Photographing China (tips needed)

[Ken Fong]

Hello,
1) Can anyone share their own experience or refer a website to describe tips on photographing China...specifically Beijing, Xian, Guilin, Huangshan (Yellow Mtn), and Shanghai?

2) What type of equipment should I pack? I would like to travel light, but I want to make sure I have all the necessary ranges/options covered. I am planning to bring the default Canon 28-135 (f/3.5-5.6 IS) and Sigma 15-30(f/3.5-4.5). I am most likely planning to leave a heavy 70-200 (f/2.8) zoom at home unless someone persuades me otherwise. I will use a D60, so everything is 1.6x. Also, should I pack the speedlite or just go with the one that's built into the camera?

I will be with a tour group in early May, so I won't have very good control over what time of day I can shoot. I hope to shoot scenery, architecture, some wildlife (but not enough requiring a super zoom), and people.

All tips and warnings are appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[MikeRenardo]

I visit China about once every two years. I can't tell you what to bring to China, since my experience in photography is very limited. However, I can tell you a little bit about the weather in China, so you can make better choices about what to bring to China.

Beijing and Shanghai are very poluted cities. It is very rare to find an absolutely clear sky. When you get to Shanghai, and you want to take pictures of the beautiful city from the bund (which you will probably visit if you are with a tour), make sure you are prepared for some fog.

You won't have any trouble taking pictures in Xian and Guilin because it is not as poluted. As for Huangshan, I have no idea, because I've never been there.

Realizing that I provided you with almost no useful information about taking pictures in China, I want to make up for my lack of knowledge about photography with my mediocre knowledge about shopping in China... and some general tips you may consider.

When you go shopping... (TRUST ME... YOU WILL GO SHOPPING)

-BARGAIN!!! When you shop from a street vender, take their price and divide it by four (or more if you are brave) and then work up from there. Don't pay more than half of the price the vendor suggests.
-If the street vendor doesn't accept your price you put out, shake your head and walk away. Most the time, if the price you suggested is reasonable, the vendor will agree to sell the product at your price.
-If you see a product which you REALLY REALLY REALLY want, try not to act too eager to buy that product. When the vendor knows you want that product, the price skyrockets.

A few saftey tips...

-Watch your wallet, pick-pockets love Americans (Or anyone who doesn't look Chinese)
-Don't expect cars to stop for you as willingly as the cars do in the United States. (Try and walk with a native to the town you are visiting) This also applies to streets full of bikes.
-Don't drink the water from faucets, always buy bottled water

Ok... I've said enough.

I hope I have provided some help that may be useful to you. I hope you enjoy your trip!

[Ken Fong]

Those are great tips Mike...thanks.
My wife and I were aware that we should bargain, but we never knew what was a good guideline to start...your 'divide by 4, no more than half of asking' is a great guideline.
For the pollution, I was thinking of using a neutral density filter to capture the sky, and then print black and white or sepia if it's that bad. From what I've received in photo critiques, atmospheric haze and fog adds mood to a photo and seems to have more character than a clear day...so maybe it will work in my favor.

[MikeRenardo]

About bargaining, make sure you don't use any of the "divide by 4, no more than half of asking" in large malls, only use it for street vendors.

In some large shopping malls, you can usually get about 10%-20% off if you bargain. Don't try and go any further than that though.

A short story... my friend wanted to purchase a straw hat from a street vendor. The vendor suggests 200 yen for the hat. My friend suggests 20. The vendor laughed and said no. My friend didn't say another word and began to walk away. The vendor yells back and sells the hat to him for 20 yen.

Bottom Line: Don't feel restricted to have to use the "divide by 4, no more than half of asking" guideline.

Also, make sure you are prepared for different voltage ratings in the wall sockets. You can either use a converter, or the converter in your hotel bathroom. If you are going to stay in a hotel which is three stars or more, they should have one. No guarentees though.

If you have anything that runs off of non-rechargable batteries, try and bring a lot of your own batteries from where you are now. I don't recommend purchasing batteries from street vendors.

Happy shooting!

[Jorge]

Well, I haven't been in China, but in many other Asian countries on several occations.

You could probably find use for every piece of equipment that you have. However the way you travel will influence what kind af equipment you're most likely to use. I recently travelled with a fellow photographer around Thailand and Laos. We both carried heavy zoom lenses, but practically never used them as they were just not handy. In fact we ended up taking most of our shots with 50 mm.

If you will be moving much around you'll need your camera to be ready at all times. Often there is no time for putting on a flash, changing lenses and so on. This especially applies when shooting people. And if you are travelling in a group you'll be constantly lacking behind if you have to pay to much attention to your gear.

So my advice is to bring someting handy with good low light abilities and to shoot a lot more pictures than you think you'll need. Have fun!

Oh ... you should consider a tripod - I really missed one for cityscapes at night.