吉姆 JIM HOFMAN | Photography Faces & places in China

Architecture
Hazy Hong Kong
Hazy Hong Kong

Holy crap, there was a ton of smog on this trip. There was a dense cloud hanging over my stops in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. While I was in China the pollution in Beijing was off the charts.

HKIA Airport
HKIA Airport

Just killing some time at the Hong Kong airport before I leave. There are always some interesting shots at my favorite airport in the world.

Ancient Stone Village
Ancient Stone Village

I had to kill a day between meetings so a group of us went to a couple tourist spots near Ninghai. One of them was an “ancient stone village” that was about 700 years old. It was an actual living village and not a museum.

Shanghai II
Shanghai II

More photos from wandering around the Pudong area of Shanghai. While in Paris people photograph the Eiffel Tower. In Shanghai you photograph the TV Tower. I like to photograph architecture in black and white because it reminds me of the opening sequence of Woody Allen’s movie “Manhattan” – complete with Gershwin music.

Zhujiajiao
Zhujiajiao

I went to Zhujiajiao today. It’s a water town on the outskirts of Shanghai that was established about 1,700 years ago. It’s a tourist village these days, full of restaurants & shops. It was nice to escape the big city…

Shanghai I
Shanghai I

Shanghai is huge. REALLY huge (23 million people). It’s ten times the size of Chicago. And this week is was hot. REALLY hot. There were lots of umbrellas on the streets to make-your-own-shade.

Nanjing
Nanjing

I just spent a couple days in Nanjing, which is a few hours west of Shanghai. It was my first trip there. I always seem to visit the same manufacturing hubs in China and it was nice to go somewhere new.

Hong Kong Sunrise +
Hong Kong Sunrise +

On the way in and out of China I always stay in Hong Kong. It’s one of my favorite cities in the world. I woke up early because of jet lag and grabbed some shots as the sun was rising.

HKIA Sunset
HKIA Sunset

I arrived at Hong Kong International Airport at sunset last night.  I ran down to the check-in counter area, sat on the floor and started firing away as fast as possible with both a 8mm fish eye and my trusty 18mm – 270mm zoom.  There was only a short window of time to shoot before […]

Tibet | Monks & Monasteries
Tibet | Monks & Monasteries

Most of Tibet’s history centers around it’s faith in Buddha. All of the temples and monasteries are now the key attractions to visit in Tibet. Our hotel was in Lhasa’s old town and only a 4 minute walk from Jokhang Temple, one of the holiest places in Tibet.

Beijing – The Great Wall
Beijing - The Great Wall

The weather was hazy / foggy and it was tough to get any decent long shots. I had to punch-up the contrast in Photoshop to make the outer hills visible. I had been to the wall ten years earlier and it was crystal clear, but I only brought a point-and-shoot camera.

Beijing – The Forbidden City
Beijing - The Forbidden City

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

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.

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.

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.