A last blessing...

There are a few times in my life when I the photo just takes itself. I’ve had a few of them this year, at this place. Valentines Day with Tanya & XiaoWei comes to mind. 

This is one of the last photos I took in #beijing before I moved back to the USA in August. It will always be that one last thing given to me by a city I called home for over 20 years, in a country I called home for 26 years. 

I had been trying to get a photo like this for a few years. I had gotten quiet a few beautiful photos at the Summer Palace, but I always knew there was a better one out there. One one of other my walks around Kunming Lake, I had noticed these rays of light coming through some of the buildings. I wasn’t in the right place to take the shot I wanted, but I filed it away for future reference. 

On this walk, I wasn’t expecting the clouds to “work” for me. I thought they were going to block the sun cause they had been when I was on the other side of the lake. As I rounded the southern tip of the lake, I saw the beautiful golden light in the sky and I knew I was in business! I quickly (while snapping a few photos) tried to get to a spot. I eventually had to start telling myself to stop taking photos because I knew there was a better shot further up the path. 

When I got to this spot, I knew I had found it. I had seen the tower calling me from the shadows in the distance but I wanted a clear shot of it because it was a bit hidden behind the building on the shore. Once I got the angle, I set up here till the sun went over the ridge. So grateful to be blessed by this place one last time. Hopefully not the last time.