zhangling❤photography

Due to unexpected delays, this post is actually more timely now than originally planned. On this date exactly one year ago, I had just finished my visit to my birth city and parental hometowns. The photos from my trip sat on my hard drive for a whole year until I started writing this post. Millennium Lucky Bell (千年吉祥钟) in Yellow Crane Tower Park (黄鹤楼公园) My initial reaction at first review of the photos was the familiar sigh and groan at the sheer volume. I try not to be too trigger-happy when shooting but it's easy to lose track in this digital era. I did a quick scan and filtered out the ones I liked most. However, on my second pass, I felt this sinking feeling in my chest. These were my first couple picks (that I still really like): Historic sites and an ancient village (古镇) But the sinking feeling was this weird sort of delayed shame. There were historic reenactors at one of the historic sites but all the photos I picked were of actual people going about their...

I don't usually travel for work so when the opportunity arises to go somewhere new, it's still fresh and exciting to me. However, I quickly realized that it wasn't as glamourous as I had anticipated. I was actually really looking forward to seeing Vancouver again -- specifically, the beautiful scenery and delicious foods -- but in reality, I only got to see the office and my hotel room (not that those weren't nice in their own way). On Friday, I managed to squeeze out two hours until my train down to Seattle and I was determined to make the most of it. So I picked up my luggage and trekked out into the signature west coast rain. Telus Garden I found myself alternating a lot between my phone and camera, partly due to the fear of rain getting on my camera, but also feeling the need for a wider lens for the architecture shots. It's really amazing how good phone cameras are getting nowadays and it's a good reminder for me to stay grounded to t...

Normally, the first month of the new year blows by in the blink of an eye, but this month, I've been counting every single day. I have to admit, it's a significant year in my life. Young me always looked forward to 2019 as I thought I would at last be of the ideal age: established enough to have a comfortable lifestyle and yet still have a fair bit of that youthful wild side. Now that I'm here, I have to say, I was right, but also way off. There are things I expected to have (e.g. my own place) but also didn't think of at all (e.g. two little furbabies). It's funny how it feels like I made it here and yet "here" is some weird abstract concept that just doesn't feel real. Each day of this month has been counted for because I have high hopes and concrete goals for this year. This is my 4th year doing a year-long photography project and originally, my idea was to try to focus on pet photography. However, nearing the end of last year, and lookin...

Happy happy holidays and happy winter solstice! It's last day in the office for me as we'll be driving home to Toronto for the holidays so I'm very excited. Lots of folks were complaining about the shortest day of the year but to me, it means that it's all uphill from here :) It'll be summer again before we know it! There's still a lot I have to do before we drive off into the sunset, including packing up the kitties for the trip and getting the apartment in decent shape so we don't come back and start the new year in a messy place. Plus, I wanted to get this post out before I leave as well so I can take my holiday photos when I'm home without worrying about getting these done. For the product shoot, it's a pretty simple concept but I really wanted to feature my favourite mugs. I love the shape and the cute blue dots, and they're handmade in Poland!  Both mugs and these flower props were also found at the thrift store! I reall...