Monday, December 31, 2007

 

2007: Top 10 photo countdown - #1

These rice terraces in Guangxi province of southern China are an incredible feat of agricultural engineering. Capturing this photo was no small feat either, having to tightrope this narrow, slippery mud ridge with my camera. Balancing in place with flooded rice fields awaiting my fall on both sides, I waited for the farmer to plant the end of his row and turn back into frame to eventually get the scene I wanted.


See the complete 2007 Top 10 set here.

# posted by tim @ 1:18 PM 0 comments

Sunday, December 30, 2007

 

2007: Top 10 photo countdown - #2

Down to the last two days of 2007, and I'm realizing it's really hard to pick just 10 favorites! So today I'm cheating a little and picking a picture that was actually from 2006.

Laurel peeking out the Emin minaret, Turpan, Xinjiang. This was an amazing day for taking pictures. We rode our rented bikes out here first thing in the morning and had the entire place to ourselves for over an hour of perfect morning light. Just as we were leaving, the tour buses started rolling in.


See the nearly complete 2007 Top 10 set here.

# posted by tim @ 5:43 PM 0 comments

Saturday, December 29, 2007

 

2007: Top 10 photo countdown - #3

I was really curious what these two Buddhist monks on Putuo Shan could have been discussing. Perhaps they were debating Confucian philosophy or how to realize Zen enlightenment through meditation. Maybe they were just arguing whose robe was longer. Alas, I just settled for this picture of them. I like how the cold tone enhances the serenity of the scene.


See the growing 2007 Top 10 set here.

# posted by tim @ 8:27 PM 0 comments

Friday, December 28, 2007

 

2007: Top 10 photo countdown - #4

Perhaps the only benefit of Shanghai's abysmal air quality is that the persistent haze affords the photographer some beautiful pollution-induced sunsets such as this one. This is the view of downtown Pudong from my 25th floor apartment. As the hackneyed story goes, 15 years ago none of these skyscrapers were there. It was all farm land. At the far left, you can see the currently under construction Shanghai World Finance tower, which recently surpassed the Jin Mao tower (appropriately in its shadow) to claim "tallest building in mainland China" bragging rights. In the center is the Shanghai landmark Oriental Pearl tower. I think the best thing I can say about it is that it looks best silhouetted like this.


See the growing 2007 Top 10 set here.

# posted by tim @ 10:25 PM 0 comments

Thursday, December 27, 2007

 

2007: Top 10 photo countdown - #5

Our old neighborhood, Hong Kou, provided an abundance of photo opportunities. From bustling outdoor markets, to spry old tai chi nai nais to street food vendors like this guy, who I came to know as the "Duck King". This is (was?) the real China. Tomorrow we'll visit the new China.


See the growing 2007 Top 10 set here.

# posted by tim @ 9:44 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

 

2007: Top 10 photo countdown - #6

We heard it was possible (though technically forbidden) to stay overnight inside Jiuzhaigou park with one of the local Tibetan families who still live there. Sure enough, after a little asking around, we found our way to this old man's place where we stayed for two nights while exploring the stunning national park scenery. He turned out to be quite a character - splitting his time between habitually spinning his numerous prayer wheels, doing these chores, or hopelessly trying to take my picture.


See the growing 2007 Top 10 set here.

# posted by tim @ 8:43 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

 

Shengdanjie Kuaile! 圣诞节快乐！

Merry Christmas!

Here to wish you Shengdanjie Kuaile!

Being away from home today is not easy, espeically since we are at work! But instead of thinking about all the things we are missing out on by being in China (family, Christmas dinner, the tree, etc etc etc), I will instead note the opportunities we have instead by spending the day in Shanghai:
  1. We are working on Christmas! Seriously, when else am I going to get this chance?
  2. Toaster Oven Classics. I did the cinnamon rolls (from scratch) in the toaster this morning, pork roast is going in for dinner. And the Christmas cookies came out of there last week. I don't think I could do all this with a real oven!
  3. Everything is Open. I remember a few Thanksgivings back not being able to get a bottle of tequila anywhere. Even less is open on Christmas in the states. Here I still might not be able to get a hold of tequila, but I can go to the bank, post office, grocery store, massage place or hair salon.
  4. Team Hotpot Lunch. Mmmmm, Hot pot...
  5. Not a White Christmas, but a hazy one.
  6. Santa came by email. I woke up this morning and instead of running to the tree, opened my inbox to find Santa left us a gift! No fooling me now, mom and dad - your name was on the return address. :-)
  7. Christmas Songs in Chinese. Some of them are translated. Or if they don't have the Chinese version, playing the same one over and over is OK too. We wish you a merry christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas....
  8. Nutcracker Ballet. Didn't have to miss out on this one! We went last Sunday at the Shanghai Grand Theater.
  9. Red Lanterns make GREAT decorations.
  10. Best of all - Sharing the holiday with new friends and introducing them to the Christmas culture from home. (You knew the last one was going to be a cheesy one) :-)
Merry Christmas to all! Now back to work...

# posted by Laurel @ 1:53 PM 0 comments
 

2007: Top 10 photo countdown - #7

Lacking a proper Christmas tree here in Shanghai this year, we had to improvise. Here's Laurel putting the finishing touches on the top of our makeshift structure.


Laurel and I wish everyone a wonderfully Merry Christmas!

See the growing 2007 Top 10 set here.

# posted by tim @ 12:55 PM 0 comments

Sunday, December 23, 2007

 

2007: Top 10 photo countdown - #8

My buddy Will doing an admirable job of keeping a straight face while poking a little good natured fun at one of China's innumerable "security guards". This particular fresh faced young watchman had the national security-critical task of keeping the riffraff like us out of Jiu Zhai Gou park in Sichuan. He obviously could sense we were up to no good, but let us pass through under a watchful eye.


See the growing 2007 Top 10 set here.

# posted by tim @ 3:52 PM 0 comments
 

2007: Top 10 photo countdown - #9

I first stumbled upon Man Mo Temple in Hong Kong on my first day ever in Asia over 7 years ago. At that time, I remember being overwhelmed by how exotic and quintessentially Asian the experience was - visitors burning joss sticks, old bearded men practicing calligraphy, and of course the aromatic incense-infused air. On a return trip to Hong Kong this March, I returned to the same temple and found it exactly how I remembered.

click for full size
See the growing 2007 Top 10 set here.

# posted by tim @ 3:27 PM 0 comments
 

2007: Top 10 photo countdown - #10

In the spirit of the end of year listmania, I will recount my top 10 favorite pictures from 2007. A new one each day from today until the end of the year. Hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them!

The first shot comes from our Chinese New Year trip to Anhui, one of the poorest provinces in China, where our Ayi invited us to spend the new year with her family. There's not much to do in her home town, but we did tour the brick factory where she used to work before coming to Shanghai to clean houses. This family we met lives in the barracks next to the factory, which really don't amount to much but a pile of, well ... bricks. I love the eyebrows on the little guy!


# posted by Laurel @ 7:07 AM 0 comments

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