how green and hilly parts of the city were. It almost reminded me of a San Francisco x10 on with 10x less Asians.
Hong Kong has some of the coolest architecture in the world. Even though I have been over there a few times, I am always amazed how China is leading the way for cutting edge architecture in skyscrapers.
Shanghai! What a crazy cool place… It has 200% the energy and activity of New York… Very fun and exciting. It was good to have a local group of friends to show me the best haunts… of course I was a bit of a drain since I had to carry my camera around… but… comon of course!
