Michele Borgarelli

September 2025 - Bell Tower Xi'an

Original
About the Image(s)
The only time of day you can take a picture of this tower without thousands of people is early in the morning, when everyone is still sleeping and the tower is closed to the public. Also, to get the best view, you need to position yourself in the middle of a busy road—so early morning is safer. I was there around 5.00 am and I found few other photographers already (many with drones). Indeed, just 15-20 minutes later, the police showed up and "politely" asked me and the other photographers to leave.
The additional image was taken the night before around 9 pm. I had to run away because the crowd. I had to shoot this with my camera over my head using the screen for composing.
Fuijfilm GFX 100s II, Fujnon 45-100 mm f/4@ f/16, 1/10 s (tripod) ISO 80