travel starts with photography

Zhou Tong is a retired teacher from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. He stayed in Shanghai for a period of time when he was young, so he has many friends and knows a lot about Shanghai.

He enthusiastically pulled Chen Xing over and introduced him to the old Shanghainese beside him: "Old Song, this is the little Chen I mentioned to you yesterday. Don't be fooled by his young age, his photography skills are amazing!"

Old Song looked Chen Xing up and down, then nodded with a smile:

"Young people are good. Nowadays, there are not many people willing to delve into photography. Many young people like to use mobile phones, saying that mobile phones are easy to carry and have powerful functions. What powerful functions are there? They are just lazy!"

Chen Xing was also very polite. Why should he pretend in front of two old people?
"Hello, Uncle Song. I am just tinkering around. I still have a lot to learn from you two seniors."

Uncle Song was also a very enthusiastic person. Hearing Chen Xing say this, he laughed and patted his shoulder: "Don't worry, Xiao Chen, I am a native of Shanghai. I have lived here for decades. I know everything about the surrounding buildings and photography spots."

After saying that, he invited his old friends and the kids he just met into the building.

"Let's eat first. The Huaiyang cuisine here is quite good. After we finish eating, I will take you to the 27th floor. There is a viewing platform here. It was easy to go up there before, but now..."

Chen Xing was very tactful and followed suit: "How are you doing now?"

"It's under strict management now. A company bought it and used it as an event venue. It's only open when some events are held. Ordinary people are not allowed in. But..."

Old Song didn't keep the secret any longer, he just laughed and said, "But I have a nephew who works in this building, I've already told him in advance, it's definitely okay for me to take you up there to have a look."

I guess he had said it before, so Uncle Song didn't call. He was eating in the restaurant with the three of them. After a while, a young man in a suit came over.

Of course, given the age of the two old men, they can call him young man, but at Chen Xing's age, he still has to call him brother.

"Uncle, are these two your friends?"

Chen Xing stood up and shook hands with him.

This big brother was also very polite, probably because he had worked in the service industry for a long time. His tone and gesture made people feel very comfortable. After the group finished their meal, he bent down and invited the three people to get into the elevator.

"You can just call me Xiao Yang. There's an event going on upstairs today, so there might be a lot of clutter, so watch your step."

When the elevator door opened, what came into view was not an open-air viewing platform, but a corridor that led directly to a staircase in the distance with an iron door at the entrance.

There are cardboard boxes on both sides of the corridor.

From an open cardboard box, Chen Xing could see the words "Shanghai Tea Art Cooperation...", which was probably what Brother Yang mentioned, the company or association that was doing the event.

He led a few people up the stairs and said:
"Because it's not the scheduled time yet, we didn't let them come up. But we've just called them to inform them that someone might come to move things in a while, and we're afraid that they might disturb you."

Zhou Tong waved his hands repeatedly: "Don't worry about us, we are just here to take pictures."

"No, you are my second uncle's friends, which makes you my elders... and guests. Haha, Xiao Chen is too young. I'm afraid that I'll call you elder because I'm afraid you'll sound old."

"..."

He really couldn't accept this.

As soon as he came out of the stairs, Chen Xing saw the Pudong four-piece set in the distance at first glance.

There are more than four sets. It feels like most of Shanghai can be seen from here. After all, the buildings under your feet are very low. You can see densely packed buildings. After crossing the Huangpu River, there are modern high-rise buildings connected in a row.

It has both a sense of history and a sense of modernity; this is Shanghai.

Chen Xing took a photo using a wide-angle lens, then took out his phone to take a selfie, which he was going to post on WeChat Moments. He had never seen anyone post travel photos from this angle on WeChat Moments.

Having traveled to many places, Chen Xing no longer wants to post the same check-in photos as others. What he likes is something unique.

Zhou Tong and Lao Song were much happier than Chen Xing. They kept pressing the shutter button everywhere. They were probably the type of people who could always find a few usable photos after taking so many photos. They had no ideas, but they had aesthetic taste.

It was not until the staff of the event came up with the things that the few of them ended the filming reluctantly and left Hualong Building with a lot of gains.

After returning to the hotel, Chen Xing couldn't wait to import the photos into the computer and start post-processing.

The viewing angle on the Hualong Building is indeed wide, but the composition of the photo is very dependent on the sky. If it is a clear blue sky with a few white clouds floating in it, the photos will look best.

The second is the night view.

The worst is the one taken by Chen Xing today. Because it was a cloudy day, there was no significant effect of light and shadow.

But he didn't want to do anything with this photo. After Chen Xing made this photo, he randomly paired it with a few photos taken in Shanghai and posted it on his circle of friends.

——Today’s lighting conditions are not ideal, but you can get a glimpse of Shanghai’s scenery from here. Let me share a few photos with you to feel Shanghai’s unique charm——

After uploading, I went to play the game. After one round, WeChat showed 99+ messages.

Most of them are likes.

Many of his fans know his WeChat account. Sometimes he is recognized on the street. He has never refused fans who want to add him on WeChat, but he refuses those who find him through search.

These fans rarely talk, but they will like every update.

There are also many comments.

A colleague: "You always find such unique shooting locations. I envy you so much!"

Zhou Peng: "Oh, the great photographer has new works! You are going to take pictures of every corner of Shanghai."

A fan: "Brother Xing! This perspective is amazing. I have always wanted to take pictures of Shanghai, but I can never capture that feeling. Your photo not only captures the grandeur of the building, but also shows the fusion of Shanghai's history and modernity. I want to watch and learn from it again and again!"

Chen Xing couldn't help but replied to this fan with a string of dots.

That's too much. This is just a random photo he took for his Moments. He didn't even do any editing. He just wanted to show that he took a photo at this place.

There was a message from a colleague that made him a little concerned.

"Who have you offended recently? A lot of websites are bashing you."

Hack me?

Chen Xing gave up the idea of ​​continuing to play the game and used the browser to enter several websites with a large number of photographers and photography enthusiasts, such as Mipai Photography, 500 Photography Community, etc.

"Looking at his works, the exposure and color processing are a mess. The level is not as good as when I first learned photography. I really don't know how he became famous."

"Chen Xing's works are all the same, without any creativity. What kind of Chinese style is this? Disgusting. He always uses those old-fashioned compositions and shooting techniques. What era is it now? He still uses these things to fool people. Does he really think that everyone doesn't understand photography?"

"Chen Xing's works are sometimes good and sometimes not. Occasionally there are a few that are acceptable, but most of them are very ordinary and not at the level of a mature photographer. I really don't know why those people are chasing after him."

"The quality of his work is so unstable. How can such a person become one of the best photographers in the country? It's a joke." (End of this chapter)