As most of you know, John and I went to China at the end of June. We took 8 of my photography students and explored Beijing, Xian and Shanghai with our cameras and had a BLAST! One of the things I was working on with my students was street photography and capturing candid portraits of people. We actually often competed on who could get the best shot of the old man with awesome wrinkles…it was awesome!

For years, I have always been nervous to ask a total stranger for a picture, in fear that they would be offended that I was seeking out a photo cause they looked different than me. But since the Chinese people frequently asked us to pose for their cameras or would secretly snap photos of us, I thought it would be fine to do the same of them.

We took a Tai Chi class after we explored the Forbidden City. This dude was our Tai chi Master and he was seriously legit. I’m not sure what this guy was checking out, but there was something about him that I thought was intriguing. We went to a temple and looked at some ancient artifacts, but I love how bored the guard looked. One of my students got a shot of his partner guard texting. And these two shots were seriously my favorite. I love his eyes and sincerity in the first shot and then the missing teeth in the second just kill me. He is so freaking adorable! As we walked around the Muslim Market, I had fun taking pics of some of the workers. These two guys were cooking up some delicious Chinese food in an open air kitchen. I love the joy I can see in this face. I just imagine all the interesting stories this police officer hears from those in his community. And I know this picture is totally out of focus, but I LOVE it. We went to a retirement home and got to talk to some of inhabitants about the cultural revolution. As this lady opened the door, her face was priceless. I literally only had enough time to pump up my ISO as I heard the door opening and lifted my camera and fired.