The Forbidden City

The Forbidden City, situated in the heart of Beijing, was the home to 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There is much to see and you can spend days walking through this imperial city imagining what life might have been like when the emperor still walked the courtyards. But what I most enjoyed were all the details and of course the mythical creatures. Because of all the grandeur it's easy to overlook the crazy ceilings of the palace interiors. I can't fathom how long it must have taken to carve and paint some of them. Anyway, here are a few things you'll see while strolling.

Detail from large water containers which were there in case of a fire.

The ceiling in the palace of Heavenly Purity

In each of the four corners of the garden there is a pavilion, symbolizing the four seasons. This is part of the ceiling of the pavilion of Myriad Spring

You will find this motive on a bunch of doors and walls.

Decorative glazed ceramic details


Easy to miss but if you look closely you'll find these small engravings with different motives on several walls.

A gilded lion in front of the palace of Tranquil Longevity

Beijing 2009

It was insanely hot in Beijing, everyday was around 100 degrees. The pollution didn't help either, nevertheless I did love Beijing. I was there once before, in 1984, I was just a teenager. The main thing I remember was that everybody was on bicycles. There were hardly any cars at all. A lot has changed. It is now a major city and everybody drives a car, although I'd like to point out there were no ridiculous SUVs.

If you're interested in seeing the hot spots of Beijing then you might as well just surf the Internet. Everything has been already photographed a million times. So I'm just going to post a few pictures of things I liked and then in another post put up some details and patterns of things I saw in the Forbidden City. I really enjoyed the decorative aspect of the palaces.

This is the view from the apartment. Direct view on the Bird's Nest stadium. Pictures can't do this structure justice. It is an amazing piece of architecture.

The Dragon Building.

The National Grand Opera House in Beijing. What an impressive site. The contrast to the surrounding buildings was stark. If you turned your head just a bit to the right you saw what's in the next picture. A simple residential area.


A guard in Tiananmen Square. To enter the huge square you have to pass a security check similar to that of an airport. The same type of guard you will find placed all over Beijing.

Anybody who knows me knows I'm a huge fan of theater and opera so when I had a chance to go see the traditional Beijing opera I was quite excited. This is a shot I took in the Beijing opera (or Peking opera). The Beijing opera is a form of traditional Chinese theater which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. The performances are usually based on Chinese folklore. The character above is Sun Wukong also known as the Monkey King. He is the main character in the epic novel Journey to the West. Check out the make up job, very inspiring.

I'm back

I just returned from my trip to China. It was one of the most amazing trips that I have ever taken.......... fascinating and inspiring.

~

This was a spontaneous shoot, we just showed up and winged it (I was happy I brought that coat). Jane, besides being a delight to hang out with, remains my favorite model.

Action Painting

It was fascinating watching a five year old paint a large painting. Applying the paint was such a physical act. I liked how while she was applying the paint she would also spontaneously explain what she was creating. It's an amusement park, the big curvy line in the middle is a rollercoast, the blue circle thingy is a faireswheel and the short lines are people (red adults, purple kids).

2009 - a good year (so far)

A lot of great things are happening this year. First off my second NYC gallery show is taking place this month (first one was in February). Nothing fancy, it's a group show but I was happy to be displaying my stuff in Manhattan. I also got my stuff into a group show that will be displayed in three different galleries. Two of the shows are in Virginia and one in Milan Italy. Last but not least I was super psyched to get an image into Spectrum 16. I've always greatly admired the art work coming through Spectrum and am very happy to be part of it this year. I was actually surprised to be accepted since most of the work is usually illustration based but I noticed that they do except photography so I thought I'd give it a shot. The book is coming out in November.

Besides of that I'm taking a few great trips. My first trip starting at the end of the month.

On a random side note. I saw "La Vie En Rose" (a movie about Edith Piaf) last night. Wow, did Marion Cotillard deserve that Oscar for best actress! She was phenomenal in that role and what a well executed film.

That's it..... have a great day.... go create something.

Princess Alexis

Model: Lexi Lolita
MU & Hair: Contessa Black



Big thank you to Rosalinda, who gave me some great advice and help (post).