smog

shot_of_the_day_25dec16

For the last couple of weeks before Christmas, I was in China on business. I spent my time in Shanghai and Qingdao. Unfortunately, in Qingdao, I did not have the chance to take any shots. However, I was fortunate enough whilst staying in Shanghai to have a day when the smog was not too heavy and the sun was out, albeit briefly.

After taking lots of shot of the river and Pudong, from the boulevard on The Bund, I spotted a raised platform and included the foreground Christmas bustle. To make the image more interesting, I used a combination of filters including a Polariser, Big Stopper and 0.9ND. I was fortunate that the lady in the yellow jacket hardly moved whilst I took this long exposure, which really anchors the shot for me.

At the end of 2014, I travelled up to Hong Kong from Singapore, where the weather was mercifully cooler than the incessant heat of the tropics. That said, I have never found 15 degrees Celsius so cold.

One morning, I took a gander along the path that runs circumnavigates the Peak, taking in views of Aberdeen Bay on one side with Hong Kong downtown and Kowloon Bay beyond on the other. This shot was taken on Boxing Day. The smog filtered the early rays of sunshine, dirtying the blue sky with hues of brown and grey.

What struck me most was more based about my Western sensitivities. Hong Kong had hardly missed a beat even though we were in the middle of the Christmas holidays. Then again, I do not believe that Hong Kong ever truly sleeps.