Along The North Wall - Beijing, China

Along The North Wall || Forbidden City, Beijing

While my wife and I were in Beijing, we rented a little apartment right across the street from this view of the Forbidden City. China has some really strange weather so it was nice to be able to easily access this spot over the course of a few nights. Out of my 3 attempts with this shot, this was by far the best sunset. To be fair though, I think it was the only sunset. Every other time I shot here the sky was completely coated with a thick smog.

The weather wasn’t the strangest thing though. Every time I visited this spot, there was this old man doing the most obnoxious duck calls I’ve ever heard. The first time I heard it, I swore he had Tourette syndrome. There was no way that all those crazy grunts and belches had anything to do with duck calls. But the more he made these noises, the more admiration he seemed to receive from the people around him. So, bravo Mr. crazy tourettes duck belch guy. Apparently you earned it. 😉

Post-processing Before and After Comparison

Shooting into direct sunlight is always a tricky operation. When the light is this intense, I’ll usually shoot 9 bracketed exposures instead of my normal 5-7. Even if I don’t use them, it’s always good to have the data just in case I need it.