I haven’t posted anything for a while and this is the reason why…I’ve been out giving my camera some exercise 🙂
Here’s a collection of images taken in Thailand’s vibrant and decadent capital.
©Square Lamb 2016. All rights reserved
Streets of Bangkok
Tag: street
Street Food: A Taste of Xi’an
Asia is synonymous with street food and Xi’an is no exception. In fact, this city in the north east of China is somewhat famous for its food vendors whose stalls and carts can be found on almost every street corner and spare patch of pavement.
Each province in China boasts its own local flavour; Xi’an’s is typically spicy and features meat skewers, noodles, peppers and pomegranate – the latter of which was introduced to the city via the Silk Road.
One of the best places to sample the food is Beiyuanmen “snack street”, located in the Muslim quarter and seemingly dedicated to street food.
The taste is not the only thing you can enjoy here, though; equally as enjoyable is watching the chefs prepare the food, from traditional wok cooking to the highly entertaining process of making hard candy.
©Copyright Square Lamb 2016. All rights reserved.
Street Photography: Moments of Now
I do a lot of street photography so I’m constantly looking for “now” moments to record. (In fact I’m probably guilty of being too caught up in the moment and not planning ahead…I only decided to move to China 6 weeks before I boarded the plane). For me, photography is all about capturing fleeting moments in time, expressions on faces, moods, emotions and interactions. So here are 5 “now” photos taken in the last 24 hours in Xi’an, north east China.
See more street photography from China here.
Inspired by The Daily Post’s Now challenge. ©copyright Square Lamb 2015. All rights reserved
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One Billion People
On the day I arrived in China the Communist Party announced that Chinese couples were to be permitted to have two children, abandoning its decades-old one-child policy in the face of an ageing workforce and concerns about possible economic repercussions in the future. The population of China currently stands at around 1.3 billion people. Here are a few of them.
©copyright Square Lamb 2015. All rights reserved
This is 2015
Taking photos is, as you might have realised, a pastime that I absolutely adore and I estimate that I’ve taken around 8,000 – 10,000 shots this year. A great many were deleted from the camera before ever reaching the computer, more were dumped in a file entitled “originals” (which I should probably rechristen “graveyard”) never to be viewed again…but every so often the shutter will click on an image which you’re thrilled to have taken, not only as an image that you’re happy with as a photographer, but also as a memory of a moment to be cherished forever. These are few of my favourites from 2015; I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them.
It seems a very long time since I took this picture of some beautiful graffiti in January – one of the first of the year. (Granada, Spain).
2015 was the year when I really started experimenting with street photography and candid shots; this was one of the first, taken on a freezing morning at a local flea market in Seville, Spain.
Another one from Seville and a flamenco dancer performing outside the city hall. I took about 100 shots of her; most were rubbish.
Barcelona, Spain. I have to be honest, Barcelona doesn’t really inspire me. However I couldn’t resist getting a snap of this old guy writing graffiti on the wall of church in the Gothic quarter.
Also in Barcelona…technically not the best, the focus is a little off, but I couldn’t be happier with the composition, snapped at just the right moment.
Everyone seemed to like this one. I made it the header for this blog. (Seville, Spain)
Metros and subway stations are among the most photogenic places in the world, in my opinion. I just wish I was brave enough to get the camera out in the actual carriage….(Madrid, Spain)
In June I went to Finland to work for a couple of months…one of the things I loved most was the little green trams in Helsinki…
…the main railway station was quite nice too…
…and the 24-hour daylight was a definite eye-opener. This picture was taken just after midnight.
I came across this man standing in an underpass, just standing there, I’ve got no idea what he was doing. I don’t think he even noticed me taking his picture. (Riga, Latvia)
The photo club of which I’m a member set a challenge to photograph “old buildings and ruins”. I found this place next to the beach in Almeria, southern Spain. Apparently a celebrity used to live there, but I can’t remember who.
It was worth getting up at the crack of dawn and heading to the beach before work for this shot…it was supposed to be a silhouette of some sun loungers, the girl was an unexpected bonus. I think she’d been partying all night (Valencia, Spain)
Another one from Valencia, also involving a good party…
Cuenca, Spain….taken not long ago whilst accompanying a group of students on a guided tour of the town – at exactly the right time of day!
And finally, a few current ones from Xi’an, China. It’s fair to say I’m very excited about the photo opportunities in this part of the world, so watch this space in 2016!
Thank you for following!
©copyright Square Lamb 2015. All rights reserved
Xi’an, China
Bell Tower
Drum Tower
Army of Terracotta Warriors
Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
Food stalls in Beiyuanmen “Snack Street”
Last month I bade a temporary farewell to my adopted home of Spain and travelled across two continents to spend some time working in this place – Xi’an, located in Shaanxi province, slightly north west of the centre if you look at a map of China.
Xi’an (pronounced she-ann) is one of the more historic cities in modern China and was, in the dim and distant past, actually the nation’s imperial capital for a while (the duration of several dynasties, to be precise). These days it’s famous for marking the end of the Silk Road – the old trading route between Asia, the Middle East and Europe – and, of course, for being the home of the Terracotta Warriors.
