Stephen Greenwood
- http://stephengreenwood.com || twitter.com/spgreenwood
Stephen Greenwood is a designer and filmmaker currently living in Hong Kong. He loves talking to strangers, taking pictures, and bargaining in street markets.
Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Dim Sum Dialogues: Kowloon Walled City
Today, it's one of the most peaceful locations in the city. The gardens are beautifully landscaped and connected by long, low archways that are remnant of the Qing Dynasty's architecture. There are ponds, waterfalls, dragonflies; everything you might associate with traditional Chinese gardens.
But just less than two decades ago, the same soil was the foundation to a very different environment; a lawless territory that was born out of Hong Kong's identity crisis and foreign occupation. A 6.5 acre plot of land that was home to nearly 33,000 people and a collection of brothels, opium dens, casinos, cocaine parlors, and secret factories. Kowloon Walled City, or Hak Nam...the City of Darkness.
Photo of the Day (11.3.09)
There's a certain beauty in simplicity, even in regard to photography. I find this photo by lecercle to be a great example of taking simple subject matter and making it interesting and beautiful through composition & contrast.
"Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity" - Charles Mingus
The photo was taken in Kashid, which is a beach town on the shores of the Northern region of Maharashtra, India. The ocean that the subjects are looking out over is the Arabian Sea. There are a few of small hotels in Kashid, and the rest is privately owned, but it's quickly becoming a surfer's paradise.
Want to have your travel photo considered for Gadling's Photo of the Day? Submit your best shots here.
Photo of the Day (10.27.09)
Today's Photo of the Day comes from longtime contributor Alpha Tango Bravo (aka Adam Baker). I consider great portrait photos to be ones that share the personality and character of the subject - even if they happen to be complete strangers in a foreign land.
Baker writes in the photo's caption that he approached this woman, and asked to take her photo "as a souvenir" - to which she promptly replied "go to the souvenir stand." before finally agreeing. Asking locals for permission to take their picture is no easy task, but one that is often well worth the risk...
The photo was captured in Suzdal, Russia - a town of under 12,000 people situated northeast of Moscow. The town is home to the Open Russian Festival of Animated Film every March.
Are you a Flickr user who'd like to share a travel related picture or two for our consideration? Submit it to Gadling's Flickr group right now! We just might use it for our Photo of the Day!
Baker writes in the photo's caption that he approached this woman, and asked to take her photo "as a souvenir" - to which she promptly replied "go to the souvenir stand." before finally agreeing. Asking locals for permission to take their picture is no easy task, but one that is often well worth the risk...
The photo was captured in Suzdal, Russia - a town of under 12,000 people situated northeast of Moscow. The town is home to the Open Russian Festival of Animated Film every March.
Are you a Flickr user who'd like to share a travel related picture or two for our consideration? Submit it to Gadling's Flickr group right now! We just might use it for our Photo of the Day!
Photo of the Day (10.20.09)
Today's beautiful Photo of the Day comes from Flickr user jrodmanjr. It's an interesting composition - the lush green hills in contrast against icy cliffs and sky, separated by a thin formation of low clouds. Having never been to Switzerland, this is exactly the scene that I visualize when I imagine the stereotypical beauty of the country.
The shot was taken in Grindelwald, Switzerland (pop. 3,760) - which is a popular destination for winter sports and summer hiking. A starting point for ascents of the Eiger (featured in the photo) and Wetterhorn mountains, the town has an elevation of 1,034m. Another reason you might recognize it? It was used as the basis for the view of Alderaan in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
Are you a Flickr user who'd like to share a travel related picture or two for our consideration? Submit it to Gadling's Flickr group right now! We just might use it for our Photo of the Day!
The shot was taken in Grindelwald, Switzerland (pop. 3,760) - which is a popular destination for winter sports and summer hiking. A starting point for ascents of the Eiger (featured in the photo) and Wetterhorn mountains, the town has an elevation of 1,034m. Another reason you might recognize it? It was used as the basis for the view of Alderaan in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
Are you a Flickr user who'd like to share a travel related picture or two for our consideration? Submit it to Gadling's Flickr group right now! We just might use it for our Photo of the Day!
