Yesterday morning, I was invited to the China Radio International studios here in Beijing, to take part in a panel discussion about desertification. The discussion was a great success and I was really happy to be able to talk about this issue and my work for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting on the radio for the second time this week. One of my aims for the distribution of this work was to get it out into as many different media outlets as possible. With the advent of new media, I think radio has been forgotten a little in a way, so it’s good to promote it here on my blog.

Please click here to listen to the panel discussion as it aired yesterday

Also, please find below a few images taken during the show by the host Chris Gelken and other members of the China Radio International staff.

[nggallery id=2]

Image from my series on China's Growing Sands also selected for the foto8 Summer Show, selected for the Telgraph.co.uk's Photo of the Day

You may recognise the image to the left as my selected ‘Photo of the Week’, which I posted on Monday. As regular visitors here will know, it was recently chosen for inclusion in the foto8 Summer show exhibition at HOST gallery in London.

Well, in addition to the above, it was also chosen by Daily Telegraph photo department’s Lucy Davies, as her ‘Photo of the Day’ for July 29th. I only just noticed today as the past couple of days have been very busy!

It’s great to see this image getting a little more exposure as I think it’s a very important image in my work on China’s Growing Sands. If you missed Monday’s post, please do check it out my just scrolling down on the blog homepage.

Please click here to listen to China Radio International Interview with photographer Sean Gallagher

The above audio file is an interview that aired with China Radio International today, on the subject of desertification and my work for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

This is the first time I have been interviewed on the radio in relation to my work for Pulitzer, however it won’t be the last as I have also been invited back for a panel discussion on Thursday 30th July which will air at 10:00 a.m. Beijing time (03:00 a.m. GMT), also on the subject of desertification. To hear that discussion, please tune in here. If you miss it, do not worry, as I shall post it onto the blog soon after.

Hope you enjoy the interview!

Image from the 'ecological refugee' town of Hongsibao in Ningxia Province, China. Selected as part of Foto8's Summer Show 2009.

I’m pleased to announce that the above image has been selected for the foto8 Summer Show which is currently on show at HOST Gallery in London this week and will be there until the 5th of September.

“The Foto8 Summer Show saw over 2,300 individual image entries submitted by photographers from over 44 countries. The final selection of more than 120 framed prints is hung at HOST gallery in London. It was a tough choice with many spectacular images to view, but the Foto8 editorial team has made a final selection for the exhibitors of the second Annual Foto8 Awards & Summer Show 2009.” -Foto8

Continue Reading »

Myself and Ileana Athanatos packaging Eve Arnold's Marilyn Monroe Prints during my internship at Magnum Photos. 2005

In 2004, I was lucky enough to to be selected for the prestigious 1-year paid internship at Magnum photos in their London office. This was  an incredibly important year for me and for the development of my knowledge about photography. It is an experience that I shall have to blog more about, as I receive regular emails from people asking me about my time at Magnum and seeking advice about applying for an internship.

Continue Reading »

Exhibition Review of China's Growing Sands on Beijing City Weekend Website

Just wanted to let you know about a nice little review that has been written about my China’s Growing Sands exhibition which is still on show at Cafe Zarah in Central Beijing at the moment. It appears City Weekend’s Art Critic “Art Attack” caught the show and had some nice things to say about it. See the article here or read the reproduced text below.

Continue Reading »

Model replica of the American moon landing in the Hong Kong Space Museum. 2008

Forty years ago today, the world watched a truly unique event as Apollo 11 blasted off on its journey to the Moon, putting human beings on another world for the first time. Now, don’t let the above photo fool you. I must admit, I was not there, although it would of been possibly the best photo-assignment ever! This photo was taken inside the Hong Kong Space Museum which is dedicated to promoting the space exploration programs of  China and other nations.

Continue Reading »

Inside a Photographer's Notebook 1. 'Look' photo (c) Peter Marlow/Magnum. Quote: Bruce Lee

<<Return to the Learning Zone When I first started entertaining the idea of being a photographer, about 7 years ago, I had a million and one ideas in my head and nowhere to put them. I can’t remember who first suggested it to me, but someone gave me the idea to put them down in a notebook, to collect all my ideas and sources of inspiration in one place. So, I did. Over the following few years I would cut out pictures from magazines, write down quotes that inspired me, have friends write down their thoughts and log important deadlines for competitions and exhibitions.

Continue Reading »

Today marks one month since I posted my first blog post. I just checked my statistics and in the past 4 weeks I’ve posted 14 posts attracting 641 visits and 1709 page views. These are pretty modest numbers but not bad I think for the first month. Thanks to everyone who has stopped by here and started to create a dialogue.

If there is anything you would like to see more of here on the blog, or you think some things could be changed or made better, then please feel free to send suggestions.

Thanks again!

Air pollution hangs over the Bund in central Shanghai. 2008

This week’s ‘Photo of the Week’ is about a subject that is never too far away from the lips of China’s residents…air pollution. The above photograph was taken in Shanghai, in early 2008, towards the end of a trip I undertook travelling the Yangtze river. Shanghai is one of China’s most spectacular cities, however this alternative photo sheds the city in a different light. A somewhat greyish light, if you will.

The debate surrounding air pollution has always been intense. In the run up to the Olympic Games last summer, China famously banned cars from the roads, closed building sites and shut down factories ahead of the games, in attempt to clear up the air and protect competing athletes. Athletes arrived, some sporting masks, however it was generally perceived that air quality was improved during the games. A new study published just last month in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, has revealed that spectators and participants faced an “unprecedented level” of air pollution at the Games. Particulate air pollution in the air during the Beijing games was most worrying, well above the World Health Organisation’s safe limits and at levels almost 30% more than stated by experts in China.

Continue Reading »