In March/April of 2018 I traveled to three cities in China: Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing. I took the trip because I won a contest on Instagram, organized by Passion Passport and sponsored by Cathay Pacific.
I don’t speak any of the Chinese languages, so I was heavily dependent upon help from friends I’d made through Instagram, several helpful iPhone apps, and lots of smiling on my part as I tried to express myself. In general, the people I encountered in those cities were so friendly and helpful; it was incredible how many people went out of their way to give me assistance.
During the trip, I wrote a daily diary and posted photos of what I’d done the day before, so that family and friends back home could follow along. You can read those posts here.
It was a gift to be able to go on a trip for two weeks and focus solely on photography. My goal was to make one good image each day. Some days I didn’t achieve that, but on other days I made several images that I am proud of. In addition to the types of photos I normally make, I was also able to experiment and do some street photography for the first time in my life, which gave me an even deeper respect for people who make it look so easy.
