'Rob Shanghai' Captures The Complex Beauty Of Shanghai
More than ever, the city is bursting with creative energy and talent. Look no further than Rob Smith, known through his multiple websites and social media accounts as ‘Rob Shanghai’. Far from being a city newbie though, Rob has been capturing breathtakingly beautiful photos of the city since he first arrived in 1996. Surprisingly, photography is not this UK native’s day job. He’s an engineer, something that probably influenced his keen awareness of the buildings and and compositions around him. We were lucky enough to be able to chat with him about his photography, and his time in the city.
ShWOW: How did you first become interested in photography?
Rob: My father was a very keen amateur photographer, he always took pictures on our holidays and back home he would set-up a makeshift darkroom for developing and printing. From time to time he would let me use his camera to take some pictures, I loved every minute of it. When I started work the first thing I spent my salary on was a 35mm camera.
ShWOW: What do you like so much about taking photos in Shanghai?
Rob: I guess what I love the most is the variety of life. You can walk down the street and see so many contrasts, new and old, rich and poor. Also whether I am taking cityscapes or streets shots I always manage to find something new and interesting, the city is constantly changing and is full of life.
ShWOW:You’ve been here since 1996, have you ever thought about leaving?
Rob: Like most residents of Shanghai I complain about the traffic, air pollution, crowds of people etc etc but never seriously consider leaving. Shanghai is my home city now and in many ways I am quite proud of it.
ShWOW:What has it been like watching Shanghai evolve over the last two decades?
Rob: When I first arrived, there was so much going on in Shanghai, the development was non-stop. The energy of the city was something I had never experienced before. I fell in love with the Chinese culture and admired their ambition and determination to make Shanghai what it is today. In 20 years so much has changed but at the same time some things have stayed the same which is nice. I have seen all the elevated roads built, most of the metro constructed and all the skyscrapers apart from the Pearl Tower have appeared since I arrived. Now you can find coffee and cake shops on every corner when before there were none but still in the morning and evening people dance on the streets and in the park reminding me “This is Shanghai”.
ShWOW:Of all the photos you've taken here which one is your favorite?
Rob: I have two that spring to mind, the first is a cityscape that I took looking over Yu Garden and the center of Puxi. I like it because it shows both the old and new skylines of Shanghai something I am always trying to capture. [see photo below]
Rob:The second shows the negative side of the never ending development of Shanghai. Close to my office I followed and photographed one of the many small communities that have to leave their homes and possibly their lifelong friends to make way for new developments. I saw this old lady, obviously in a lot of distress, pacing up and down a small lane, looking at her whole life in rubble around her. She stopped and leaned against the wall of her small home, which was soon to be demolished, and looked deep in thought. After I’d taken the picture, I tried to imagine what was going on in her mind and where she would go, did she have someone to look after her, how will she survive. The picture still brings tears to my eyes. [see photo below]
ShWOW:A lot of your photos are taken from high/elevated vantage points, often with incredible views. How do you go about finding these locations?
Rob:I do quite a lot of research finding tall buildings that have public area’s such as lobbies, bars and restaurants etc. at a high floor levels or roof tops. Sometimes I am faced with taking photographs through glass so I use a device called a Lenskirt to minimize any reflections. I also have a number of Chinese photography friends that help me get permission to access to private areas such as apartment rooftops etc. But many of my best shots are taken from locations everybody can access for the price of a beer.
ShWOW:What advice would you give to an aspiring photographer in Shanghai (or an amateur looking to improve their photos)?
Rob:First don’t get too distracted by camera gear, most modern digital cameras can take amazing photographs and can outperform most photographers, keep it simple. Second learn how to use Adobe Lightroom, your pictures will look so much better if you apply some simple post production to them. Thirdly take your camera with you everywhere you go and keep asking yourself “where can I see a picture” always keep part of your mind thinking about making pictures.