A week ago I had no idea I was going to China. Then a company invited me out to Chengdu for a job, I extended the trip on either side, and now I'm standing on some random street with my mouth on fire from the spiciest bowl of noodles I've ever eaten, trying to figure out where I am. I've wanted to photograph China for years. It just never happened until now.
I landed a couple of hours ago, dropped my bags, ate, and went straight out with the a7R IV and the 24-70 f/2.8. Didn't plan a route. I just wanted to walk and see what the city felt like at night.
Getting handed a biscuit one minute in
I'd been shooting for about a minute when some guy at a fruit stall waved me over and handed me a random cookie. No idea what it was. I ate it anyway. 7 out of 10, honestly. He paid for his mandarins by scanning a QR code, which is how everything works here apparently. Cash is basically gone.
That's the thing I love about traveling. You step out the door and within 60 seconds someone you'll never see again is giving you food and laughing at you trying to say thank you. You can't plan that.
The city does most of the work
Chengdu at night looks like a cyberpunk film set. One light on in a tower of dark windows. Buildings stacked behind buildings. Blue hour sky sitting behind all of it. I kept stopping every 30 seconds because something else caught my eye.
A few things I played with on the walk:
- Shooting through the open door of a parked van to frame people on the street behind it.
- Reflections on wet pavement. Flicked to manual focus, pre-focused on the spot I wanted, then waited for someone to walk through. Did one at 1/4 second for motion blur, then opened up to 2.8 to freeze the next subject.
- A little gap in some trees that perfectly framed two buildings behind it. Would've walked right past it if I hadn't been looking.
At one point a guy who I think was a bit drunk came up trying to tell me something about a famous general from the Tang Dynasty. Google Translate didn't really help. He was friendly though. Street photography here feels pretty relaxed so far. Nobody's bothered by the camera.
Three failed attempts to end the shoot
I tried to wrap up the walk about three different times. Every time I said "alright I'm heading back to the hotel," I'd see another photo and the camera would come back up. That's a good sign for the rest of the week.
I'm calling it for tonight though. It's night one and I want to be up early to find a morning market and shoot some daylight street stuff before the job starts.
If you're ever in a new city and don't know where to begin, just go eat somewhere, then walk. Don't plan it. Look for reflections, gaps, frames within frames, one lit window in a dark wall. The city will hand you the photos if you actually look up from your phone. That biscuit guy might too.
Watch the full video on YouTube.