China is a country full of curves. From rice terraces to tea plantations, to dragons and curved bridges, to curlicue rooftops and rounded karsts, there is no shortage of curve patterns.
My favourite places on earth are the wild waterways where the forest opens its arms and a silver curve of river folds the traveller into its embrace. ~ Rory MacLean
Fenghuang, China
Yangshuo, Guangxi Province, China
farmland and karsts in Yangshuo, Guangxi Province, China
The Li River in Guangxi Province
Tea farm in Yangshuo
pitcher plant at a market on Guangxi University campus
Detian Waterfall on the border between Vietnam & China
curvaceous carvings in Lijiang, Yunnan Province
a farmer leads his cows across a river in Yangshuo
a small junk in Beihei, China
lava beach in Beihei, China
Longji Rice Terraces, Guangxi Province, China
Nine Dragons and Five Tigers in Ping’An, Guangxi Province, China
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“PHOTOGRAPHY” INVITATION: I invite you to create a photography intention and then create a blog post for a place you have visited. Alternately, you can post a thematic post about a place, photos of whatever you discovered that set your heart afire. You can also do a thematic post of something you have found throughout all your travels: churches, doors, people reading, people hiking, mountains, patterns, all black & white, whatever!
You probably have your own ideas about this, but in case you’d like some ideas, you can visit my page: photography inspiration.
I challenge you to post no more than 15 photos (fewer is better) and to write no more than 350-words about any travel-related photography intention you set for yourself. Include the link in the comments below by Wednesday, June 6 at 1:00 p.m. EST. When I write my post in response to this challenge on Thursday, June 7, I’ll include your links in that post.
This will be an ongoing invitation, every first and third Thursday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂
I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!
the ~ wander.essence ~ community
I invite you all to settle in and read a few posts from our wandering community. I promise, you’ll be inspired!
- Sue, of WordsVisual, writes of the fascinating history of Matera in Italy, with gorgeous photos of the town and Carlo Levi’s paintings: Old Lucania – Sensing the History of Place
- Jo, of Restless Jo, writes about her walk through Yorkshire Sculpture Park, among invisible men and Camelia & rhododendron: JO’S MONDAY WALK: YSP REVISITED
- Jo also takes us through a beautiful spring garden in her post In an English Country Garden.
- Pauline, of Living in Paradise, takes us for an up close look at a gorgeous restored Victorian mansion in Tenterfield, in Reasons to return: #2 The Mansion…
Thanks to all of you who wrote posts on the “photography” invitation. 🙂
~ wander.essence ~ 
I remember how very hard you had to work in China, both in the classroom and at getting around, Cathy. But the rewards in terms of photos is simply stunning. What a portfolio these make! I’m in love with them all! 🙂 🙂 And I love that quote at the outset. Thanks so much for including me.
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Thanks, Jo! It was a lot of work in both ways you mention. I have thousands of photos because, as you know, I spent practically every minute I had off traveling. I hope to find thematic ways to organize and present my old photos as well as new ones I take. 😊 And of course, you’re welcome for the link. Thanks to you for joining in! 😊😊
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An absolutely splendid post, both conceptually and photographically. Such a wonderful diversity of curves. Was the collecting intentional? I’m finally getting round to realising you were catbirdinchina. It seems that you explored it thoroughly in your time there. I love both the visual delights you’ve given in the post, and the thought of such adventuring.
I’m finding the actual usually overtakes the intention. Yesterday, looking out the train window on the way to Poznań, the actual dissolved into silhouettes and straight lines – 2 pages of noticings, without any pre-intention. Maybe I’ll give up on intentions and let the data dictate! And this morning, nearly all my intentions for a day in Poznań collapsed when I realised I’d already visited most of them on previous visits!
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Thanks so much, Meg. No, the collection of these was not intentional but more revealed. I thought back to my year in China and pondered what scenes I loved from China and why. Those curves, especially in the Longji Rice Terraces, came out and then I found other curves in my collection.
I think you’re right about intentions; they’re not necessary but they help you notice and reflect upon the things that reveal themselves to you. Silhouettes and straight lines caught your attention through the train window, but I wonder if you would have given them much thought without intentional noticing.
Being fully in the present and absorbing, and taking notes so I don’t forget, helps me. I find a lot of things I hadn’t considered are being revealed to me out west.
That’s funny about the collapse of your intentional day planned in Poznan. I hope something surprising popped up. 😊
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China is so interesting and you have captured a great gallery of iconic views. I did enjoy being in China with you when you were working there. Thank you for taking us back again for another look. Thank you for the link to my recent post. I think this is a great challenge/invitation to be part of
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China is endlessly interesting, Pauline. I’m so glad I lived there a year so I was able to gain some understanding of that culture. I’m glad you enjoy the photo invitations. 😊
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When I passed through I longed to stay and see more. It has all changed now since 1990 when I was there
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I’m sure it has changed a lot!
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Every one of these is stupendous. This is where I came in – I think I first met you at the end of your China sojourn.
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Thanks so much, Anabel. Yes, I believe that’s when we first “met” in this blogging world!
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Brilliant photos and it is one country we have yet to really explore.
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It’s very difficult to get around which is why many people go on tours. I lived there for a year, so when I traveled I did it alone; it was certainly a challenge! But one well worth it!
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Living there for a year would have given you more insight than being a tourist. Brilliant!!
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A wonderful portfolio of your China adventures. I love the way you have picked out the ‘curve’ theme here and those rice terraces are beautifully captured. Making me think now…
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Thanks, Jude. I’m going to be looking back at many of my old photos to see what’s revealed in them. What drew me in? I’ll be interested to see what I find. 😊
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This is such a fascinating landscape, with the terraces and those amazing mountains. I enjoyed seeing this part of China, Cathy.
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Me too, Carol. It was such a challenge to get there, but both times I went it was well worth the hassle!
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These are wonderful photos. I have never been to China but do think of it as a kind of curvy place – that comes in the traditional ink paintings that I love.
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Much of the art in China is full of curves, from the ink paintings you speak of to the decor on temples, and even the landscape!
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Your China blog is unforgettable Cathy, it’s great to see some more photos.
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Thanks, Gilly. It was an unforgettable experience, that’s for sure!
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[…] ~wander.essence~ | photography […]
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A photo essay about an installation. I hope this is in keeping with your intentions for the photography challenge.
https://cornwallincolours.wordpress.com/2018/05/22/the-rites-of-dionysus/
Hope you are still having fun out there on the road!!
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Thanks so much for sharing this, photo essay about this wild installation, Jude! I’m happy to link it to the next photo invitation. What interesting and bizarre things people create!
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Such a vast country, so much to see…Hats off to you for being able to sort through some of it to find these examples, which are wonderful.
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My year in China was truly an adventure, Lynn, and I hope to keep revisiting my photos and memories in different forms. There were certain parts like Yanshuo, Guilin and the Longji Rice Terraces that really spoke to me. I still hold them in my dreams. 🙂
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A beautiful part of the country. We loved the scenery in the Longji area from our recent trip.
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I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I was living in Guangxi Province for a year, so luckily I made it to Yangshuo three times and Longji twice. They were some of my favorite places in China. Thanks for visiting and commenting. 🙂
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