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.

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

Huang Shan- Yellow Mountain Pt 1

Spent a night in Huang Shan city before heading up the actual mountain. The city wasn't really anything special to be honest, well not that we could find but the people are amazing friendly compared to Shanghai. I will split this post into 2 parts, the second post will be about the actual mountain.

Like a tsunami, the newer, bigger apartment blocks and offices engulf the older more traditional buildings.

South African Street Portrait

Aaaarrrghh, Ok so take two of my blog post because the little internet decided to delete my last post as I was finishing it.

Ok so lets start again. It's been a while since my last post. Life has been crazy busy with shooting and general life stuff. I also spent 3 weeks in South Africa on holiday and managed to organise a couple of shoots while I was there. I think most of my holiday snaps I will post on Instagram so look out for them. 

I was cruising around Johannesburg looking for old 35mm cameras in old junk shops when I noticed this guy just hanging around outside one of them. I was immediately interested by his face and knew that I had to shoot his portrait. After talking for a while he agreed and we just carried on talking about life in general while I snapped away. Turns out he regularly goes to the local gym to lift weights with his daughter and on the day I saw him, he was just killing time waiting for her. Really nice guy and I was happy to have met him.

The black and white shots were down when I found myself on a construction site. I would have loved to spend a bit more time there shooting close up portraits of the workers but I wasn't able to that day, maybe next time.

Anyway, everyone meet Vic.

Shanghai Street Life In Color

Somewhere in Shanghai. Wandering the back alleys of the less flashy parts of Shanghai where the shiny store fronts that house the worlds top designer brands seem a million miles away but can in fact be found just a few streets away. here the old folk regard you with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion and the younger generation stare and giggle.

Shanghai Streets In Black & White

These days I am really trying hard to push myself to shoot for color but I keep going back to black and white. For me it has so much more depth but this is just my opinion based on my skill set. I think I would consider my color work less strong compared to my black and white work so I have to keep reminding myself to get out of my comfort zone otherwise 2 years from now I will still just be admiring the brilliant work of photographers such as Steve McCurry, JoeyL and Sue Bryce instead of raising my own skill level.

So shoot, shoot and shoot some more, and when you get tired and despondent, pick up your camera and carry on shooting.

Shanghai Streets In Color

Shooting street in Shanghai sometimes feels like cheating because there is so much of interest you barely have to walk 20 meters to find a subject but this too comes with it's own problems. I find it challenging to push myself to think of new themes, to look beyond the obvious street vendor shot right in front of me. At the end of the day we all add our own touch to each photo and view the scene slightly differently to everyone else no matter how many times it has been done before, this is how we differentiate ourselves. I am sure that is the goal of many photographers, when you take a shot of something that has been seen before but whoever is looking at it can recognise it's your work by the style of the photo. 

The lesson to be learnt is keep pushing yourself, the harder you push the more you surprise yourself. Appreciate the failures, those are the building blocks from which you make success.

The rate at which Shanghai is expanding and modernising is impressive. It also makes for a great contrast, out with the old and in with the new. In a way though, it is sad to see all of these old buildings crushed to rubble.

Taiwan in Black & White

Taiwan In Color

Taiwan is a great place for so many reasons but the  friendly and polite people definitely has to come at the top of my list, followed closely by the food, great passion for coffee and the shopping was right up there too. The night markets are great and the vibe is awesome. Besides Taipei I was in Hualien and Taroko Gorge. I definitely recommend taking a guide to the gorge as the history is fascinating and something I really didn't expect.

All in all I can't wait to go back, the only bummer for me is that I have to go to Hong Kong every time to ally for my visa but hey, there are worse places than the great Hong Kong to spend your time shooting street photography and eating Cantonese style Chinese food.

The Chiang Kai-Shek memorial.

Changing of the Honour Guard at the Chaing Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. 

Really Interesting looking girl I met on the street. I am looking forward to hopefully shooting her again in the future.

Yes the water was really that color.

Korea In Colour

This is the first of a two part post. I have decided to split it because after working my photos it seemed to me that some just worked better in colour and other shots really spoke more to me in black and white.

I spent a few days in Seoul Korea last week. It was literally a breath of fresh air after being in Shanghai for 6 months. The first thing that struck me was the blue sky and how fresh the air felt. I had almost forgotten that feeling. The next thing is how stylish the people are. Men and women old and young, they all seen to spend a great amount of time and effort on their appearances. This is a stark contrast to most people in Shanghai where high fashion and grooming don't seem to be as important. The market in South Korea for personal body care products in huge and can be easily seen when walking in the streets. Lightning fast free internet everywhere is another thing I am not used to and it is awesome.

There seems to be a huge American presence there not only in the number of American people everywhere but also dress style and attitude. I am assuming this is because of the close military co-operation between the two countries.

Where ever I go food is always a big priority for me and Korea did not disappoint. The food was was fresh and tasty but nearly everything is spicy so take note. Sadly I did not experience the famous Korean fried chicken, the closest I got was eating at a Popeyes fried chicken at the airport on my way out. 

Special mention to Kim the soldier. Your friendliness and helpfulness was as fresh as your blue skies and clean air I had almost forgotten about. You are a great image for your country.

Right, let's try this mobile blogging

So, this is my first post using my new mobile blog application. I think it's still in beta testing so there might be some bugs still. 

All images shot with my mobile phone.