kendavies

This improvised building has the characters "fandian" (hotel), which

are usually seen at the end of the designation of the many five star

hotels in Beijing. As it is on a building site, it is no doubt used

as a place of rest for the building workers, who are doubtless part

of the hundreds of millions of migrants from the countryside who do

not enjoy the status of urban residents. The characters are probably

ironic, but may also have been meant seriously. The size and quality

of this accommodation points up the contrast between the increasingly

affluent lifestyle of city dwellers in China and the armies of the

less affluent people who are erecting tremendous quantities of

gigantic buildings in Chinese cities.

These colourful parasols are waiting to be hired together with

similarly not-quite-Japanese clothes as photo props in a park in

Beijing where a couple of million people are celebrating cherry

blossom time as an expression of friendship with Japan (a welcome

change) and/or for weekend fun. They are too large and heavy to be

Japanese and more resemble the traditional heavy lacquered umbrellas

that used to be used in China up to the 1960s. I liked the colour

contrasts and the textures. The stray trainer at the top gives an

indication of scale.

This photo was taken on the fly. The positioning of the building

workers was not staged. They were too busy working to notice that

someone was taking this picture. For once, I let the camera decide on

ISO, exposure, focusing, as it was a bright day and a largely grey

subject.

This is the upper facade of the West End theatre where Les

Misérables has been playing for some years.

Downward view from the London Eye, showing the mounting structure

with Lilliputian strollers.

Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament silhouetted against the

changeable London sky, viewed from across the River Thames.

Spring in St Petersburg. The snow is melting, leaving the cars and

the buildings smudged and grey. But the cheerfulness of the pastel-

shaded architecture shines through...

Dolphin decoration on a lamp post on the North Embankment of the

River Thames opposite the London Eye; strollers on the Embankment.

View along the Seine with the Left Bank on the right. Notre Dame

cathedral obscured by mist, river bus about to go under the bridge.

Most people were on skis that day (or in trains getting to the

slopes), so not much business.

Swiss swan politely pausing for portrait, despite sub-zero

temperature. A very well-behaved subject.

This photo was taken with a Canon PowerShot A70 set to automatic

with the flash off. The display lighting on this object was

excellent, allowing a handheld shot at a reasonable speed with good

depth of field. The artistry is that of an unknown Inca craftsperson

many centuries ago.