Padd Solutions

Okay, so after returning to the hotel for a few hours, we decided we'd head out to the Shanghai World Finanical Centre. I'd done my usual research of every minute detail on my laptop, I'd menatlly planned the route to the right subway station, the lines and changes we had to make, the closing time of the SWFC observatory, ticket prices, etc. Before departing I thought I'd grab a few night practice shots from my balcony.

^ This bright building provides a good way of knowing roughly which way is "home" when you're half-way accross the city.

^ I think everyone should be forced to use the same lightbulbs.

^ I figure this building must be ran by hotel management, as the majority of people are using the same bulbs. ( yeah... I actually think about stuff like this... :(    )

^ I quite like the colours in this one.

^ and one last one of our "beacon".

^ Walking towards the subway station. Neon lights bouncing off the wet floor is always a goodie.

^ One thing about Shanghai is just how quiet it is. The roads at night or day are quieter than Stafford. Its bizarre! Even the pathments are narrower than other Chinese cities, and less occupied.

^ I quite liked this shopping mall with all the escel...escal....escol... ... moving-stairs on show.

^ Jackie Chan endorses Canon over here. This should finally settle the Canon Vs. Nikon debate.

^ A tree!

^ In the subway station. Gotta love a country where you have to tell people not to spit.

^ I really like; A) People on mass transit systems. Everyone is always in their own little world, and its always curious to wonder what they're listening to, where they're going, what they're thinking. B) I really like the lighting in the subway stations. C) I really like the shade of purple they use for metro line 4. So, I really like this shot. Interestingly, there's no playstations / xboxs here... but the PSP is pretty damn popular! I see 10x the amount of PSPs on the metro here than I did on the London underground.

^ Came out of the subway on the other end. I didn't bother remembering the route from the subway station to the SWFC as I figured I'd be able to see it and just walk towards it. Easy peasy. However, half way there I realised "oh wait, how will I get back to the subway station?" Meh, nevermind! :D

^ Quite a pretty building. One suprising thing was just how quiet it was. Both in terms of people and.... "stuff." We were fairly close to the major downtown part of Shanghai, and it was just like the outskirts of a small British town. No shops, no hotels, no high-risers, nothing. The speed at which the city goes from skyscrapers to nothing is impressive. Anyway, kept just walkin towards the big ass building. (SWFC.)

^ Ummm... I'm gonna run out of captions for "Photo of some skyscrapers" really fast.

^ Although; this one was interesting, because it was under construction.

^ Ummm... yup. Ran out of descriptive powers. I could make a comment about how I should have taken my UV filter off, as that street light is pinging a bit too much. But like, one person would even notice that. Oh, hey Mr Shepperson! :D

^ Its a skyscraper!

^ This was an intersection slap bang between all the skyscrapers, and there were just no people around, and a handful of cars.

^ Getting closer now! SWFC on the left. World's tallest hotel on the right. I think it's called the Park Hyatt.

^ ALL THE SKYSCRAPERS ARE FALLING OVER, AHHHHH, ITS LIKE CLOVERFIELLLLDDD! Oh... no... just the camera. 

^ Ka-pow! More skyscrapers. And more lens-flare!

^ Starting to look foggy at the top of the SWFC. I really dig the Park Hyatt though. The exterior shell looks like something from Gotham City.

^ A nice little lake / park inbetween all the buildings.

^ Yeah, *REALLY* Can't see the observatory now.

^ More skyscrapers! Fancy that, eh? Although that building on the right has some lights dotted around it that they use as a simple low-res screen. One of the patterns it cycles through looks a bit like space invaders. 200meters of space invaders. I'm into that.

^ And, finally made it to the base of the SWFC.

Next post - inside the SWFC!