I could copy and paste loads of facts and figures from Wikipedia, but instead I’ll just share what I’ve seen and learnt about the city so far in my own words.
Modern Xi’an is a fairly sizeable city with districts and developments spreading outwards all the time, but in the old days it was surrounded by a fortified wall which remains standing to this day. It’s the most intact old city wall in China, apparently, and visitors can walk or cycle along the top of it (for a Y54 fee).
In the centre of the old city is the huge Bell Tower, and next to it the Drum Tower, used in days gone by to tell the time and to regulate the lives of Xi’an’s citizens (a bell in the morning, a drum in the evening). These days the local population prefer to tell the time by using their mobile phones, but the bell is still there and at certain times the drum can be heard, too.
Of course, the main attraction for tourists visiting Xi’an is the world famous Terracotta Warriors, discovered by peasants digging a hole in 1974 but dating from the 3rd century BC when they were carved and erected to guard the first emperor Qin Shi Huang in death. Around 2000 soldiers have been excavated so far, but’s it’s estimated there are up to 6000 more still buried. And the most remarkable thing about them? Each one has a different face.
Back in the city itself and the other big tourist attraction, the gorgeously-named Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, a 7-story structure built in 652 to house Buddhist scriptures brought to Xi’an from India. (Yes, there is also a Small Wild Goose Pagoda but it’s not as impressive).
Each province in China has it’s own culinary speciality; in Xi’an expect plenty of hot spice! There is street food to be found everywhere, Xi’an is famous for its roadside street vendors.
Head deep into the centre of the old city, behind the Drum Tower, and you’ll find the Muslim Quarter. Due mainly to the Silk Road, Xi’an has the largest Muslim community in China, complete with a Great Mosque and a maze of streets selling Muslim snacks and trinkets. The most well-known of these is Beiyuanmen Snack Street, more reminiscent of Morocco or Egypt than China.
It’s not just about the food though…every Thursday and Sunday morning a small part of the Muslim Quarter plays host to a bird market, beloved of locals but off the tourist trail. People in Xi’an are very fond of birds; walk along many streets in the city and you’ll hear twittering coming from the occupants of home-made birdcages purchased at the market. They’re not all kept as pets though, apparently some people buy birds specifically to set them free, as a gesture to Buddha.
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©copyright Square Lamb 2015. All rights reserved
Streets of Marrakech
Morocco is undoubtedly the most photogenic country I’ve visited – however, photographing the people presents a bit of a challenge! The usual response to a camera lens pointed in their direction is an arm raised to cover the face or, in the case of street vendors or local chancers, a demand for cash. Nevertheless, here are a few scenes of everyday life that I’ve managed to capture on my visits to this amazing and delightfully shabby land.
Streets of Riga
First and foremost, I probably owe Riga a huge apology for photographing it in the way that I did. All the research I did about the Latvian capital, prior to visiting, told me about a city which had fought hard to shake off the memories of its Soviet past and reinvent itself as the lively, vibrant jewel in the Baltic crown, and the vast majority of the photos I saw on the conventional travel websites showed me the pretty colourful buildings and cobbled streets of the old town. All of which certainly holds true.
I therefore wasn’t prepared for the impression that Riga made on me when I arrived for the first time. Away from the old town and the tourist hotspots the streets told me a different story – of a grand city fallen foul of the Soviet occupation, much of which is still evident in the crumbling blocks, derelict buildings and the imposing communism-era tower which casts a grim shadow across the skyline on the east side of the river. It got under my skin in a way that I hadn’t expected and couldn’t avoid, so I set out to try to capture the feeling in the photos. Hopefully you will find them interesting….but please don’t base your impressions of Riga solely on these photos!
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©copyright Square Lamb 2015. All rights reserved
Symbol of London
I left England six years ago and haven’t set foot on British soil for the last four years, and it’s fair to say that I don’t have any intention of returning. There are a few things that I miss about London though: the music scene, the eclectic mix of people and fashions – and this, the ultimate symbol of the city, Big Ben. Even when I used to see it every day, it never failed to inspire me and I’ll never forget the iconic sound of its bells striking the hour. I can also remember the smell of the chestnuts roasting on the bridge in the winter – perfect!
Inspired by The Daily Post’s Symbol challenge.
View Finder: Barcelona
Barcelona
Spain’s second city, but arguably its first in terms of culture, architecture, art and night life. Situated on the shores of the Mediterranean in Catalunia, Barcelona attracts around 7 million visitors every year who come to marvel at the colourful modernism of Antoni Gaudi’s buildings, to enjoy a glass of vino in one of the many plazas in the Gothic quarter, or simply to relax on the beach.
In recent months, Barcelona has voiced concerns about the increasing numbers of tourists; large groups are now banned from entering the old Mercado de la Boqueria near the Ramblas, and visitors must now pay 8€ to enter Parc Güell. A city this vibrant, however, is always going to be a popular choice of destination.
©copyright Square Lamb 2015. All rights reserved
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