Muse: Shanghai Skyline

When we first arrived, a fellow teacher looked out the windows in our building facing the Lujiazui area, and admired the Shanghai skyline. With a sigh they said “One day I won’t get to see this everyday.” That really stuck with me. I made a point to daily look out the windows, outside our door, near the elevators. I saw the skyline change and grow over 5 years. At night it sparkled in colour and in day it sometimes reflected the light. I saw it with blue sky, at sunset with beautiful hues and become invisible in rain, smog and pollution. Now we are down to days and soon it will only be a memory. WordPress asked to show our muse and over the last 5 years mine has been the Shanghai skyline. I must have hundreds of pictures of it, mostly from the same vantage point. A bitter-sweet ending to our time in Shanghai; what a fitting theme. Enjoy the slide show, of 16 photos, with some of my favourite photos of my muse. A tribute to a city I have called home for the last 5 years.

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What will my new muse be? Stay tuned….

Exchange of Scenery

I am leaving the Shanghai skyline behind for a few days in exchange for a new one; a change of scenery. I’ll post soon on the new vistas and views.

 

Stay tuned….

A view of the glittering night sky from outside my apartment.

 

 

 

 

Blur -WP Photo Challenge

Blur… sometimes life moves so fast it is all a blur. If you try to capture it on film you lose focus. Last week we showed ephemeral (here and here); mine was lucky shots of a quick passing moment in focus. This week we are asked to show something in a blur. It could be purposely out of focus or accidentally out of focus with cool results. Usually I deleted such photos, but surprisingly I had a few tucked away.

Of course I had to show Willow. Many photos of her in a blur because she is always moving.

Willow in a blur

 

The next photo was an accident with the camera as it wouldn’t focus and was over exposed. Kinda cool effect of a busy alley way in Tianzifang.

soon Shanghai will only be a blur of memories

 

Lighted Pagoda

Last night we went out for dinner at this interesting restaurant. We go dropped off at the wrong location, but a happy accident since the view was great. As we waited for a ride to the correct location I snapped a few pictures of the lighted pagoda across this small lake. I purposely moved the camera to create blur and this cool effect.

Shanghai skyline

The view of the Shanghai Skyline from our apartment is beautiful. I always pause and soak it all in because one day it will be a blur of memories. The clear sky with soft colours proved difficult to focus with the changing and flashing lights creating a blur.

Shanghai Totems of recycle piled high

Since we arrived 5 years ago we were stunned by the small motorised trikes piled high with things to be recycled. We always tried to get photos of them, but they move so quickly by the time you pull out a camera or smart phone they are gone. One night my husband spotted this one gaining on us as we sped by in a taxi. It is in such a blur that the bike and man is invisible. Something I am sure he would wish for in real life because the police have started to monitor these ‘totems’ and limit their height and movements.

I have kept some photos even though they are blurry because of the subject, memory or cool effect. What do you do with your blurry photos?

Stay tuned…

 

 

 

Orange you glad… WP Photo Challenge

This week WP wants us to look at orange. They suggested using 3 photos to show orange as the main focus, or something tucked away in the background. My immediate thought was this incredible sunset I posted a few weeks back.

Citrus Shanghai Skyline

Michelle I also like to play with words and use alliteration 😉

Then there is Willow. Our cute 4 legged baby. She is gray with orange eyes… so unique.

Willow with her amber eyes.

Every other week I treat myself to a bouquet of flowers. They are pretty reasonable and smell divine. As the gray dull days of winter wind down I picked a sign of spring with these bright orange tulips.

Orange tulips – unedited

I played with my photo editing program and enhanced it a bit too.

photo enhanced to show saturation of colour

Orange is not a colour I am drawn too, but after this challenge I will be on the look out for it more. It is a happy colour that really lifts your spirits.

What is your favourite orange?

Stay tuned…

Depth -WP Photo Challenge

Depth… can be so many things.

Say something deep – full of meaning and inspire others.

Show depth as in something far away.

Depth – maybe an unreachable goal, or something to be working towards.

Can buildings show depth? A view from below looking way up over 100 floors high.

World Financial Tower , New Shanghai Tower and Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai

Maybe if your head is in the clouds 😉

Can a horizon show depth? Maybe if you are dreaming about what lays beyond, or are pondering your future.

Subtle Sunset

I like how this simple photo seems panoramic in this light just as the sun was fading away.  It seems to show depth of the never-ending Shanghai skyline, with the contrast of light and shadow.

