Shanghai is a massive, beautiful city that is jam packed
with incredible photo opportunities.
One
of my favorite ways to spend a sunny weekend is to grab my camera, explore, and
shoot.
Knowing this, Chris gave us a
Photo Walks:
Stroll & See Photo Tour from Shanghai-Flaneur for Valentine’s Day.
Our tour began in a small coffee shop near the Hongkou
Football stadium. The first half hour of
the tour was a lecture on how to use different camera settings. Our instructor, Yolanda, was quite
knowledgeable about how to shoot with different settings. Her talk was a great refresher of the
course I took last semester.
 |
| Yolanda did a great job teaching us about camera settings. |
After our mini lecture, it was time to take off and
shoot. Our first destination was a park
next to the stadium. We had a great time
snapping the hustle and bustle of Saturday at the park!
 |
| Our tour started with shots of the bird cages in the park. |
 |
| Many days, folks bring their song birds outside, and hang their cages on wires in parks. The tweeting birds bring great joy to my walks. |
 |
| We then walked to find a chorus of citizens singing the anthems of their people. |
 |
| The singers were accompanied by accordions, violins, and many other instruments. |
 |
| The entire spectacle bordered on being magical. These sing alongs happen quite frequently. I highly recommend checking one out on a weekend morning. |
 |
| I then took a moment to capture the beauty of some nearby pink blossoms. |
 |
| Folks were dancing all over the park. Some people were ballroom dancing. |
 |
| Other folks took the line dancing route. |
 |
| One day, I will learn their dances and join in the fun. |
After the park, we headed for the streets of Hongkou to
capture a bit of everyday life.
 |
| A tiny fruit market was one of our first stops. |
 |
| These stands can be found in many Shanghainese alleys. |
 |
| Many residents stepped out of their homes to watch foreigners take pictures. |
 |
| We then walked by some small restaurants. Customers picked out ingredients to add to this large soup pot. This soup is a classic winter street food. |
 |
| We then took a break from shooting to have an impromptu lesson on fun with white balance. |
 |
| We then ducked into a residential alley to shoot the daily happenings. |
 |
| These two cuties were doing their homework outside. |
 |
| I made sure to keep my eyes open when walking down the alleys. People had a tendency to whiz by on their scooters. |
 |
| It was such a privilege to capture everyday life. |
If you are looking to see and shoot everyday Shanghai, I
highly recommend this tour. The company provides tours in English, German, and Mandarin. I am looking forward to taking a couple more tours with them! For information about Flaneur, visit their
website:
P.S. I was not compensated by the company for this post. The tours are that good. Happy snapping!
