beijing youjian

Chong Chong at 13 Months

Here are two shots from the series I’ve been doing of Chong Chong exploring my wallet.

It is great watching him turning it over and over examining it, and then taking everything out. Very impressed with how much dexterity those little fingers have.

I would’ve liked the focus to be clearer on Chong Chong’s upper body in the first shot. That said, it does help to focus one’s attention on my wallet, which I think is an essential element of the photograph.

I’d rather not have clipped his pinky in the second shot, but it is what it is.

As usual, both shots were taken with my DMC-GX7, and developed using Lightroom. New for these shots was using Lightroom to set the White Balance (Fluorescent).

Oh, from the response I got from an earlier posting of the first shot on facebook, it seemed like i should run some sort of “caption this” contest. So, if you’re up to leaving possible captions in the comments, please feel free to do so.

Plant Delivery

Photographed  in front of some restaurants (including Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut branches) across the street from my apartment complex. I took the shot with my iPhone 4, and then spent a fair amount of time developing it with Lightroom (tight cropping, increase of contrast and clarity, decrease of vibrance and saturation, and spot removal).

Chinese Fruit Bowl

Once again, providing proof that the tomato is indeed not a vegetable.

And, for the record, I hate tomatoes.

This photo was taken with my iPhone 4. I think it is one of the clearest photographs I’ve taken with that device.

The grain is due to this being just a detail of the original. As usual, I developed the image using Lightroom.

Young Woman in Pink

The fan in her hand is to block the sun from shining on her face. This is the same restaurant that I photographed in my last post (albeit taken about an hour earlier). I think that the restaurant was constructed in the early 1990’s, but the exterior hasn’t worn well. I’ve never been inside, so I don’t know about the interior.

27th Floor Window

Rained last night. When I got up this early this morning, the sky was once again beautiful. So, of course I grabbed my camera and headed to the rooftop.

On the way down, I took this picture of the Beijing Olympic Park Observation Tower.

 

San Lun Che with Tricycle

San lun che means “three wheel vehicle”. So, these both could technically be called san lun ches. I guess they could also both be called tricycles. This never sounded quite right to me, which is why I’ve stuck with san lun che. I mean, who puts a steel beam or ice cream cooler on a tricycle?

As with the one in my previous post, this san lun che is gas powered. The chain and the right peddle are missing. I think that the flap behind the front wheel is a leftover from the winter months, and is more meant to shield the driver’s legs from cold wind and such then to act as a mud flap.

I took this shot with my iPhone 4, and was really unhappy with it. Amongst other things, the focus was way off. I had a good laugh when taking it, and thought it would be fun for folks to see, so I didn’t feel like just deleting it. Converting it to B&W, and tweaking it with Lightroom, seems to have saved it somewhat.

Cooler on a San Lun Che

Once again, finding the right vehicle for the job.

If you look at the crankset, you’ll see that the chain is chain is missing. So, this san lun che is reliant on engine-power only. And, in this case, it is a pretty inefficient gasoline engine.

I wouldn’t be surprised if these were made illegal at some point, and folks were told to only employ electric-power.

 

In Front of this Lion…

and the other one guarding the gate, I saw four people (three grandmas and a man my age) standing side-by-side, some with their hands on their hips. The grandmas were busily chatting, whilst he man was just standing quietly.

As I walked upto them, I figured-out why they were there, and took-up a place a bit behind them, on the rise leading into the gate.

Then it happened… the leaves on the trees which enclosed the area began to rustle, and a cool breeze was soon upon us.

 

Morning Stacks

These stacks of tins have been set-out most mornings when I’ve walked by this neighborhood shop. I’m pretty sure they’ll be used to steam dumplings.

Taken with my DMC-GX7. A lot of development using Lightroom 5.5. Conversion to B&W just seemed natural for this shot.