Portraits, Street Photography Chad Ling Portraits, Street Photography Chad Ling

Portraits Of An Old Man

There he sat, on an old dusty sofa on the sidewalk in front of an old pawn shop. Sitting there, just watching the world. I’m happy I met him.

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Shanghai Street Photography B/W

Just a quick post before I head off to do other things. Here are a few shots that have been marinading for a while. Shot around Shanghai they show 1 side of life here. Never a dull moment on the streets, all you have to do is look out for them. 

Just a quick post before I head off to do other things. Here are a few shots that have been marinading for a while. Shot around Shanghai they show 1 side of life here. Never a dull moment on the streets, all you have to do is look out for them. 

Have a great week, and for those here who worked yesterday, congratulations, Monday is over and you only have 4 more days until the weekend.

I will start to post more of my street photography on my Flickr account so you can find these and more shots there. Same username, Chadwickimages.

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Street Photography Chad Ling Street Photography Chad Ling

Shanghai Streets In Colour

The Weather these days in Shanghai is trying to become semi decent an I thought it was a great excuse to go out and shoot some street again seeing as it has been a while since I've done it. Unfortunately I didn't get one decent shot, somedays it happens. It could be wrong place at the wrong time but in a city as vast as Shanghai I think it's more realistic to say that I just wasn't on my game and I wasn't looking at the city and the people through the right eyes.

The Weather these days in Shanghai is trying to become semi decent an I thought it was a great excuse to go out and shoot some street again seeing as it has been a while since I've done it. Unfortunately I didn't get one decent shot, somedays it happens. It could be wrong place at the wrong time but in a city as vast as Shanghai I think it's more realistic to say that I just wasn't on my game and I wasn't looking at the city and the people through the right eyes.

Anyway it just serves as more reason for me to get my ass out there more often and improve. I'm going to try to make it a regular thing and after looking at the results of my last session in the street using flash I've decided that I quite like the resulting motion blur so I will continue the same style for a while and see what sort of body of work I can create.

Here are a few shots that I forgot about from my last time shooting in the streets. If there are any street photography shooters here in Shanghai that follow this blog and are keen to shoot together then let me know. I'm keen to shoot with new people and discuss ideas.

Have a great weekend.

The Face Of Work.

The Face Of Work.

The Face Of No Work. Don't Worry Man I Feel You.

The Face Of No Work. Don't Worry Man I Feel You.

Eye Contact.

Eye Contact.

No Eye Contact.

No Eye Contact.

And Finally Spiderman.

And Finally Spiderman.

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Dancers Chad Ling Dancers Chad Ling

Dancers Project

Just in time for your commute home. Well done you did it, Monday is finished!!! I hope this post makes your day just a little bit more interesting.

Just in time for your commute home. Well done you did it, Monday is finished!!! I hope this post makes your day just a little bit more interesting.

It's been a while since I posted so I thought I would update you on what I've been up to. I've been shooting lots for my ongoing Dancers Project. This is a long term project dedicated amongst other things, grace, beauty and energy of dancers. The project is evolving in some ways and thus I feel it could go on for a while until I am satisfied that it is complete. I think this is normal because the more time I spend with dancers the better I understand what being a dancer is all about, the more I want to show the pain, dedication and very personal need for self excellence that each dancer seems to bring to each movement and pose. Also the longer I work on this project, the more ideas and different angles I discover that I feel add to it in some way. Finally it's also important to me to bring a little of each dancers stage personality into the photo. The project has also changed in that what started off as a purely black and white idea now will be a mix of color and black and white photos. This came about after just talking to the dancers about what they do and how they see themselves.

There are so many different styles of dancing that I have not yet discovered or explored. For the moment the idea is to show as many as possible. If you are a dancer and would like to collaborate with me then feel free to contact me.

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Street Photography Using Flash

AAAARRRGGGHH, This is the 3rd time I am writing this post because my blog keeps on crashing.

AAAARRRGGGHH, This is the 3rd time I am writing this post because my blog keeps on crashing. So, as I was saying twice before, currently I am using a Fuji EF-X20 flash to shoot street. I really enjoy the compact size and solid build of it but the downside is that it doesn't last very long before I need to change batteries. I am looking for another option if anyone has good experiences with a small flash suitable for street photography then send me a message.

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Street Photography Chad Ling Street Photography Chad Ling

The Long Road To Consistency

Once again it's been far too long between posts. Life has been crazy for the past 5 months and I have had to learn to manage my time differently. Having said that, as you can see from the lack of posts I haven't been entirely successful but I'm getting better.

Once again it's been far too long between posts. Life has been crazy for the past 5 months and I have had to learn to manage my time differently. Having said that, as you can see from the lack of posts I haven't been entirely successful but I'm getting better.

So, what have I been up to? Lot's of shoots, building up some great work on my personal projects, also I've been shooting some beautiful clients, always a pleasure, explored a bit of China and I still need to post those landscapes from a while ago. Also, I'm rekindling my love affair with street photography and hopefully I'll start shooting film a bit soon. My friend has been bugging me to do it and I have always loved the feel of film, in fact most of my favourite photographs where shot with film. It's gritty, raw and honest in a way that digital just struggles to be. Of course this is just my opinion and it still doesn't stop me from trying to simulate the film feel when I shoot digital.

Speaking of Street Photography and legends of film photographers, if you are in Shanghai be sure to check out the exhibition by Fan Ho at the M97 gallery. It is on until around the 31st of this month. 

Below are some street shots of the daily life in Shanghai, I've been playing around shooting with flash a la Bruce Gilden style and I have to say I like the effect. For the moment I am moving away from this obsession of needing my photos to be tack sharp, in fact I really like a bit of intentional blur in some of my shots.

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Dubai Street Photography

I spent a few days in Dubai, it was my first time not just transiting through the airport. Unfortunately we didn't get to do the desert safari this time. I would have loved to shoot a few portraits of the tribesmen and I am dying to try the roasted goat that is slow cooked in a hole in the ground and coved with sand.

For me the most interesting shots I got were at the souk. It is a pity that it is so geared towards tourists though, I would have liked to see more local people and even where the migrant workers to the country shop for their daily things. On the plus side, food all over was amazing and the weather was great. I have heard that summer is definitely a no go as temperatures go into the 50's and we are talking Celsius!

Have to say that I am loving the Fuji Systems more and more each day for travel photography. Besides the fantastic quality of the photos, the size and weight are great for saving your back and shoulders when you are out the whole day. So Well done FUJI and keep it up!

Be wary of strangers.

Be wary of strangers.

Hand held. I really need to get a travel tripod.

Hand held. I really need to get a travel tripod.

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