China Expatriate Assignment

Following a clear day without any smog, we received the gift of a purple and red sunset with high clouds. The sun reflected golden tones in the windows of the buildings across from the apartment we are renting.

We visited Chaoyang Park on June 16th. It seems that many brides go there to get their wedding formal photographs. It also appears that many amateur photographers cluster around to capture the great opportunity, so I could not resist joining them myself.

Several friends insist to me that at least some of the "brides" must be models. It's June, so some might be models and some might be June brides. I prefer to believe that all brides are that beautiful.

The first day of July 2007 finally brings some sunshine after about 30 straight days of overcast smog. We had several rains which finally washed and blew away the overcast.

Sunset approaches.

I have been wanting to try a night time-lapse since I saw some neat shots on a Chinese photo website. The streaks in the lower right corner are taxi head and tail-lights. This was an 8 second exposure at f8, ISO100. I only had a monopod which was braced against a rail, but still wanted to move around.

And now a personal rant. Pepsi spends millions of dollars a year promoting the Mountain Dew brand to the younger set in America. Of course, some of us old-timers have been addicted for decades. How in the heck can their distribution and marketing system be so bad? China offers a ready market of what, a half-billion young people?

The only place we have been able to find Mountain Dew in Beijing is at exactly two restaurants: both of which are next door to each other and near the U.S. Embassy. It took us 60 days to locate these oases with the help of an expatriate forum. From the markings on the cans, these restaurants are importing the precious drink themselves.

July 14th. We encountered this artist outside some little shops we like to visit. He was creating small toys-on-a-stick using colored clay and his hands. It was amazing to watch him build the petals of a rose and then layer them. He could turn out a toy in a few minutes.

This little boy was fascinated and could not resist getting closer to watch. All of these shots were with a Canon S3IS, since it is small enough to haul along.

Finishing touches.

When the folks clustered around realized that I was maneuvering to get a shot, they opened a hole to allow me to step in. I wanted to include some of the crowd. The bright sun flare from behind was unavoidable.