Looking Up

Looking up in Los Angeles... these are some things you might see.

Shining Down

I liked the effect that the sun was having on this building... as you go higher up, it becomes brighter and brighter (until you get to the sky). 

The Urban Landscape

Looking up in downtown Los Angeles. I thought the shiny metal cylinders in the foreground were interesting. 

Light and Shadows

I enjoy walking around cities late in the afternoon or early in the morning. When the sun is at low angles, it creates unique lighting opportunities. You can play around with the shadows or reflections in the building's window (in this case, I did both). 

Escape Pods

I'm not sure why, but looking closely at this photo makes me a bit dizzy.
What you're looking at is the side of a hotel building in downtown Los Angeles. The windows remind me of mini-escape pods. I guess this is where you would want to be if the world was coming to an end. 

LA Sky

Looking up at the US Bank building with a crisp sky in the background. I will always remember this building as being one of the first to get blown up in the "Independence Day" movie (am I showing my age by remembering that?).

Los Angeles - "The City of Angels"

A few weekends ago, I met friends for some pre - New Year's Eve festivities in the City of Angels (Los Angeles). I went to school in LA, but never ventured too far east of the 405... tended to stay in the beach towns. Therefore, I'm not familiar with the downtown area (was warned to stay away).

However, on this specific weekend, we decided to see a show in downtown LA and stay overnight. Los Angeles is actually a pretty cool city (just be careful not too wander too close to skid row at night). There is good food, fun bars, nice museums, and the architecture in the city is very unique... it's a mixture of old, modern, and has some art deco thrown in.

The morning after the show I walked around the city in search of a Starbucks that didn't exist (wouldn't you think it would be easy to find a Starbucks in LA?!?)... and decided to take some photos along the way. I wish I had a bit more time to wander around this day. The sun was just starting to come up and was creating some cool shadows on the buildings. I will have to go back again soon. 

Guangzhou... the Los Angeles of China

Over the last ten years, I've gone on many trips to Guangzhou. At first, I didn't much care for the city... there's bad air pollution, it's over crowded, I heard stories of people getting robbed, not many people speak English, it can be difficult to navigate (cab drivers like to drive foreigners in circles so the fare is higher), and the "western restaurants" are not so good (had the pleasure of getting food poisoning from one). It can be an intimidating place to be. However, once you accept all of that and make a few local friends, it can actually be rather pleasant. You will appreciate the city even more if you like Chinese Food... which is amazing there.

People back in the US often ask me to describe what the city is like. At first I struggled to give a proper explanation... but I've come to the conclusion that Guangzhou is China's version of Los Angeles (without the hamburgers and movie stars). There is a sprawl of freeways, giant shopping malls, smog, traffic jams, diverse ethnic population, relatively high crime rate, lots of entertainment options, international trading hub, world class galleries, extreme wealth, extreme poverty, many different types of neighborhoods/districts, massive sky scrapers, exhibition places, city parks, etc... Guangzhou is also one of the most liberal and cosmopolitan cities in China. Yes, you will still see people spitting on the ground... but you can also enjoy a nice glass of wine or cocktail at a gourmet restaurant overlooking the Pearl River.

These are a few photos I took when walking around the city one night. If you ever spend some time in Guangzhou, I would encourage you to get out of the hotel room and explore it (it's a lot safer than many large western cities).

Bamboo Structures

Walking around the city of Hong Kong, it's always to look at construction projects (specifically on buildings)... as you will see lots of bamboo being used. Bamboo has long been used as an assembly material in china, particularly hong kong, because of its versatility. One of the most interesting applications of the wood is its structural function for scaffolding. It is also extremely eco-friendly and cost-effective resource, it continues to be used for this purpose because it is durable enough to support the weight of builders, their equipment and materials, but is lightweight itself. Unlike typical metal scaffolding, bamboo can also be cut and tailor-made to suit any contour of construction - it can be configured into a variety of shapes and follow irregular architectural features of a building, and takes very little time to build-up. It is light and easily transportable to other sites and no machinery is required to assemble the scaffold and put it in place. When one job draws to a close, bamboo can easily be recycled and used for another project.

These are a few photos I took of the bamboo scaffolds.

'X' Marks the Spot

"Rooftopping" in Chicago. A nice view from C-View Bar at the top of Affinia Hotel... looking down at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Superior. This was basically the heart of the Black Friday madness in downtown Chicago.

Falling Back to Boston

Had a lovely trip to Northern California... but now it's time to be back in New England and enjoy the fall season. Leaves in the process of changing along the Charles River Esplanade.

A Simple Tree Along the River

I took this shot right as the sun was about to go down... did a relatively long exposure. There was a big light shining up at the tree which gave it an illuminated effect. This allowed you to see some of the details on the branches even though the sun was below the horizon. I really liked the combination of colors that were created.