Shanghai Ginger Guy » Photos

Moganshan Lu – pictures remixed

Cankles — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 08:48:04 +0000

Moganshan Lu, on the north side of Shanghai’s CBD is a collection of 50 or so galleries from local and international artists. While living in Shanghai I visited this area a few times and was always on the list of things to do for visitors. Its popular cousin, Taikan Lu, seems to get a lot more press and interest from tourists, probably because of the western cafe’s and suitably kitsch galleries.

Anyway, while cleaning up some old hard drives I came across some old photos of this area and decided to touch some of them up.

Where:
50 Moganshan Lu, near Changhua Lu / 莫干山路50号,近苏州河

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Shanghai Photography Night

Cankles — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:26:24 +0000

It seems like any old bum with a camera adds “photography” to their list of hobbies after living in Shanghai – guys like me, I’m a guy like me. I guess it was either that or shopping.

Anywho, while I’m busy tomorrow to go to this event it looks like a great little, free, get together featuring photographers in Shanghai. Here’s the details:

“Shanghai Photographer Night”
- a monthly cocktail party featuring unique local photographers

Wednesday, Nov.18, 2009 – 1st edition

Join us for an evening at Dada bar, with a slide show showcasing 4 local and visiting photographers, as they each show us their unique and surprising views of Shanghai. The photos will be projected on the large screen, and seating will be arranged for optimal viewing. Music will be kept at a lower volume until midnight, allowing for easy conversation and focus on the visual display. Special prices on select cocktails, wine, and beer.

This month’s photographers:
Tangting – “Delicate”
Patrick Wack – “I Build Shanghai”
Francois Trezin – “Grandma’s Drawer”
Charlie Xia – “Urban Geometry”

This event is curated by Tim Franco.

Wednesday, Nov.18, 2009
8pm-late.
FREE ENTRY.

Dada Bar, 115 Xingfu Lu, between Fahuazhen / Pingwu Lu, Shanghai.
DADA 酒吧，幸福路115号，法华镇路与平武路之间

(* If you are a photographer, and would like to participate in a
future event, please contact Tim Franco, tim@shanghaisoundbites.com.)

For this first edition, we want to bring you 4 very different
photographers that you most likely have seen around Shanghai. No
theme, no relation, just very different styles and backgrounds for
this show:

Our first guest is Charlie Xia, famous on the web for his nightlife
photography, Charlie Xia is a meticulous photographer who spends his
evening hunting the perfect urban shoots. Playing with lights, lines
and curves he is looking for impossible angles and gives us a unique
view of Shanghai urbanscapes. In this series called “urban geometry”,
Charlie is mainly taking the elevated expressway as a subject and
transforms them into urban art pieces.

Our second guest is Patrick Wack. A French photographer based in
Shanghai for 3 years, Patrick has been focusing his personal work on
portraiture, his series such as “Streetaholic” (on SmartShanghai.com)
are displaying a consistent and efficient portraiture of fashion flows
around Shanghai and other cities. In this series called “I Build
Shanghai,” Patrick is exploring the construction site of the World
Expo 2010 and gives us a unique insight into the people behind the
scenes.

Our third guest is Francois Trezin. You might have seen his name in
big fashion magazines around Shanghai through his still photography,
but before being a photographer, Francois is an artist. He uses
photography as a technical process to show us stories and ideas. In
this series called “Grandma’s Drawer” he has been meticulously looking
through his grandparents drawer for anything he could find, and then,
voluntary replace them in the drawer in a particular order. In this
organized mess, Francois is trying to create a story, looking into the
past through random objects.

Our final and main guest is Tang Ting. Tang Ting is well known for his
youth culture photography. Regularly shown in urban magazines, Tang
Ting is not only documenting the youth culture, but he is a part of
it. Traveling through the different scenes and different cities of
China, Tang Ting is mainly using basic 35mm films found at the
cheapest price and captures everything that catches his attention. In
this intimate series called “Delicate,” Tang Ting his just putting
together a series of photos around one word, one feeling, and leaving
the story to his viewers.

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Shanghai Metro gets sharks, no frickin’ laser beams

Cankles — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:46:34 +0000

There’s many restrictions when you get inside the metro system in Shanghai – no explosives, hand guns, fireworks, and you’re not even allowed to smoke. In fact, you’re not even supposed to spit.

But sharks? Well they are more than welcome:

It just goes to show that you don’t need to put too much gel in your hair and hang out at pretentious bars near the Bund to see Sharks in Shanghai.

What: Sharks
Where: Jing’an Temple Metro (Underneath Haushan Lu)
How much: Free

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Photos: iTool Shanghai

Cankles — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:24:28 +0000

It’s true, I gave in and finally got a phone from the company of Jobs. Other than the 24-7 access to e-mail and procrastination there’s also a bevvy of good photo processing apps which I’ve had fun messing with.

In no particular order here is a scrapbook of recent photos.

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Photos: Bikes in Shanghai

Cankles — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 08:18:58 +0000

Bikes in Shanghai – the work horses of local industry, the transport of choice for many, and family cars for some. The engenuity of the bikes and the characters that ride them around Shanghai – and China for that matter – is worth a stop and gawk.