It is a little chilly this week in Shanghai and all these shivers have shaken out my creative prose. To see more be sure to head over to Word Press.

 

 

Shadow & Light -WP Photo Challenge

Time Flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind – Nathaniel Hawthorne

Without light we would have no shadow… without shadow we would not appreciate the light. Lately I have noticed and appreciated the light and shadow contrast and captured it in a few different ways.

Maple leaves, John and I in Shadow

I enjoy taking pictures of our shadows. The long lines make our portraits interesting and fun.

Speaking of fun…. I noticed this shadow on our wall one morning. Can you guess what it is?

What the ….? What do you think it is?

Last spring I caught this shadow on a wall and the eerie feel made a cool effect on digital. I posted this one before, but I really like it.

Things that go bump in the night

One of my favourite shots of the Shanghai skyline rounds out my pics of shadow and light… the colours are so vibrant and it was rare to capture such a spectacular citrus sunset.

Citrus Shanghai Skyline

Let shadows wash over you and bathe in the light…. CTB 😀 2015

Check out WP for more Shadows.

Stay tuned…

Looking up: Shanghai Skyline

Bastet’s Pixelventures is talking about looking UP this week. Well to continue on with my info on the Pearl Tower from my ROUND theme for the monthly Tourist in Your Own Town challenge I thought I would show you what the tower looks like from the outside. The tower is certainly interesting and quite large. Although the newer buildings are slowly dwarfing this unusual landmark it still stands out from views across the river along the Bund. Its colour and shape are truly unique.

When our visitors came a few weeks back we brought them up the tower for views of the Shanghai Skyline. Before we went inside I captured these views looking UP at this cool architectural design.

The Pearl Tower -Shanghai, China

 

From the entrance looking UP at the Pearl Tower

Be sure to check out Bastest to see more pics and interpretations of the weekly theme. To find out more about the Pearl Tower and see views looking down click here to read my post from earlier today.

Stay tuned….

 

Skyline: Tourist in Your Own Town

I cannot believe it is March already and time for a new Tourist in Your Own Town theme. It is a dreary damp rainy day, so my original plan for the theme was put on hold. I could not bear treading out in the rain yet another day. Last week it rained here 3-4 days and this week we had 2 straight days of steady rain with a cloudy break for one day and then 2 more days of rain with a short break. Instead of getting soggy I looked through my photos and came up with these photos and a new theme.

Shanghai Skyline and fluffy clouds

The theme for March is Sky. Show us the sky where you live. If you live in a big city, like I do in Shanghai, show us the skyline. If you live in a small town or out in the country show a starry night, sunset or cloudy blue sky. What does the sky look like where you live? With the cold winter in North America and the cloudy and rainy weather in Shanghai show us some bright sky to lift our spirits.

Natural Sepia tones March, 2014

In the Pink -Shanghai March 2014

How to Join In:

• post something to show the SKY where you live
• use  Tourist in Your Own Town in the title
• use the tag sky and tourist in your town
• link back to this post
• link to your post in the comments below so others can find you
• a new theme will be posted the first weekend of April, so lots of time for sky posts

Shanghai Skyline along the Bund at night

On a side note thanks to all those who voted for me in the Canadian Blog Awards. The contest ran differently this year and the results are already up. They only show the top 3, so I am not sure of how I did. I did not make the top 3 😦 Oh well I will try again next time.

Stay tuned….

What a View -Pixelventures

What do you see when you look out your window everyday? That is the question posed by Bastet’s Pixelventures photo challenge this week.

This is the view today on a rainy Sunday from our balcony. Our balcony is glass, so it always provides us with a view of the outdoors. We are lucky since we have wide open space between buildings, so we can see some trees, if we look down. From 14 floors up we can see other apartments in the distance and the larger Kerry Parkside, which is a shopping mall, hotel and houses some great restaurants.

rainy day

I was disappointed that our apartment doesn’t have this view from inside. I understand now that we look in to a quieter inside green space as opposed to have this great view of the Shanghai skyline. This side faces a noisy, busy street with honking cars and traffic. Soon as we step off the elevator I always take a peek and enjoy the view. As I wait for the elevator I look out and admire the ever-changing skyline. This photo was taken the other morning as I waited for the elevator. Rain was forecast for later that day and the dark skyline behind the buildings while bright dazzling sunshine was still in the east made for a great contrast of colours and seemed to bring the skyline to life. This was a rare view and I was glad I had my camera and a few minutes to snap a quick pic before the elevator arrived.

Calm before the Storm

Stay tuned…