Photo of the day: Puttin’ One in the Air

All this week, Radii is posting a photo essay by Edward Evenson of snaps from outside the buzz and noise of the Chinese megacity. Rural landscapes for a quick daily moment of serenity…

Following a path along the steep cliffs of the mountains, my friend and I rounded a corner to find a peak jutting up across the narrow valley below. It was late in the day, maybe an hour to an hour and a half before sunset, just as the natural light begins to warm the landscape with rich yellows and oranges. The opposite path snaking up the peak encourages the viewers eye to follow it as a hiker would, all the while enjoying the surrounding views offered to either side of the trail. The mountain range’s sheer rock faces littered with slender, angular trees always remind me of the old landscape calligraphy paintings so popular centuries ago in China and Japan. I was tempted to try and mimic that style by making it a high contrast black and white shot, but the warmth of the sun reminded me of the day’s adventure. In the end, nostalgia won.