Le Printemps Arrive!

The current ugly smog Shanghai is experiencing right now might have fooled us into thinking the past two days of brilliant weather was a dream.

It wasn’t.

I hope you enjoyed this weekend to the fullest, a sign of more cheery spring activity to come.

I had a wonderful and inquisitive audience for my talk on documenting street stories at the Suzhou Bookworm which hosted the Suzhou Literary Festival. Thank you all for attending! Then, celebrated it with friends drinking beer in the Bookworm’s courtyard and even maanged to chat with the wonderful author of the Inspector Chen series, Dr Qiu Xiaolong! Another highlight was a quiet stroll through the lanes behind Suzhou’s Shiquan Road (十全街) which I recommend to all.

On Sunday, I started my morning at Glamour Bar by the Bund, facing an audience of 200 people and introduced our book “Still More Shanghai Walks” with my co-authors for the Shanghai Literary Festival. It was daunting but I made it through in one piece thanks to familiar faces in the audience.  It remains a huge honor to be on the stage with established historians of our fair city. Thanks again to my dear friends for being there!

My heart felt full with the brilliance of sunshine and the shedding of the cumbersome overcoat. I wanted nothing more than to simply share the joy of sun and breeze with all around me.

And so, I present to you, archived photos of a stroll through the Shanghai Botanical Garden from two springs ago. At a whim, I attempted to be alternative and tried experimenting with an old 80s’-built Chinese Seagull rangefinder and expired film. Little did I know the accuracy of the rangefinder was way off, evident in its results.

But who cares? Nature’s beauty can be interpreted in all forms. Someone asked me over the weekend, how important equipment was in photography. I said it was important enough, depending on your purpose. But never let equipment enslave you. Revel in its limitations, and never lose sight of the joy of shooting.

Here’s to spring!

P.S The book giveaway is still on till Wed!