Tiananamen Square
Beijing, China
Photo by Brad Rickerby
It was cold in Beijing. Colder than any city I had ever worked in. So cold that I really pefered to stay in (I was staying at the Palace Hotel, it was natural that I didn't want to leave that comfort). But I did venture out.
At dawn. I wanted to capture the morning commute which I knew would be a huge chain of bicycles. It was. I went to Tiananamen Square. The light was low. I was shooting film (Velvia 50). I wanted to get an angle looking up so the bikes would fill the frame, but I couldn't get low enough nor hold the camera steady in the low light in my hands. So I made my camera case a platform for holding the camera and fired the shutter with a remote. I was able to stand (and shiver) and keep on shouting. I didn't know what I was actually getting so I kept pushing the shutter release, over and over and over again. I didn't know that I had this image (which has been used as book covers and in advertising material and in 100's of other places) until I got home and edited the slides.
Limited Edition Fine Art prints are available. Email me at brad@bradrickerby.com.
