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.
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…
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! 🙂
I thought I knew all Mitch’s work, but this new one just surfaced!
Daily Photo – Weddings in China
I found a place in the Forbidden City that had about 20 brides there, all competing with their photography team for the best spots. It was quite a funny scene. They were extremely aggressive. A lot of Chinese people are really only looking out for themselves and want to make sure they have the best shots. It’s all kinda weird. One thing that is cool, however, is the Chinese wedding dresses. They are all completely different and most are wildly colorful like this one.
I was randomly walking around when I saw this teacher walk out of the classroom with her students. They were having a big party day. You can tell, because the teacher is wearing her party hat.
Thanks again to all of you that have subscribed to the Stuck In Customs Passport! Today I’ve got some fun behind-the-scenes from a very interesting place in China. I’ll add a few of my favorite photos below… and if you’re a Passport member, you can see the video in the expanded section.
If you’re a Passport Member then today you get to see me wandering all over Beijing to get these shots!
China Wander
Okay, this is maybe the dumbest video I’ve ever made. I don’t even know the purpose of it really! But maybe it’s so pointless and strange that it is interesting! I flipped on my 360 camera just to show random stuff in Beijing. I had a free day, so I just kind of wandered around with no goal. I was taking photos here and there… and, well, you just maybe can get a sense of what Beijing is like!
Speaking of influencer hats (you’ll see one in today’s daily photo), I thought I would include a blurb from the new book I am writing. This is related to this “Influencer Kit” that Nicole S. Young told me about!
Oh, this book is not yet available… still adding the finishing touches.
If you’ve been wondering where to get one of those “influencer hats” or any of the typical tropes, well here’s just what you need. There’s a website at Tomorrowland that offers you all the props you need to take the perfect Instagram photo. The package includes Mohave fedora hat, an Aztec blanket, a set of fairy lights, and a kerosene lamp. I haven’t tested it, but I’m pretty sure that kerosene lamp is battery powered.
There are lots of reviews for these packages. One reviewer, who is “verified” named K***n gives this package five stars and says: “I’ve been taking pictures for a while now but I just wanted to spice it up a little 🙂 So, I went ahead and bought this pack and I have to say it was one of the best purchases I’ve done towards my hobby. I love playing around with these props to get the best shots and now I can imitate some of my favorite creator’s shots too! I’m so happy. Thank you Tomorrowland!”
That’s some classic K***n right there!
Another review of this Wanderer pack shows how people have become fully immersed in the mass delusion. This one from E***e (also verified) says: “I was skeptical of the pack at first but went ahead and took the leap. I have to say, it was one of the best decisions I’ve made. I love all four pack items. Definitely a boost to my Instagram game and now people look at me differently when I go out and shoot with these props. It’s like I’ve become a professional. I love it!”
I have to say that it sounds so serious, as if, perhaps, they really had to say it, otherwise it would remain unsaid.
Daily Photo – Laura Troy in Beijing at the Water Cube
Is that an influencer hat I see? Yes! And it’s being worn by Laura Troy, mother of dragons and influencers. I don’t normally feature influencers in my photos, but I decided to do this as an abstraction. We were there on tour with the Ritz-Carlton and spending the day around the Olympic park area. This is the famous “Water Cube” where all the aquatic events were held. I spent a long time here this evening, taking photos all over the place. I started to feel bad, though, because it was getting pretty cold outside. I run pretty hot, like a werewolf, so I never feel the cold. But Laura will get cold in a Starbucks that is 80 degrees, so she was really not in a good place. I eventually tore myself away from taking photos of these radical longboarders to get her back into a warm place! 🙂
Below is one of my more popular videos clocking in at a good 1.6 million views! It’s one of my first quad videos. I see SO MANY problems with it. I’ve learned a lot since then… but, I suppose it has its moments.
Daily Photo – The Metal Underpants
I took this photo from a cool tapas restaurant where I had one of my favorite meals in Beijing. I wish I could remember the name to share it with you. I’m a terrible blogger because that’s exactly the kind of information that would be useful to you. I’m really more of a photographer than a blogger, so all my focus was on getting this photo at dusk.
This is an 18-story building (3 are underground) that only took about 30 months to finish, in typical Chinese style. It was designed by Zaha Hadid Architects in London. Ever since I first saw photos of it on the internet, I wanted to visit!
Daily Photo – Beautiful Shapes in Beijing
There’s something interesting about some of the buildings throughout China and here in Beijing, especially. They have some of the craziest and most interesting architecture in the world, and the vast majority of it comes from Western architects. The Chinese educational system has lacked an emphasis (in the past) on the creative arts, so there was a dearth of innovative architects for many generations. But some city planners decided to make statements by bringing in Western architects that were really able to experiment.
