When Friday finally arrived, it put an end to a hectic and horrible working week.

As planned beforehand with my wife, I picked her up after work and we hit the road in no time, heading to Guangzhou. A three-hour drive, peak hour traffic jam included.

What made us go to Guangzhou? My wife was joining this Chinese dance workshop, so we went together. We both need these short trips to refresh ourselves. I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again: we were both born in Macau, we love this place, but it’s becoming so overcrowded that we need get out of here whenever possible to catch our breath.

In Guangzhou I had free time while she was attending the workshop, so I made myself a mixed programme fulfilling my two passions: photography in the morning, cycling in the afternoon.

Epson body

Measuring Light is a photography blog, so let’s spend a few words on my Epson R-D1x and Zeiss lens before moving on with this Guangzhou trip. This is the camera I’d decided to take with me because I wanted to relax.

With a fully mechanical camera, having to pull the lever to re-cock the shutter after each shot, I knew the Epson R-D1x was perfect to slow me down.

Shooting with this camera is a process, especially when you couple it with the Zeiss Biogon 21mm f/2.8 ZM lens. With the crop factor, it turns into a 35mm equivalent FOV.

Since the native frame lines in the camera don’t cover this FOV, when I shoot I use the camera’s viewfinder to achieve focus first, then switch to the external Olympus VF-1 finder for accurate framing. Each photo is thus a two step process – three step if you include manually re-cocking the shutter – and I’m happy to shoot this way.

Zeiss lens

The good thing about using this lens is that I get more DOF that I’m supposed to. With the crop factor it becomes a 35mm lens, but I’m getting the original 21mm DOF. Hyperfocal photography becomes much easier, setting the lens to f/5.6.

One thing I noticed using this lens in the Epson R-D1x is that the colours are less vivid compared to the Leica 35mm Summicron. You can see in the photos below, the pastel-like tones. There is also visible light fall-off, producing overall dark images. I get brighter looks when using the Summicron.

Shamian Island

Back to Guangzhou.

In case you know nothing about Guangzhou, it is a first tier Chinese megacity with a population of 18 million. It has a colonial past and back in the days it was known as Canton.

The colonial past had always triggered my interest and thus I decided to visit a place called Shamian Island, a small territory once conceded to the British and the French.

Shamian is located at the heart of fast paced Guangzhou. A small island with just a few narrow bridges connecting it to the surrounding areas, it is quite isolated. Its urban fabric remained unchanged since the colonial days, surviving the surges of development that turned Guangzhou into the megalopolis it is today.

Shamian is not energetic like the rest of Guangzhou. It is very much the opposite.

Cars circulate in the perimeter in a single lane, single direction, slow speed road sided by lush trees. This is the only place where cars are allowed, the remaining areas being pedestrian only.

The perfect place for a much needed shutter therapy.

I started my visit in the French side of the island and immediately noticed these colonial style buildings in a good state of conservation.

One of those was the former French Consulate. I made a point of going there as I was told an ancestor of mine worked there as a high-rank officer. Even though he was Portuguese, not French. Interesting.

Continuing with my walk, I dived into this long central park which felt so quiet and peaceful, with more trees, people jogging, playing badminton, exercising or just chilling out in the benches.

Then there was a church. There is always a church.

Since my visit started quite early at around 9am, most stores were closed. Not that there were many of them. But then slowly they started opening. Apart from a cheongsam dress store, I found nothing really interesting. Which in a way is good, meaning this is not a commercial area filled with big brands that will ruin the unique atmosphere.

There was a Starbucks though… It looked decent, except the big lettering in the façade.

My initial plan was not to stay in Shamian Island the entire morning. But then I found the place so pleasant that I decided not to go anywhere else till meeting my wife at lunch.

And I guess this was a good decision. It allowed me to witness the hoards of youngsters that started showing up around 11am, all dressed up for pictures. Some of them with selfie-apparel, while others were accompanied by their boyfriend photographers. All well equipped with tripod, soft-lighting equipment and so on.

I once wrote here about the Chinese obsession with selfies and social media. Punching the card, as they say here.

Then I found these couples below taking wedding photos.

And I don’t want to sound mean, but I still see this cliché, this stereotype that is a local perception of Western high-end luxury with palace style lacy dresses, hats and gloves, that will go with interiors filled with baroque ornaments and crystal chandeliers… It’s kitsch, corny, demodé. I thought this was no longer around.

My visit coming to an end, I left Shamian Island. Crossing the narrow bridge connecting it to the surroundings, I got swallowed by the chaos of modern Guangzhou with cars, motorcycles, crowds rushing around. The first thing that came to my mind was things were better before.

Okay, this is as inaccurate and unfair as it gets, especially coming from an Eurasian who benefitted from the privileges offered by a past colonial administration. But I have to admit this is what came to my mind.

Social, economic and political issues aside, let’s rephrase and say things looked better before. I’m an Architect and I’m qualified to form my opinion on this. And when I say this I don’t necessarily mean Western architecture and urban planning. I mean as a whole, generally speaking.

Many cities that flourished around here in the recent decades as a result of economic booms and pre-defined policies lack history, identity and soul. Would I live in such place?

What is the direction of current cities?..