Suggestions for shooting in Beijing and Sydney

Sunnyvalejohn

I have an awesome business trip taking me over to Sydney and Beijing in a few weeks (I do network and computer security). Looking for suggestions for coastal landscapes in Australia and postcard/landmarks in Beijing.

For Sydney, I was going to shoot around the harbour and head north or south up the coast. I like rocky shore or nice beach images at sunset so anything also that lines would be good. I WISH I could make it to the 12 apostles, but I think it is too far (yes, I know most Americans think Australia is the size of Rhode Island!) I will have more days there. I found this one thread here with the awesome images from DevBobo!

In Beijing, I will only have 1 spare day (yes, I am crying because it is too short) I am going to focus on the basic post card shots. I was going to hit the Summer Palace and try to find a part of the Great Wall with fewer people.

Does anyone have a photo guide that they can recommend? I don't want a general tourist trip with 1000 other people.
Does anyone have other recommendations or galleries to check out?!

Thanks in advance.
John

Mr Eddy

Great trip! Short stay in Beijing's a bit of a bummer though.

With regard to the Great Ocean Road you'd realistically have to allocate a minimum of two (hectic travel filled) days. Flight to Melbourne from Sydney is around an hour. The drive to the GOR will take roughly 3 hours give or take. You could cut things short by flying with JetStar to Avalon Airport (which is Melbourne's second, and smaller airport). That would save you about an hour drive. Base yourself out of Port Campbell.

I've only just (ie about 4 weeks ago) moved to Sydney from Melbourne so I'm scouting locations at the momnt.

As far as shooting the harbour goes, there are almost too many good locations to know where to start. The following is pretty much my current list:

The almost obligatory walk past the opera house from circular quay and along the botanical gardens
The Rocks area in general, as long as you don't get sidetracked by pubs.
Mcmahon's point to luna park, especially at night.
Taronga zoo and nearby clifton gardens or even further.
The walk along the coast between bondi beach and coogee is great.
The trip from north head to palm beach along the coast is supposed to be lovely, it's on my todo list. That would be a day trip with a car.
La Perouse and bare island.

Edit: a link I just found which has some fairly lengthy walks. Most a bit OTT, but seems like a good source for ideas I think... Walking Coastal Sydney

Sunnyvalejohn

Awesome! Thanks for the info. I just extended my Beijing trip by another day. Hopefully I will get out and shoot! Definitely a trip of a life time - just need to make sure I am not too let lagged. Work stuff will keep me busy.

Post pics later.
cheers,
John

tupawk

Beijing
If you only have two days in Beijing and want to cram as many of the tourist sites as possible I would possibly try to do the following:

Day 1 - Start at Tienanmen Square. After wandering around there go through the tunnel under the road to the Forbidden City. Forbidden City is huge and you can really spend tons of time there if you want to read all the placards about the history of each thing. From there I would either take a rickshaw, cab, or walk up to the Drum and Bell Towers possibly stopping at Beihai Park since it is on the way.

Day 2 - If you really want to see the Great Wall the closest is Badaling, being the closest it is also more crowded. I would hire a driver for the day to take me there first thing in the morning before the crowds. If you want to go a little but further out you can go to the Mutianyu section. With a driver you wont waste as much time getting to/from whatever section you decide to visit. Depending on how much time is left in the day you should be able to make a quick stop at the Summer Palace in the afternoon.

Other options - Wander around one of the Hutongs (ancient part of the city). Visit the Silk Market (shopping galore). If you want to see a huge camera market head out to Wukesong Camera Market.

Also, don't forget everything is negotiable in China! Have fun!

Mr Eddy

A few photo tours/workshops in Sydney. PhotoSydney dates are a bit strange so I'm not sure if that's a website problem or something else. Some good ideas for locations anyway though.

http://photosydney.com.au/Tours.html
http://www.focus10.com.au/workshop_sydney.htm

Naturally you can get in touch or drop me a line around the time you'll be in Sydney. I'd be more than happy to show you around.