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Photos: Trip to Wuxi

Cankles — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:30:24 +0000

Last week we went on a short jaunt to Wuxi, an industrial town with a population of a lazy 4 million people and situated just an hour north-west from Shanghai. Known for it’s peaches, gardens, enormous Buddhas, and 3 kinds of white dishes the trip didn’t disappoint.

When I get time I’d like to write up a reasonable guide to getting to and from Wuxi from Shanghai and a short list of things to do. I can safely say that the latest edition of Lonely Planet is already out of date and the descriptions were way too cynical and short to give the city the justice it deserved.

In the meantime here are some pictures:

Click on the Image to see the full album on Flickr.

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Shanzhai iPod Nano vs real Nano

Cankles — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:17:52 +0000

In Shanghai it’s not uncommon to find shanzhai MP3 players at the various fake and tech markets, but, have you ever wondered if they actually work? I recently did a review of a 4th generation Shanzhai iPod Nano and compared it to the real thing for Australia’s biggest technology site, CNET.com.au.

Today the photo gallery comparison of taking a Shanzhai iPod apart next to a real Apple iPod was published and you can find it here. Later this week I hear the site will publish my full review of the Shanzhai Apple good. I won’t spoil the surprise so you’ll just need to check back when it’s live.

Update: Okay the review is now live and you can read it here.

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Bloggers beware: dogs attack

Cankles — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:53:32 +0000

Material for a blog in Shanghai is a pretty easy task, simply walk down the street and you’re bound to walk into some sort of funny business – whether you were searching for it or not.

And so it was a joyous occasion last week when I came across a small-ish pooch wearing a pink dress. The hilarity I was keeping inside was more than enough to fill this blog for another entry. Being a guy who appreciates privacy I asked the canine’s owners if I could take a few snaps, of which they obliged, and we made small talk about the dog’s name which was ‘small something’ – I didn’t get the second part of the name in Chinese.

Anywho, as I bent down and took out my camera to take a few pictures the pup snapped. The angry bark took me by surprise but I reacted calmly – dogs are bound to get pissed at strangers, right? I took a step back to give the dog some room but that wasn’t enough, he(or she) went for my shoes and started having a good angry gnaw.

The owner started yelling in Chinese at the dog and tried to brush it off while I tried to keep my composure – but the dog wasn’t calming down. It was at about this time I remembered reading a recent article about rabies in China – it’s not uncommon for infections to happen here. Okay, maybe not here in Shanghai, but I wasn’t really thinking of the details at this point.

I half thought of kicking the dog but that would definitely mean being barred from doggy heaven. So what I did was give my leg a shake and run for the hills. Yes, my cankles ran away as fast as they could from a dog in a skirt. A pink skirt. A pink skirt with frills.

To the dog owner’s credit he did try and call me back to say it was okay – but I wasn’t having a bar of it. Luckily the canine gave up after about 40 metres – my peak distance. Any further and I would have been done for.

I did happen to take a rather bad snap of the culprit though. Bloggers, beware:

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Miniature Shanghai – Tilt Shift Time Lapse

Cankles — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:19:52 +0000

Sometimes when people with amazing talent are jobless they can muster some seriously interesting work. Take this time lapse of Shanghai from multiple angles by a guy named Joe Nafis. Pretty cool stuff:

Amazing stuff. You can follow Joe via his Vimeo Page. Go on, give him a job so he can do more of these.

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National Day photo exhibition

Cankles — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:18:50 +0000

To mark 60 years of the People’s Republic of China the Shanghai Exhibition Center is showing off some of the nation’s triumphs in photo form.

We accidentally came across the show while taking a shortcut though the exhibition centre grounds – many locals were lining up to get in which is usually a tell-tale sign of something good is going on. We’re not sure if were were supposed to pay but it looks like the event is actually free (Read: nobody askef for us for money).

Once inside the exhibition starts at the beginning of the People’s Republic of China back in 1949 and follows the history of the current nation in many fantastic photos.

If you’re walking past the area it’s worth popping in just to see the photos. All of the descriptions for the photos are in Chinese so if you cannot speak or read the language then it might be worth grabbing a friend who can help. Here are just a few of the pictures from the event:

Shanghai 1990 – 2009

I can’t imagine another city has seen such crazy growth as this. Perhaps Dubai.

Deng Xiaoping with Margaret Thatcher

The Potala Palace

Interesting shot of the Potala Palace.

Technology

Armed Forces

My guess is that this photo was in the 1950s, possibly around the same time as the Korean War.

Mao and Nixon

The famous meeting that helped shape the world as we know it today.

Minorities

There are more than 55 different ethnic minority groups in China. Unfortunately, I couldn’t read the sign or tell by the picture which group this is.

I love China

At the end of the show you can write your own message to China. This was one of them.

What: Shanghai photo exhibition celebrating 60 years of the PRC
Where: Shanghai Exhibition Centre (Across the road from the Portman’s Ritz Carlton on Nanjing Lu – The Russian-looking building.
How much: Free (I think)

View Larger Map

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