Xiaobailou under sunset

Amateur photographer Stephen Li still remembers the moment he realized how much he enjoyed the unique challenge of capturing photos of Tianjin's cityscapes. He had just purchased some new gear for his camera, and a friend who managed a 34- story building offered him access to the roof.

He'd only ever taken close up photos of his family. But as he peered through his camera lens at the city sprawling below, Li quickly fell in love with his new perspective.

"It all started there," he said. "It was something that stimulated me, and triggered my interest."

Since then, he has bounced all over Tianjin chasing the perfect city-scape photo. I caught up with him over coffee recently to talk about his work.

Photography is only his hobby. He has a full-time job as a team leader for the German company Hamburg Sud. As a result, he often can't take photos until after work when twilight has settled over the city. The city lights glittering against the dark sky give his photos an atmosphere of hectic movement and vibrant life.

A city was the first setting that piqued Li's interest in taking photos almost 8 years ago. In 2010, he spent some time learning photography in Hong Kong. He was inspired by the beauty of the city to keep pursuing his craft.

"Hong Kong is a very sensational, very amazing city. I was truly amazed by the people around me, and the environment," Li said as he reflected on his start in the photography world. "So I started thinking, maybe it's time I tried photography."

It's clear as Li speaks about his work that he loves his hobby. His eyes light up when he talks about his favorite locations, and he laughs easily as he remembers his favorite memories and moments finding new buildings to shoot pictures from.

Working in community

One of his favorite parts of being a photographer in Tianjin is the community he gets to be part of. He belongs to a WeChat group with over 400 other photographers in it. Together they share pictures and ideas to encourage and inspire each other. Not all of them take cityscape photos like Li does, but those who do will share new locations they find with the group so that other photographers can try them.

Stephen Li

Having the support of a community gives Li a place to learn and grow as a photographer, as well as friends to share adventures with. Just this past September, Li and a photographer from the group set out together to finally take some photos from a skyscraper they had been trying to gain access to for months.

The building was under construction, so they went to the site and tried one more time to ask for permission, but only the guards were there. Frustrated but still determined, they decided to break in. But they had to wait for sunset—the best time to take photos is a short window called "golden hour" that lasts about 40 minutes after the sun goes down.

So, they hid close to the site and waited as the sun slipped away. When it was gone, they found a hole in the construction barriers and snuck in. Then, they found the stairs and started climbing as fast as they could to reach the roof.

They were in a race with the clock, because golden hour was quickly slipping away. By the time they reached the 21st floor, they decided to abandon their roof plans and just take pictures from the window where they were. They worked quickly and captured some photos just in time. The resulting pictures were beautiful—the angle included many Tianjin landmarks like the Tianjin Eye.

Li shared them later on his social media sites, along with the satisfied caption, "I finally got this spot!" He laughed as he remembered all he and his friend went through for one specific photo.

The glamorous Haihe River

Showcasing Tianjin

Part of why Li is willing to go to extra effort if he knows a particular location offers a unique view of the city is because he wants his photos to help outsiders appreciate the beauty Tianjin has to offer. He tries to take photos that reflect the small-town charm the city retains even as it is rapidly growing and changing.

He has seen the city develop his whole life. He was born on the outskirts of Tianjin, and moved into the city to attend Nankai University. He met his wife in Tianjin, and except for time he spent in Hong Kong learning photography, the city has always been his home. He has grown to love it, and hopes through his photography to help others do the same.

"Tianjin has been growing faster since 2008. After the Beijing Olympics, so many skyscrapers started building up. Then, it got a better image to outsiders," Li said. "When we share our photos on WeChat and social media, people study them and say, 'Wow, I didn't know Tianjin was that beautiful.' That's what we want."

Continued growth

Li and his wife have one son. Juggling family responsibilities along with photography, a full- time job, and other hobbies like participating in Toastmasters International clubs is no easy task. Li said he is content for his photography to remain a hobby though, and he has no plans to expand it to a career.

His only goal is to keep growing as a photographer and trying to imitate photography veterans like Chen Yuefeng, who has been taking cityscape photos for many years. Yuefeng helped Li see the beauty in documenting a city like Tianjin that is rapidly changing.

"If you go to a beautiful country, like the USA or Iceland, and you shoot Aurora or you shoot Tibet, anywhere that has an amazing scene, you can get the same picture in ten year's time," Li remembers Yuefeng telling him. "But if you capture the moments of the changing city pace, each time you get different things. And that's why it's so meaningful."

Li has seen this to be true the last two years. He's taken pictures at a few of the same buildings multiple times, and each time the area looks different. New buildings have sprung up, old ones have been taken down, there are more lights in different places or more people in an area than there were before. Change is the only constant in Tianjin right now, and Li plans to be there with his camera to document it every step of the way.