吉姆 JIM HOFMAN | Photography Faces & places in China
Shopping
Yangjiang 4.15
The weather is just as flaky here as it is in Minneapolis. One day it’s sunny and 80 degrees – the next day it’s in the 50’s and cloudy. Regardless, I got out a couple times for some street photos. I’m staying in a new hotel in the city center that’s better located for street shots.
This is not China…
This is not China… but there are surprising similarities. After my China trip in January I continued west to Dubai and Amman, Jordan. My final destination was Nablus in the West Bank. Of course I took my camera gear and did some street photography in Nablus, Hebron, Ramallah and Bethlehem.
Long Distance Shopping
After I leave China I’m visiting my daughter who is teaching at an international school on the West Bank. Besides being a mule transporting mac-n-cheese and other delicacies, I unwittingly opened the door to some long distance shopping for my fashion-starved daughter.
Walking Yangjiang
I’ve combined my existing hobby of street photography with my new hobby of power walking. I logged a total of 16 miles in 3 consecutive afternoons. That’s a lot of streets that got photographed.
New Years Day in Yangjiang
Ah – the first day of 2015 and the beginning of year number five of my Faces & Places photography project. I took a 3 hour photo walk to the most crowded mall they have in Yangjiang and studied the crowd – inside & out. Unlike most people, I love crowds.
RT Mall on Mothers Day
It’s been raining like crazy for the last 3 days, including a pretty serious thunderstorm last night. Not so great for street photography, so I had to take my little project indoors again.
Yangjiang Streets V2
I’m back for my second tour of Yangjiang on this trip and the weather improved a lot. There are actually shadows in these photos!
I found our money…
Yep – it’s all here. At the Wanda Plaza mall in Ningbo. This extremely upscale mall looks like it came straight from any major city in the US. Caution – rant ahead.
Qingxi Streets
Yet another weekend layover in Qingxi gave me some time at the central market for street photos. A very photogenic place if you can handle the smells.
Yangjiang Streets V1
I’m making two passes through Yangjiang on this trip. These are photos from pass number one.
On the streets
This hasn’t been a great trip for street photos because of the weather and a busy schedule. I got out for a few hours in Yangjiang to take these shots.
Faces & Places in China – The Video
I’ve compiled the “Greatest Hits of 2013” into a five minute video along with some pithy commentary.
Photo Dim Sum
Dim sum refers to a style of Cantonese food prepared as small bite-sized or individual portions of food traditionally served in small steamer baskets or on small plates. This is photo dim sum. The menu today is a handful of semi-unrelated bite-sized portions.
Wholesale Food in Shenzhen
Ordinarily I wouldn’t write a post about wholesale food, but it was actually an interesting adventure. Some friends needed to stock-up on meat and invited me to go to a huge restaurant wholesale market in Shenzhen.
Night Light
Photography is all about capturing light. At night most modern cameras struggle because digital sensors don’t perform well in low light conditions. My current Nikon D7000 does a great job during the day and in the studio – where there’s light. Not so much at night.
China Tech
I’m amazed at how technology is taking over people’s lives in China, much in the same way it has in the US. The boys in China are glued to smart phones and computer screens just like in the US. Their faces are illuminated by the dim glow from games.
Shopping in Yangjiang
I arrived in Yangjiang a couple days ago and needed to do some grocery shopping. I decided to take some camera gear to the grocery store to document the local flavor. Some indoor street photography on a hot Sunday afternoon…
Yangjiang Street Photos
Everytime I come to Yangjiang I take a very long walk through the city. The same path each time. Each time I see totally different sites and people. It’s never the same twice.
Creep Photography?
There’s probably a very fine line between street photography and creep photography.
Shanghai at Night
I’m at the tail end of another trip and have an extra day to kill in Shanghai. Last night I wandered the neighborhood in Pudong taking a few night shots with the P7700. It takes a little processing to get the noise out, but after a while I started liking the grainy quality. A retro Tri-X Pan black & white vibe.
Street Photos – Qingxi
Photographers are notorious for being poor judges of their own work. Selecting good from bad can be torture. What constitutes a good image is different for different people.
Stop – Thief!
I’ve decided that being a street photographer is like being a thief. Most of my subjects don’t realize I’m taking their photograph, and before they know it – I’ve stolen a moment of their life. Approximately 1/200th of a second of their life is captured on a sensor about the size of my thumb.
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
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.
