To celebrate my son Ethan’s 19th birthday we traveled up to Beijing for a long weekend. On the first day, we hired a driver and went to the Great Wall. The second day didn’t exactly go to plan because I didn’t research ticket sales enough, but it was still a nice time. All photos were taken with either a Leica M7 or Hasselblad Xpan.

This was my 4th trip to the Great Wall and most likely my last. Every time I go, the steps seem to get steeper and more treacherous. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have brought two extremely expensive vintage cameras on a long trek up uneven steps. I told a friend later – the Great Wall appears to have been built by a bunch of drunk guys who didn’t own a tape measure or level. No two steps are identical.