Persongalleriet #652: Last Day in Beijing

July 3rd, 2016.
Or the last day before the travel day at least... I've decided to be lazy on that day and I will probably not take pictures at the airport.

But on the Sunday, I did take some pictures. I chose the Summer Palace for my last day. I guessed there would be no lack of subjects there on a summer Sunday. And I was correct! The Summer Palace is a vast place where the Emperors and his posse went to cool down slightle in the Beijing summer heat. Nowadays open to the public to marvel at temples and chillax in the park.

Going up that Longevity Hill IS a bit of a climb!

And once you climb the stairs you find out there are more stairs!

And some more!

But once you get there it's a lot of fun!

You can be with your loved ones!

There is beauty!

And.....you can climb rocks!  :-)

That's it from the Beijing Live Blog! Beijing pictures will show up in my blog for months and months...but it will not be live. Well, strictly speaking I got about two days behind, so I'm back in Sweden when I publish this.

Be well, everybody!

/Niklas

Persongalleriet #650: Sunset at the Water Cube

Or Beijing, day 18. July 1st, 2016.
I woke early and just stepped into pants and shoes and started streeting right away! Two hours of enjoyment in the glorious morning light and comfortable temperature and still it was just 8 in the morning! But I'll save these pictures for later blog entries.

I took a good long rest before heading out again at around four in the afternoon. Now, I started at Houhai lake and made my way to the ancient drum and bell towers.  Had a wonderful hutong walk north of these towers. But I'll save these pics for later also.

I decided to see the sunset at the Olympic stadiums, since the weather had been, and still was really beautiful on this day. Came upon some lovely scenes at the mighty Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium! But I'll even save those photos for later!

What I will show now is some shots of the beautiful Olympic Swimming Stadium, the Water Cube, as it sails into the sunset. Here's an overview of the scene:

See that warm glow at the far end of the Water Cube? I did, and I wanted to do something more with it!

Maybe add some interesting circles in the foreground?

Street it up a bit with some people closer to the camera?

Another try at that...

Something more abstract? I'll call it "Multiple Sunsets"!

As I was wrapping this up, two guys with cowboy hats walked by me. Of course I spinned around and let the camera work! Title: "Into the Sunset".

Be well, everybody!

/Niklas

Persongalleriet #639: Beijing, Day 6

Went back to the Temple of Heaven park. Day 6 was Sunday, and I thought there'd be more people there. Not really. Just as two days earlier, I found the light really hard to deal with. Harsh sunlight from almost straight above through leaves, creating strange patterns of shadow and light all over people's faces.
As a prelude, here are two snaps from the way there:

Arriving at the park's outdoor "gym", this guy wanted me to photograph him:

He's a pretty good athlete, especially for his age, don't you think?!!

Here's another guy, on the parallell bars.

But most people in the park exercised more quietly, and some just trained their minds:

I asked for a portrait of this old lady, which was much appreciated by her and those with her!

Be well, everybody!

/Niklas

Persongalleriet #636: Beijing, Day 5 - Morning Walk

It's become my morning routine to do a short photo-walk in the alleys near my hostel, to make use of the lower sun and the slightly more comfortable temperature. Some days I get an early chinese breakfast of dumplings dipped in vinegar and chili.

The small dumpling shops stack these metal or basket steamer sections into big stacks:

The steam goes up through the steamer chimney and cooks it all!

At the duck place.

More dumplings!

Morning Toilette.

Morning Stretch.

Hutong Selfie.

Moped Monk.

Drawing up plans for life?

Be well everybody!

/Niklas

Persongalleriet #635: Beijing, Day 4

That's Friday the 17th! The main attraction of the day was the Temple of Heaven park. It's teeming of activity, people practise musical instruments, do coordinated dancing, advanced gymnastics and much much more! But of course, I was shooting on morning and evening walks, too, and also on the way to the park and back.

In my alley.

On the subway.

The Poodle. Outside the east gate of Tiantan, Temple of Heaven.

Park work-out.

How to deal with the afternoon heat.

Quick Fix.

The Restaurant.

Chinese Dreams.

Evening Stroll.

That's it for today, folks! Be well everybody!

/Niklas