The Temple of Heaven is one of the most famous pilgrimage destinations for Chinese people who come to Beijing to visit structures upon the central axis. It was originally built in the 1400’s. I was invited by the Chinese government to come take special photos of their most important structures, so I was lucky enough to have the military let me into these places early while no one else was around. On this same trip, I was also arrested by the military for flying my drone over the “Forbidden City,” but that is a longer story that ended up with a hilarious ending. Obviously, I made it out of Chinese prison… one of my greatest accomplishments.
From the Worship collection on Foundation.

The Temple of Heaven, China

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• Date Taken2010-09-28 17:23:53
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/8
• Aperture6.7
• ISO100
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+2

This is most of what the Great Wall of China looks like as nature reclaims itself. I took this with a drone while we slept in one of the old guard towers.

Nature and the Wall

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• Date Taken2018-06-06 13:26:40
• CameraFC220
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/500
• Aperture2.2
• ISO100
• Focal Length4.7 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias-1.34

Here’s a pretty good perspective of the Great Wall in one of the more mountainous sections. How they built this, I have no idea. They say that there are tons of dead Chinese workers that are actually buried in the wall as they died from the harsh conditions. Somehow, knowing how China works (especially in the olden days), I would not be surprised by this at all.

The Great Wall into Infinity

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• Date Taken2018-06-06 17:08:24
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/800
• Aperture11
• ISO250
• Focal Length53.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias-2

One thing is for sure about Asian megacities: They really know how to make some cool-looking shopping areas. The lights always call for some sweet sweet night photography. Also, I am pretty much usually the only one out there taking photos. People must be wondering what the hell I am doing. They would come up and ask, but they are too polite. Also, they don’t speak the same language.

The UNIQLO Store

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• Date Taken2018-06-11 01:59:47
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/5
• Aperture3.2
• ISO320
• Focal Length16.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

I don’t know if that is the official name of this building in Beijing, but that’s what everyone calls it. The building is actually incredibly cool and there are no bad photos of it. I’ve never been inside, but I reckon it’s pretty amazing as well. It’s too bad this place is so far from the old city, so you’re basically stuck in a car in traffic for at least an hour each way just to visit it.

Detail of the Bird’s Nest

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• Date Taken2018-06-11 00:07:05
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time0.4
• Aperture5.6
• ISO250
• Focal Length20.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

When I got to Beijing a day early, I decided just to get lost and walk around randomly. It’s incredibly safe there, so there was no danger except for a few crazy drivers and wild people on bicycles. It’s one of my favorite places to take street photos, so that’s what I got up to most of the time. Here’s one of the first ones I found… it was a great idea to get lost, but then I actually DID get lost and I could not find my back to the hotel… that made for quite a bit of confusion.

Random Walk Around Beijing

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• Date Taken2018-06-05 21:20:10
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/400
• Aperture4
• ISO400
• Focal Length24.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

When I went on the “around the world” trip with my family a few years ago, our first stop was in Beijing. Besides the Great Wall, we also visited the Summer Palace. It’s a sprawling layout that is serene and beautiful, as opposed to the rest of a rather dreary Beijing. A lot of old people come here to walk around and get their exercise. This gal was not really doing a lot of that…

Old Woman at the Summer Palace

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• Date Taken2020-07-08 14:04:13
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When I took the family to see the Summer Palace, we saw all sorts of characters. But this was my first time ever see some dude wearing a cowboy hat and a poncho. I don’t even know where you could buy these things in the city. I wish I spoke Mandarin to find out where he got this getup! 🙂

Happy Cowboy in Beijing

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• Date Taken2020-07-08 14:05:37
• Camera
• Camera Make
• Exposure Time
• Aperture
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• Exposure Program
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