I went to China again in December 2008. This time to Yunnan, the Southwestern end of China. I flew to Kunmming City where I met up with Larissa’s cousin who showed us around the typical Chinese City. From there Larissa and I travelled westwards to Dali, Lijiang and finally Shangri-la (or the “supposed Shangri-la”). (You can read about what gear I brought to China here)

Here are some photographs taken with my Nikon FE2, shot mainly on Kodak Porta 400VC. I chose the 400 over the 160 because I was using the FE2 instead of the Bessa, of which the latter should be able to hold up to handshake better at slower shutter speeds. Some were shot on slides as well but I didn’t realise the FE2 meters very differently from my Mamiya 6, lost quite a few photos to overexposure.

I was also shooting the the FE2 instead of the Bessa because I was loaned a Voigtlander Ultron 40mm/F2 SL-II and a Voigtlander Nokton 58mm/f1.4 SL-II by Chi Fei of Chiff Cameras to test out. With these two lenses was my trusty Tokina 28-70mm F2.6 which has since been replaced with the Nikkor equivalent for my D3, but I’ll be keeping the Tokina to mate with the FE2.

Here are the selected photographs from the photos I have scanned taken with the FE2.

Of these, my favourites are as follows:

 

Green Lake in Kunming City – Really nice park to go visit, many locals hang out there as well

 

The “Dragon Gate” which I spent a whole day climbing up to see, only to realise it’s only so small

 

Flowers blooming along the streets in Dali’s Ancient City (shot with the 58mm)

 

There’s a real painterly quality to this photograph, probably because it’s a little blur due to handshake and motion blurring of the subjects. 

 

An ATM stuck into the side of an traditionally built building.

 

A worn down Chinese Chess set lies unattended to in Lijian Ancient City

 

Lock and chain prevent access to an old dwelling that has since been converted into a pub

 

A poster for modern music stuck onto what seems like an old signboard

 

A horse taking a break from bringing tourists around the ancient town

 

A tap fills a huge concrete tub of water to the brim (shot with the 40mm)

 

Snow melting off a roof in Shangri-la

 

The first snow in 2009 blankets the entire town in white

 

Peanuts and a wood burning stove in the background

 

I wonder who cycles in the snow!

 

An old lady reading religious text in YuanTong Temple back in Kunming City

 

I actually got hit on the head by one of their aerial bombardments, not a pleasant feeling

 

One of the locals practicing on his ErHu

 

This is one of my favourites amongst the favourites. An old man retreats into the back alleys of Old Kunming.
Recent developments in the area would most likely mean that the days of the real Old Kunming are numbered.

 

Here’s another gallery of photos taken with my Mamiya 6 medium format rangefinder. Colour photos shot on Kodak 100Vs and Provia 400x, B&Ws shot on Fuji Acros 100 and Neopan 400. As always, scanned with the Epson V700 and processed in Lightroom 2.

This was shot from with the camera put on timer and slung around my neck, didn’t want them to know I was taking a photo.

Shangrila – Looks a lot like Tibet 

Overall view of the Tibetian Style temple I visited, really worth a good day’s visit there.

Evening shot of Lijiang Old Town (well more like Tourist town) on the last day of 2008. 

Snowed in on the 2nd day that we were there. Whole village was almost deserted less for some locals

One of my favourite in the B&W series. Looks almost surreal.

Yup, the rest you can just take a look at the gallery images.