Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 05:48PM Thanks to everyone that attended the China show on Friday night. We had a great turnout with over 50 people attending over the course of a couple hours. It was fun catching up with everyone and getting a chance to show a few of the photos from my trip.
For those that weren't able to attend here is a short video clip of the show. The photos will also be posted onto my stock website in the coming weeks.
Thursday, July 16, 2009 at 12:49AM Today was my last day in Hanzhong. Tomorrow I will be traveling back to Hong Kong for the remainder of the trip. I have really enjoyed Hanzhong. I haven't seen anyone outside of our group that has been a foreigner. It is quite the experience when you are the only foreigner that many of these people see walking down the street on a given day. You definitely get a lot of stares. Overall it has been a wonderful experience and I will look forward to returning to China some day.
This morning I was taken to the Hanzhong Museum which talks about the local history. It has some calligraphy that was almost 2,000 years old and the buildings were around 1,000 years old. I enjoyed the history but the main reason I went was to take pictures of the buildings. They were incredible. It was exactly what I had in mind when I came to China. The ancient architecture here is pretty amazing and a lot of fun to photograph.
I spent the afternoon today working on editing the final images from the English Camp and the cultural photos I have taken. Phil Eyster, the director of EPI, needed about 400 photos to use in a slide show for the final day of the camp. The biggest challenge is to try and make sure that all 200 students are represented in the photos so nobody feels left out. One of the funniest things about the camp is the English names that the students take. They are asked to take English names because no one can pronounce or remember their Chinese names in the 10 day period of the camp. Some of the names they choose are very entertaining. There is a Pudding, Cereal, Feather, Weasel, Winston Churchill and many more.
Enjoy the photos from the museum and look for my next update from Hong Kong in a couple of days.
The Wangjiang Building at the Hanzhong museum.
Ancient calligraphy at the Hanzhong Museum.
Another beautiful building at the musum. It housed the 2,000 year old calligraphy, which couldn't be photographed.
Typical architecture of the Qing period of the Song dynasty.
Another shot of the The Wangjiang Building, which is the centerpiece of the museum.
A lion guards the entrance to the museum.
A man sells meat at a market.
China, Hanzhong, Museum, Qing Period, Song Dynasty, photography, travel in Travel Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at 11:24AM Today was a rest day for the group, which meant that we were able to visit a historical site up in the mountains that surround Hanzhong. We visited Stone Gate Reservoir and Baoxie Plank Road. It was great getting out of the city and getting some shots of the some of the more cultural elements of the region.
When we arrived at the location we found out that their was a zip line that went over this big gorge at the base of the dam. So a bunch of us decided that we had to try it. What an experience! I am a big fan of the show "Amazing Race" and felt like I was doing one of their challenges. You felt like you were flying over the river that was probably about 200-300 feet below.
We then walked along the restored plank road and took a bunch of photos of the pagodas and other offerings. It was a great location for pictures and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
This evening a bunch of us decided to go try a traditional Chinese foot massage. It was quite an experience. For about $6 we received an 80 minute massage and they didn't accept tips! When they hit certain spots it was quite the intense pain, but overall it was very relaxing. I was just expecting them to massage my feet but even though you stay fully clothed they ended up massaging my neck, shoulders, arms, hands, back, calves and feet. They even did some weird thing where they had you lay back and they massaged your back with their knees. There were 5 of us together and we shared a lot of laughs.
The painted ceiling of a pagoda. I had no idea they could be this colorful.
The roof of a pagoda.
One of my favorite photos so far. A local man that was walking across the bridge that was nice enough to stop and let me take his photo.
Statues at the Baoxie Plank Road.
A metal Chinese warrior stands guard.
A man waits to give someone a ride in his tuk tuk.
The Stone Gate Dam
A pagoda on the side of the mountain.
Me and two of the guys on the trip, Josiah & Andrew, recreate the pose of the statues towering above us.
Baoxie, China, Hanzhong, Stone Gate, photography, travel in Travel Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at 11:09AM July 14th
Today was a pretty typical day of photography. I spent half the day photographing the English camp and the other half wandering the streets meeting people and doing photography.
We did go out as a group with some university officials for hot pot for lunch. Hot pot is spicy boiling water that you cook various meats and vegetables in. It is a lot like fondue in the states. It was a fun experience and tasted really good. I never thought I could like boiled meat!
A woman and her donkey pull a loaded cart down the street
Hot pot
A man overlooks a bunch of fruit stands.
A girl doing her school work.
A man displays the meat he has for sale.
A husband and wife share a laugh.
A beautiful little girl looks tentatively at the camera. Her parents asked me to take her picture, but she wasn't so sure.
An elderly man gives me a great smile.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009 at 11:21AM July 13th
Today was one of the best days I have had as a photographer. It was one of those days where opportunity after opportunity seemed to present itself and most of the time I was able to capitalize. I also felt like I was able to connect with a lot of the people I photographed, which always leads to better pictures. In my experience doing travel photography, those type of days don't happen very often so you really have to appreciate them when they do.
I spent the morning photographing the English camp, but spent the afternoon walking around Hanzhong with Phil Eyster, the director of EPI, taking pictures. That night I went to the main square in the middle of Hanzhong and did more night photography in the heart of the city.
I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them.
One of the best travel portraits I have ever taken. I loved this guy!
A beautiful young girl. I have been taking many pictures of kids because the parents keep asking me to take their child's picture. I guess they hope I'll come back some day with a print. If I was ever back in Hanzhong, I would definitely bring prints of everyone with me to hand out to them. Maybe someday.
A woman walking with her umbrella in the sun. A typical scene in Hanzhong.
An elderly man leans in the entrance to his home.
A young boy stands next to a bike on a side street in Hanzhong.
A girl waits for customers at a shoe store.
A young woman poses for the camera.
A man who makes keys and fixes bicycles from his business on a street corner in central Hanzhong.
A dusk shot of buildings surrounding Hanzhong's central square.
A young woman stands in front of glowing signage at night in Hanzhong. I had a Chinese person that accompanied me that night and was able to ask the woman if I could take her picture.