See these amazing boats down there? Tom and I came across this place totally by accident. We were quite confused.

It was a cool morning and not too humid for this part of Guilin, China, which is normally quite miserable. Tom and I walked down here and it was totally empty except for a few wild dogs. After a few moments, a nice Chinese lady came out (her nationality should go without saying) and asked us if we wanted something to eat. That’s when it dawned on us these were eatin’ boats! So she went in and made us a MASSIVE omelet and then set it up in the middle of the table. We were with our guides Mia and Andy, and the four of us sat around the table to eat while we were calmly poled down the river. Awesome! What a find!

Breakfast on a Beautiful River

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-06-03 13:59:31
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/1000
• Aperture
• ISO500
• Focal Length
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramShutter speed priority AE
• Exposure Bias

This was one of my favorite areas to visit in China a few months ago. And, even better, we were treated with a truly remarkable sunset. Sunsets like this don’t happen there much, so I felt very lucky to be in the right spot at the right time. It was certainly hard to get up to this position… many cuts, bruises, and lots of blood was spilled to get here. But I forgot about all that quickly enough.

Sunset in Southern China

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-06-06 23:44:10
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/125
• Aperture9
• ISO125
• Focal Length15.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

One night I went out in the rain to take photos while staying in the little town of Yangshao. It was great fun! I was using my Sony A7r and my Leica 35mm f/1.4 which requires manual focus. Naturally, this means I need both hands to take photos. Luckily I had my guide Andy with me to help hold the umbrella!

Happy Girls in Guangxi!

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-06-05 01:19:41
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/500
• Aperture
• ISO4000
• Focal Length
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Here’s a photo from a wicked place in China.

It was a very cloudy and moody sunrise and I thought not much would happen, but then I had the idea for this. Sometimes when things don’t work out, you can work extra hard to try to make some lemonade out of the lemons.

I think I also named it this because I’ve been watching lots of Game of Thrones!

Dragons Coming

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-06-04 10:59:19
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/4
• Aperture8
• ISO100
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

This fisherman and his bird were incredible. Whichever direction his head went, so did the bird’s! It was really incredible to watch. If you have the Lightroom Tutorial I mention above, be sure to watch that part where I show all the various head positions! I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.

For this photo, because it was so dark, I opened up my aperture all the way to f/1.4 – that really helped the light to come in and give it this feeling.

The Daemon Bird

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-06-04 00:19:55
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/500
• Aperture
• ISO800
• Focal Length
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias-0.3

I took this photo behind our boat driver/captain/guy-with-long-stick. I actually don’t even know what you call these guys? Anyway, while walking around this little town in Guilin, Tom and I and our two guides found this amazing raft by a restaurant. It was a big square raft with a little roof. Everything was made of bamboo. There was a table in the middle, so we found the nearby building and asked if we could eat on the boat while someone pushed us around the river. And then it was done! 15 minutes later, I was having a delicious omelette while taking high bokeh photos of the driver/captain/guy-with-long-stick!

Dining on the slow river

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-06-03 14:45:33
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/2000
• Aperture
• ISO125
• Focal Length
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramShutter speed priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Doesn’t this look like the kind of city that would be full of casinos? When I got to the top of this strange karst mountain in Guilin, China, I saw the sprawling city below and all the crazy lights and it just struck me as a gamblin’ town. But it isn’t. The only place you can gamble in China is Macau, and that is very big on my list. It also looks amazing for photos.

But, anyway, as for this place, it is one of the main hikes in China. I wasn’t totally thrilled about hiking up here because it was super hot and muggy… AND I was in a huge hurry to get up here before the sunet. I barely made it, but I was a wet, hot, soppy mess while taking this photo. It’s honestly one of my least favorite feelings… I know that makes me sound like such a primadonna, but I do have a violent hate for being hot and supa-sweaty unless I am in some kind of a “workout” mode!

Way Above Guilin

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-06-03 00:39:00
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time5
• Aperture4
• ISO160
• Focal Length59.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Southern China! It’s so wild and untouched! Well that’s not totally true. It’s mostly untouched. When you do find the occasional town, they can be a bit third-worldy in terms of trash and architectural squalor. They are not terrible and dangerous, just a bit, well, rough-looking. There are quaint parts that are authentic and charming, but often times there is too much detritus strewn about to make you feel totally comfortable. At least, this is the way it is to me. But I like escaping kind of far away from those places, up into hills like this where everything is back in its natural and beautiful state.

The Sun Drifts Away Into Time

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-06-07 00:05:28
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/160
• Aperture8
• ISO125
• Focal Length70.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-0.3

I loved walking around this city in the rain. The colors and the umbrellas were so fun to photograph. I loved using the Leica f/1.4 at 35mm wide open. It made for nice quick shots. I, unapologetically, enjoy taking photos of interesting people. I’d say it’s about 70% girls and 30% guys. It’s just much easier to find interesting-looking girls in the streets. They dress more interesting, have prettier umbrellas, and often have a certain style to them. I don’t know…anyway, here is one of them!

In the streets of Yangshuo

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-06-05 01:16:39
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/500
• Aperture
• ISO3200
• Focal Length
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Okay it’s not wild. That’s kind of wishful thinking. But, let’s just say it was temporarily wild! Local villagers would bring their horses down to the river to wash. This one villager brought this beautiful white horse. I had my guide ask them if we could take photo before she got all wet. So, she was temporarily free, splashing in the water while I took this photo. I hope she enjoyed it — I did! 🙂

Wild horse on the Li River

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-06-04 14:56:07
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/8000
• Aperture4
• ISO320
• Focal Length24.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias-0.7