On location

The extra reward for going out on photo shoots with friends is that I get to see myself interacting with my subjects. Thanks Chelsia for last week's documentary!

Sunday morning at the wholesale market

Thanks to my friend Chelsia, I visited Shanghai's food wholesale market on Sunday. The pace was chaotic, the colors and smells overwhelming, and the photo opportunities endless. I had a case of ADD trying to point my lens at everything at the same time. People were incredibly welcoming and friendly, gladly posing and letting me steal time from their hectic activities. This is a must-see for photographers, period.

Got watermelon?

The man on the right was tidying his clothes before the "official" portrait

Street sweeper #1

Street sweeper #2

Street sweeper #3

Shopping for fish

 Fishmongers and the largest (live) fish on stock, which went flying and landed on my feet (imagine how I smelled!)

A shopper in an inner lane's traffic jam

Lady butcher and her charming son

Life in 2D at the far side of the meat section (many if not all the vendors live on the premises)

A tired man will sleep anywhere

Mr. Cool Pyjamas stopped his scooter in front of me in the middle of chaotic traffic and asked for a photo

Lamb #1

Lamb #2

Hard-working scooter

Eyes that smile

Eyes that laugh heartily

SHMOG - Shanghai Museum of Glass

I visited this museum yesterday. I was surprised and delighted at the quality of the exhibition: spotless modern design of the space; a great balance of history/education exhibits with modern pieces; English captions along with Chinese.

It's a good 30 minutes out of the city in an otherwise unremarkable area. It will be great when the cafe opens (the nearest convenience store to get a bottle of water is a good km away). And the selection at the gift shop needs to go up several notches... But all in all, I highly recommend it!

"Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass"

Artwork by Steven Weinberg

Ambient light reflected through artwork (whose author I didn't note, sorry)

The Asian obsession with being fair-skinned reached the museum's bathroom

Visitors interacting with Steven Weinberg's works

Chickens vendor

Where many of us come from, chicken consists of separate breasts, thighs or wings in nicely packaged styrofoam trays from the supermarket. In China, you pick your chicken while it's still breathing and it's prepared for you while you wait. I finally had the stomach to document the process (or at least most of it).

These images may upset some. Scroll down at your own risk or navigate away if you'd rather avoid them.

Birds - Take 2

I seem to have developed a bit of an obsession with birds lately - the caged, the chained (in the case of parrots), the free and the fake... All of them here in Shanghai for me to enjoy!

Most vibrant bird I've ever seen... and he said "hello" :)

Still wondering what the numbers on the spheres are for...

This couple had a disagreement

They were minding their bedroom business when the interloper arrived. Mr Brunette, however, played dumb...

Street market

When we live in western countries, it's easy to forget where the food that we eat comes from. But in Asia it's hard to block the images from street markets when we sit at the table. Luckily for carnivores like me, steaks and the like still appear in smallish chunks. But smaller animals are still alive when you choose them and they're prepared upon demand.

The images that follow the watermelons are rather graphic, so scroll down at your own risk.

Watermelons vendor in Hongkou

 Quails stall

The fishmonger's tools