Shunde

These photos were taken in May in Shunde, China.

I quite like the aesthetic of this wall. It might be the combination of the four textures, or just the odd juxtaposition of the rather aggressive (and some blood-strained) intruder preventative glass shards, against the tranquility of symbols of ancestral worship, water and earth elements. Also, the light. I like the light.

This photo could have been better. I have a feeling the girl foreground and the car being cut off at the edge of frame is some kind of crime against composition, but I like the way the two bicycles frame the temple (or cemetery) entrance.

It's also quite an interesting scene to me because of the mish-mash of dissimilar details throughout. There's a (relatively) modern utilitarian looking building to the left, opposite a (relatively) modern and slightly more decorative (pink!) building to the right with the tiled facade and arches on the roof. Both are backing onto a lush hill with an old entrance to a site associated with tradition on one side, and what could be a cluster of old homes kind of stacking up the incline. A modern delivery truck beside, or opposite, the delivery bicycle could have been amusing, but would have hidden the other details.

The little lane-way scattered with advertising is in a residential area. The colours and commercial clutter fascinate me in its context, but I can't explain why I like it. There are lines leading you to no-where of interest, it's just a juxtaposition of quirky elements again.

It feels like these three might work in a set with something else, the wall perhaps may work on its own.

These two aren't keepers. The smog blows out the sky and taller/farther buildings, but I know what I was attempting to do. It's definitely a situation where I was too stingy with the shutter and should definitely have taken more shots from different positions. Though that may have been difficult as I might have had to enter private property, or swampy ground, to get a decent angle. I don't know if this scene could have resulted in a good shot.

The lake is actually meant to be a local fishing source for the residential area. Or at least it used to be. It's the contrasting aesthetic of worn houses on the 'waterfront' with high-rise condos and apartment buildings in the background that interests me, as well as the decay of the old shack with the floating platform out the side. I may have been better off trying to focus on the shack and the platform, which, now that I think about it, look far more interesting now than they did before. I don't think I even noticed the platform at the time. I do like the criss-cross of wires that vanish into the smog in the distance though.