Every camera has its charm and does something better than another. One of the reasons I love to shoot with the Xperia Z5 (read my review here) is the wide angle. It is so perfect for architecture shots that fill up the frame. The series of images in this post were taken in Seoul and Shanghai in July and August of this year.
Two huge world cities. Seoul, for me, feels like the biggest city I have been in. I know Tokyo is probably bigger, but when I am there it gives me the sense of lots of small little towns centred around a train station. Seoul seems to just go on for ever and ever. Shanghai, the world’s most populated city, appeared quiet to us in August. I kept saying to my wife: “Where is everyone?” Sure, there were a lot of tourists around the tourist spots, but wandering around the city over the five days we were there, it did seem a little quiet.
I never will forget the absolute amazement we experienced as we ascended the escalator and came out on the circular walk way in the middle of those skyscrapers in Pudong. Wow! If you have seen the film Her, this is one of the locations they shot in. It is truly like time travelling.
When you get to places like this you can end up with a pain in your neck as you tilt back as far as you can to take it all in, but you should not forget to look for other ways to see things. I loved the reflections of the skyscrapers in the rainy rooftops of cars.
Getting to see Shanghai from one of these skyscrapers is a sight to behold. We were lucky the day we were there as the forecasted rain never came and the view from the IFC building of Shanghai was quite good. We had been told that the queues to get up to the viewing floor would take about 40 minutes, but we were lucky, we got up in about 10. It was well worth the wait.
However, this good weather was not to last and the forecasted rain did come. But hey, rain is just another opportunity to get shots. This one was taken through our hotel room window. You can see the Oriental Pearl Tower is obscured by the heavy and dark rain clouds. It was fun to watch the clouds pass and finally clear over this fabulous view.
A friend had suggested that a great place to get a view of the city was Hotel Indigo, and he was right. We got there just before sunset and the views were spectacular.
Seoul
I spent three days in sunny Seoul this August. Over the three days I walked over 50km in the blistering heat. And I loved it. Seoul is flat and relatively easy to navigate and if you do happen to get lost like I did, Koreans are so friendly and helpful. (Read my experience here.) I loved shooting wide with the Xperia in Seoul. It seemed so perfect.
One of the most amazing locations in Seoul is the wonderful Dongdaemun Design Plaza. This is one of the many must-see sights in Seoul. Designed by Zaha Hadid and Samoo, this futuristic structure is a sight to behold, and in 2015 was the most hashtagged location from Korea on Instagram.
