China 2024 (People)

People pictures taken with the new Reala Ace film sim on the Fujifilm X100VI

Apr 07, 2024

One thing I love about travel is observing people.

I love seeing how locals dress, what they do for fun, what they eat, everything.

When I travel to a new city, I have a list of classic shots that ideally I’d love to get. The one thing you really can’t plan for though, is interesting people shots.

This is one of my favourite images from the trip. We’d just left the Forbidden City and were about to catch a bus to our next destination. I looked to the right and 3 ladies were hula hooping. Why? I have no idea, but I love it.

Restaurants are always good places for people shots, especially if they have a kitchen in full view. Passing a restaurant in Beijing, I saw a chef stoking a fire, getting it ready for more Peking Ducks.

Cafes are top spots too - I stopped at this one about 15 minutes into my ascent of the Great Wall of China. I sat at a bench and thought about this man’s commute - does he have to walk up hundreds of stairs every day just to get to work? Perhaps I should’ve asked.

Photography makes you much more observant about the world around you. While Chinese tourists were taking photos of a temple in Shanghai, I was more interested in the two men dredging the lake that surrounded it.

Walking through Suzhou I spotted this game of cards start up at a table on the footpath. Some of the locals watching were amused that I was so interested.

This is another favourite. This lady was having a series of photos taken by a man with an old digicam in the Forbidden City. I asked if I could take her photo and she agreed.

In China, young women love dressing up in traditional costumes for photos. Watching them go about their photoshoots can be as interesting as the place you’re visiting.

Stay tuned for lots more China photos in April and May - both film and digital.