吉姆 JIM HOFMAN | Photography Faces & places in China

Author Archive
Beijing – The Forbidden City
Beijing - The Forbidden City

An amazing place. Words can’t describe it – so I took photos.

Beijing – Tiananmen Square
Beijing - Tiananmen Square

If St. Mark’s Square is the “Living Room” of Venice, then Tienanmen Square is the living room of Beijing. Security is very tight, as evidenced by the hundreds of surveillance camera and dozens of police men & soldiers.

Beijing – Nature
Beijing - Nature

I’m not much of a nature photographer. I prefer people & places more than flowers and birds, but there were a few good nature shots from Beijing that came out nice.

Tech Taxi – Hong Kong
Tech Taxi - Hong Kong

I’m pretty sure this guy is a bookie that drives a taxi – simultaneously.

Beijing – Olympic Park
Beijing - Olympic Park

Beautiful architecture that’s still timeless. The care-and-feeding of the buildings could be improved to prolong their life span. The crowds are gone and now the Olympic Park is a curiosity for a few visitors.

Village Nightlife
Village Nightlife

I went prowling around the village last night with a fast 35mm f1.8 lens to test the low light capabilities of the D3100. Not bad. Some of these shots look like they were taken in the middle of the day because of the amount of lighting in the village and the fast lens.

Hong Kong from the 29th floor
Hong Kong from the 29th floor

Some shots from 29 stories above Wan Chai looking towards North Point on the island. The stormy weather was interesting to photograph, then it all blew away a few hours later for a beautiful afternoon.

Chinese Line Dancing
Chinese Line Dancing

Everyone’s doing it!! Line dancing at night on the basketball courts and in public squares.

Retail Parallax
Retail Parallax

There are miles of these “retail alleys” in every small village in China. Inexpensive retail space for entrepreneurs. The stripped tunnel visual effect can be dizzying.

Construction Sunset
Construction Sunset

This is a common scene in the area surrounding a new high tech industrial park being build next to our factory in Shenzhen. The land value has sky-rocketed because of the adjacency to the new electronics factory buildings, so the owners of 5 story apartment buildings are tearing them down and building 8 – 9 story buildings (with a higher density inside).

Chinese Food
Chinese Food

Photos of food in China for the food-obsessed. No… I wasn’t hungry an hour later.

Ping Pong & Lunch
Ping Pong & Lunch

After spending thousands of hours playing ping pong as a youth I decided to test my rusty skills with some friends here in China. Because it’s one of the national pastimes most people tend to be pretty good. Unfortunately I was not. I got smoked by the “number one lady player” at our factory – along with everyone else.. We had a nice Sunday afternoon reunion lunch before playing.

Badminton in China
Badminton in China

I went to my first badminton match to watch my friend Mike play some of his friends. Badminton is a national pastime and is played the same way Americans bowl – as a social sport. They were very good, but I couldn’t help but chuckle as one of the girls chatted on a cell phone while playing.

Karaoke Party
Karaoke Party

Lots of friends + lots of beer + bad singing = fun.

Uighur Family Portrait
Uighur Family Portrait

Today while eating lunch, the wife of the restaurant owner (not an English speaker) used “charades” to ask me if I would photograph her daughter. Of course this was a great honor for me, so I came back with my camera gear and started shooting away.

Things-on-a-Stick
Things-on-a-Stick

These two happy guys are selling stuff on a stick. It’s actually a traditional Chinese candy called “iced sweet gourd” because the shape is like gourds strung together.

Sign of Change
Sign of Change

What was once a field growing vegetables is about to become a high tech industrial park. Progress…

Hong Kong Nature
Hong Kong Nature

There isn’t much nature left in Kowloon, so when a muti-million dollar shopping center was built a few steps from the harbor the developer spared no expense to preserve a very old tree so they could excavate a lower level courtyard.

Hanson & Daughter
Hanson & Daughter

I’ve known my friend Hanson for about 10 years. His daughter was a baby when we first starting having lunch together. This photo was taken at Hanson’s apartment after we shared a very good hot pot dinner together.

Sugar Cane Cart
Sugar Cane Cart

One of the popular “sidewalk snacks” in China is raw sugar cane. It’s sold by street vendors and the outer layer is husked after you buy it. Customers chew off chunks and suck the sugar from the cane – then spit the rest out on the sidewalk.

Makeup Lady
Makeup Lady

I bought some “Ugly Girl” brand “Snake Oil Hand Creme” for my daughter. I’m not sure that brand name would play well in the US.

Toys-R-Us
Toys-R-Us

This is the toy lady. She sets up a table at the local open-air market and the kids swarm around her like bees.

Billboard Love
Billboard Love

Sometimes the juxtaposition of advertising billboards is funny. The jewelry girl is totally checking out the Pepsi dude.

Layered Look
Layered Look

It was cold that day and I think this little guy is layered with his whole wardrobe. He stopped and posed while I was taking shots of his little brother.