“I hope to let people find beauty around us from another angle through my lens.” Liu Yunxiang, a young man born after the 1990s, shows his interest and pursue with his signature of his WeChat account. A bike, an APS, several lens, going everywhere for shooting, and this is the favorite leisure he likes. Different from other photography amateurs, he likes aerial photography most; mountaintop or tall buildings, are all captured by his lens.

    Climbed Qingdao Center for over 40 times

    Liu shoots various kinds of objects: grass and flowers, wild birds, and mechanical pocket watches all are often captured by his camera. However, aerial photography is the most eye-catching thing he does, and also is his favorite.

    “Standing high to see the city makes me feel at ease, once you change angle, you will have different feelings,” Liu said. Recording the view with camera is the most direct way, which makes one feel achieved. No specific target, going to shoot a building or hill once you find one fits for. Because of different seasons and weather, Liu has climbed all buildings fit for shooting for no less than 5 times, and even 10 times for those landmark buildings. “I climbed Qingdao Center the most times, at least 40 times,” Liu said with a smile.

    No walking out without camera

    For a photographer, the only way to shoot a photo you want is to wait. Besides waiting, Liu is also unexpected. “In some cases, you will stay a whole night for light you want.” Liu said, you need not wait a whole night for a wonderful photo if you are lucky; however, sometimes you spend several nights in vain if you are in bad luck.

    Interest is always the best teacher. It’s a saying especially fit for Liu. Liu is doing pocket watch repair, which is irrelevant to photography, but he loves photography because of love. All photos shot by him are not for sale or exhibition, “I love to see them,” Liu said.

    Liu will carry camera and lens with him when going out, regardless of the purpose, and he will look out the sky outside the window, and chooses lens according to the weather. “It’s not a habit, it’s instinct, and I will feel unable to work without camera or lens.” Liu said.

    Spending over CNY 500,000 for 40 lens

    “I actually have not shot a most satisfying photo,” Liu said. Many good photos were shot under severe weather, but he has not had such chances, in some cases he got such a chance, but after he climbed up, the conditions changed. Although this is his regret, his lens can comfort him in his journey of pursuing good photos. Starting aerial photography in 2012, he has bought more than 40 lens in different size and focal length, with over CNY 500,000. What makes him proud is over half of these lens are film lens, really antique lens.

    Cracking down fear of height: the 1st step of aerial photography

    The biggest problem in aerial photography is the fear of height, according to Liu, because you need to stand high to shoot, and if you are afraid of that, it will be hard to move forward. Cracking down inner fear, the remaining problems are technical issues. Light value between exposures of sky and objectives should be paid attention to during daytime, while during nighttime, neon lights are on many buildings, and though they make photo looks more chic, bright spot in the area should be avoid, they will appear over bright if shutter speed is slow and exposure time is long, which will damage the whole picture. If you need to shoot in the night, tripod is needed, and a lightweight tripod is preferred. Spaces on top of many old residential houses are too narrow for a tripod with large angle. A lightweight tripod is especially needed in mountain shooting, the camera and lens are heavy, and it will be difficult to shoot with too heavy of a tripod.

    5. Spending more time shooting Laoshan mountain

    The reason he loves aerial shooting is because of his growth story, Liu said. He likes climbing hills and shooting when he was a child. He saved his money for lunch when he studied in junior middle school; and finally he bought a CNY 1,000 DC after many months. He carried his beloved camera to climb hills and shot on weekends then.

    “My biggest hope now is to shoot a perfect photo,” Liu said. He plans to spend more time in shooting Laoshan mountain, to let people see the beauty of the city from high angle. If he can get such a photo, he will go out for more cities to shoot more pictures; the next stop will be Shanghai. He wants to conquer heights of more cities.