One of the things I like to do when I accompany tours in China, or anywhere else for that matter, is to practice my meager point-and-shoot skills with my Canon Digital Rebel camera. Some day, perhaps, I will bother to learn what more of those dials and buttons are about. For now, however, I am the master of instant decision-making and no-cropping-allowed composition, particularly in making candid portraits of people.

Earlier this year, the “Green Beijing” people held a photo contest: Green Beijing through the Eyes of Foreign Friends.

There were 3197 images submitted, so I was happy to be one of the 50 pictures awarded a cash prize.