吉姆 JIM HOFMAN | Photography Faces & places in China

Shopping
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.

Sunday In Qingxi
Sunday In Qingxi

I think I’ve photographed everyone in Qingxi now. Twice.

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.

Market Sights
Market Sights

Sights from a couple market places in China (Qingxi + Yangjiang). I love to photograph these places. Lots of interesting sensory inputs: sights, sounds, smells, people, activities.

Streets of Qingxi
Streets of Qingxi

Random street photos from Qingxi, China. This is my “home-away-from-home”.

The Supermarket
The Supermarket

In many ways this China grocery store is similar to a US store, but in other ways it’s VERY different. Most items are sold in small units to keep the price and size down. There aren’t rows and rows of minivans & SUVs parked in front of the store – you buy what you can carry home.

Saturday Afternoon in the Village
Saturday Afternoon in the Village

I took these shots on a cool January afternoon on the weekend before the Chinese New Year holiday began. The overcast weather produced some nice flat outdoor lighting. The lighting in the meat market was a different story.

Beijing – Fun & Shopping
Beijing - Fun & Shopping

Besides the historic sites there are many other cool things to do in Beijing.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Billboard Love
Billboard Love

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

Underwear Shop
Underwear Shop

Bashful clerk went into a giggle-fit when I stopped to take her photo. I didn’t buy anything.

Selling Tea
Selling Tea

A shop keeper selling brewed tea on the sidewalk outside her shop.