Sunday, November 21, 2010

Photographic Sichuan

During these last few days we've been going through our pictures - which has been an object lesson in what a great place Sichuan is for the photo-nut. Here are a selection of some of those pictures we really enjoy - and what better way to kick off than showing a milk guzzling baby Panda - doing a spot of dreamy People-watching as it enjoys its drink.


Something else you can catch at the Panda center - on the lake - is a spot of fish feeding. These monsters certainly make an interesting subject as they go into a Goldfish style feeding frenzy - glad they ain't sharks!!!!!!!


Of course with our fantastic mountains we get the chance for some wonderful scenic shots. This is the sun breaking through an evening mist - from the top of Erlang Mountain - which is around 5 hours out of Chengdu on the the road to Kangding.


Clouds make a give great photo-opportunities when you reach the top of the world. This is at around 4000m on the Balang Pass - about 4 hours drive from Chengdu.


We do a lot of work that's focused on Sichuan nature - especially the birds. Here is a lovely shot of a species called Blue-fronted Redstart - that although we found this particular example at Wolong, can also be seen, during the winter, at Chengdu Panda Center.


We don't confine ourselves to birds - we also greatly enjoy taking pictures of Sichuan's butterflies and flowers.


Autumn, with the contrasting leaf colours, is always a popular time for the photo interested visitors. Many of them take to sites like Jiuzhaigou - but there are also far less crowded areas closer to Chengdu that also offer wonderful scenes. This pic is of yellow autumn larches that liven up the dramatic landscape on the road between Wolong and the Balang pass.


And those interesting leaves don't necessarily have to be on the tree.


But we best finish off with most photographed subjects of Sichuan - those Pandas. This guy is just begging us to take his picture.