October 7, 2019

It is finally autumn and therefore, jacket weather. I still haven't let go of shorts and flipflops at the moment. But taking out the trash this morning convinced me that I better get on with the season. I decided to go back to QingHefang Street and take replacement photos from the ones I lost with the Canon AE-1. I was not aware that it did not wind properly until I unloaded a roll of exposed film. I haven't tried taking photos again with it but I have been using the Contax T2 compact camera.

These photos were taken with my Fujifilm xt30. I wanted to take photos of more people, less scenery. More moments, less still life.

I find it uncomfortable to watch people for a really long time which makes it very problematic as a voice teacher. For me, there is something invasive about it even more so taking their photos. And I am not one to ask permission.

Blue man looking to the left in communist China

China recently celebrated its 70th year of Communist party rule. ( I never thought I'd be involved in anything political when I signed my contract here. But a colleague and I sang and shot a music video of "我爱你，中国 / I love you, China" with the Xintiandi Chairman and employees for work. That's another story.) The televised military parade was insane. And just like their CNY annual tv show, they showed off their military strength in numbers. Look just how many people we have doing one synchronized thing. With its 1.4 billion population, China eludes me. The language is like learning a difficult song and I am often mistaken for a Chinese.

As I walked around QingHefang drowning in the sea of fellow Asians, I attempted to capture some faces of the massive population that is People's Republic of China.

The shop owner's daughter who kept saying "Ni hao!" with a huge smile

On this particular day, on a random street, in a random city, I watched random people and took photos of them. So to you, dear strangers, I hoped to say with these photos that I see you.

Ancient Puppet/Light Show

Intricate Paper Cuttings

A very manly way of making candy

I was mesmerised by his tranquil mood while playing the ceramic flute

It was really loud in the market and I walked even closer to take a photo of him. He never got distracted. I felt the vacuum of silence and listened to the quiet tune.

One of the oldest longest operating stores in Hefang Street is this store selling cotton