Camera Talk

Last summer I was confronted with a work trip to China. The schedule looked too heavy to bring anything but a cell phone - the good part of it: no agony choosing gear.

I was able to do all of two hours of tourist duty in Shanghai. In the return leg, bad weather grounded me for almost a whole day in Paris (what a tough luck!!).

I'd like to share the images before the year is over. The forum change and personal issues made me forget to post these before.

Beijing Bird's Nest Stadium, morning



Same at dusk



Shanghai skyline



Tourists in Shanghai



Shanghai harbor, tourists' dock



Produce stall inside Guangzhou airport



Going to Catholic Mass in Paris



Seine river from a bridge full of locks (for perennial love, I wish it was so easy)



Yes I visited the HCB expo in Paris (it was the last day of the show, a Sunday). I swear that I did not know it was showing. Pure undiluted luck.



I was very umconfortable shooting with the darn little cell phone (a Samsung GT5312, Pocket Neo). It is very hard (for me) to do capture with a light touch at the moment I want. The good part: it was at hand. Maybe I should have cleaned the lens before shooting, though. One forgets.

Thanks for looking!

Looks like you managed to capture the experience at least, Julio, and with it some memories. I hope your personal issues are behind you now. Thanks for showing us your trip!

Robert

Julio,
I enjoyed seeing all of these photos. The one of "Shanghai Harbor, Tourists Dock" especially brings out the character and feeling of a busy place "at rest". And you got a very effective photo of Notre Dame without a crowd of people. You and your cell phone did well on that trip.

Bill Delehanty

Julio -- I was in Shanghai in 1994, and it is difficult to see this as the same city. The transformation was in its infancy then. You did extremely well with limited equipment. Well done.
-- James

I think you did really well, Julio, considering the atmosphere in China. Your Beijing shots must have been taken when they were trying to clear the air for some diplomatic gathering. And what luck on the HC-B exposition.

PF

Thanks for the comments! I got very nice weather in Beijing and saw blue skies for the first time there. Chinese friends told me it was because of the summer (42 C temperatures) and wind patterns. First time I get relatively clear air there.

As for the HCB expo, I have to believe in fate after this experience. Plane grounded because of torrential rains on depart from China, a 24 hour delay in Guangzhou, another 20 hour delay in Paris to catch the next connection. I got a train from the airport to downtown Paris, and just happened to walk outside of the Pompidou center in the early morning, at such a moment to get in line for the last tickets of the last day of the exposition.

No luck left for the lottery ticket at year's end.