Photo of the Day (10.13.09)
The photo was taken in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York - an area known for its cultural institutions, including the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Brooklyn Music School, The Paul Robeson Theater, The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts.
Do you have great travel photos you'd like to share? Add them to our Gadling group on Flickr. We might just pick one of yours as our Photo of the Day.
Communist China celebrates 60th anniversary
Today, October 1st, marks the 60th anniversary of communist rule in China - an era that has been defined with great success and development for the country.Leaders in Beijing and 30,000 specially invited guests observed the day with an epic celebration that was reported to be larger in scale than the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games.
Visitors and residents of Beijing had limited access to the city's biggest tourist attractions, and Beijing Capital International Airport was closed for over 3 hours.
The event featured a parade of singers, dancers, and soldiers, a fireworks display, and a military procession that flaunted the country's latest surface and missile technology.
President Hu Jintao gave a speech from the same spot that Mao Zedong stood 60 years ago to declare the foundation of the People's Republic of China. "Today a socialist China that faces the future is standing tall and firm in the East," he stated. "The development and progress of the new China over the past 60 years fully proved that only socialism can save China, and only reform and opening up can ensure the development of China,".
No expense was spared for the celebration. Massive cloud-seeding efforts made yesterday proved successful, and Beijing enjoyed clear, blue skies for the day.
For pictures and an impressive video of the event, head over to the BBC for more coverage.
Dim Sum Dialogues in Thailand: The sounds of Siam
Monks chant at Wat Chana Songkhram, near Khao San Road.
A couple memories stand out above the others.The utter serenity of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, right after a mid-afternoon rain shower. The polite, genuine smiles of school children and street vendors. The new friends from the Khao San, and Diow. The breeze through the open window on the train to Surat Thani. The feeling of freedom at the Full Moon Party. The dangerous scooter maneuvers. The flavors of the food. The upbeat greeting from Thai women "Sawadee kaaaaa".
One of my favorite ways to remember a place when I'm traveling is to record audio. Then, thousands of miles away from the point of capture, to sit with headphones on and let my mind recreate in the rest. So, to end this series, I though that I'd share that experience with you. Below you'll find pictures and their accompanying ambient sounds, with a brief description for context. If you have headphones, please use them to get the full experience.
For those that have been, I hope it brings back the same good memories. For those that have yet to go, I hope the open road is calling your name...
Photo of the Day (9.29.09)
Fatehpur Sikri was constructed in 1570, and served as the capital of the Mughal empire until 1585. That year, it abandoned for unknown reasons - but is now regarded as a center of architectural inspiration. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, featuring several important religious and secular buildings.
Do you have great travel photos you'd like to share? Add them to our Gadling group on Flickr. We might just pick one of yours as our Photo of the Day.
Dim Sum Dialogues in Thailand: Ko Samui
My ears are still ringing from the stacks of speakers that exhilarated Haad Rin all night. The lack of sleep is making my eyes heavy, but the lurching of the ferry refuses to let my body sleep.
I'm departing Ko Pha Ngan and am en route to Ko Samui - the largest island in the Surat Thani province, and the third largest island in Thailand. It's a forty minute ride from the beaches of Haad Rin, and when we arrive, there is another entourage of taxi drivers and hotel workers with signs and suggestions for lodging.
The island was first inhabited by Malay and Chinese settlers, the name is thought to have come from a degeneracy of the Chinese word Saboey, which translates in English as "safe haven". A welcome thought for those looking to escape the aftermath of a full moon party.
Dim Sum Dialogues in Thailand: Full Moon Party
The big night has finally arrived - a fact made tangible by the surreal moon strung up in the sky by wispy clouds.
Legend has it that the first party was held in 1985 for a crowd of 25-30 backpackers. Word of mouth spread and caused the gathering to escalate with every new month and every new full moon.
Tonight, anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 people of the world will converge on sands of Haad Rin in a few hours. For the second night in a row, the streets are teeming with young backpackers.
