China. Spiderman on the Great Wall of China. 2006

First, I need to apologise for my lack of a ‘Photo of the Week’ last week. I know many of you stopped by expecting to see a new image. I was on assignment in a place that had no internet and was completely out of touch with the outside world for almost the whole week. I can’t reveal too much now but I promise to have an exciting new set of images (and maybe more) of my work from this place. If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you may already have an idea of where I have been.

In the meantime, here is a photo that I have wanted to post for some time now. This week’s ‘Photo of the Week’ was taken a few years ago on the Great Wall of China and depicts ‘Spiderman’ enjoying this world famous tourist attraction!

The image was taken during China’s national holidays which occur annually at the beginning of October. I couldn’t wait to show this photo as it is one of my favourites. It is somewhat random but I like this factor in the image and like the unexpected appearance of a very modern figure on one of mankind’s most recognisable and ancient structures.

Weekend Workshops Beijing Logo

I’m delighted to announce here on my blog the launch of my new photography workshops here in China. The first will be held from Friday 18th September to Sunday 20th September here in Beijing, offering students a chance to change the way they approach their photography through a tailored 3-day programme introducing them to photographing China’s capital under my guidance and that of other China experts.

More information can be found here:

WEEKEND WORKSHOPS

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WELCOME to the home of WEEKEND WORKSHOPS, a 3-day intensive photography course that centers on introducing the participants to the fundamentals of photography through the eyes of established professionals, in diverse locations throughout China.

Student Level: Beginner / Intermediate / Passionate Amateur

The concept of WEEKEND WORKSHOPS was created by award-winning photographer Sean Gallagher and professional guide and interpreter Jessica Zheng, in response to the demand by photographers for a more affordable andpersonalised approach to workshops with professionals possessing a unique knowledge of the workshop location.

Over the course of 3 days, photographer Sean Gallagher will help participants cover essential topics such as ‘portfolio reviewing’, ‘photographer shadowing’, ‘night photography’, ‘productive editing’ and ‘visual presentation’. All the components will combine to give each participant an intensive photography experience from which they can develop their own style and voice and approach to their work in the future. The workshops location and the places visited during the 3 days will be fully guided and introduced by Jessica Zheng, contributing to the participants’ deeper understanding and knowledge of the workshop’s location.

REGISTRATION: To register for any of the workshops below, please send an email to sean@gallagher-photo.com after which a registration form will be sent to you along with payment details. A 30% deposit is required to secure a place, payable online through Paypal. The remaining fee is due 1-week before the workshop commences.

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The International Photography Awards Logo

I’m very happy to announce that my work for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting on ‘China’s Growing Sands’ has been awarded 2nd place in the Editorial: Environmental Professional category at the International Photography Awards 2009. This is the first prize recognition I have had for this body of work and I am happy that it can serve as another avenue to promote the issue and the message of the crisis the north of China is currently facing.

I was pipped to 1st place by the excellent photographer Ed Kashi, who I have mentioned here on my blog before. Like me, he is a regular contributer over on the Resolve blog and has been extensively covering the issues surrounding oil in the Niger Delta. I very much admire Ed’s work and I encourage you to check out more of his work here.

1st, 2nd and 3rd places in the Editorial: Environmental Pro Category

In choosing my photos for entry, I had to narrow down my whole work to 5 key images. You can see the selection that I went with in the picture below. It was a very tough choice but I decided to go for the ones which were singularly the most striking and which worked best together as a set of five.

The 5 images entered as 'China's Growing Sands' entry.

You can see all the images that placed in the competition here. Happy browsing. There are some great images in there!

Inside a Photographer's Notebook #2 - Quotes

<<Return to the Learning Zone “I would stare at the grains of light suspended in silent space, struggling to see in my own heart. What did I want? And what did others want from me? But I could never find the answers. Sometimes I would reach out and try to grasp the grains of light, but my fingers touched nothing.” – Haruki Murakami – Norweigan Wood

“If there is something in a picture that you cannot explain, it’s a sign there is something interesting.” – Luc Delahaye

“I only know how to approach a place by walking. For what does a street photographer but walk and watch and wait and talk, and then watch and wait some more, trying to remain confident that the unexpected, the unknown, or the secret heart of the known awaits just around the corner.” – Alex Webb

An advertising hoarding in Beijing featuring Yao Ming, China's leading basketball player and Tiger Woods. 2006

I received a picture request this week from a client for images of golf in China. While I was searching through my archive, I stumbled upon this image that I took in 2006, just after I arrived in Beijing for my second time. The image was taken on Beijing’s main Wangfujing high street, which is one of the city’s shopping districts, popular with visiting tourists, both Chinese and foreign.

Many photographers use the approach of first searching for a backdrop, in order to create a picture. They wander, they look, constantly searching for a background that will serve as almost a ‘stage’ for which they will wait until the passing ‘actors’ all fall into place. That is exactly the approach I took with this photograph. Upon seeing this advertising hoarding, with the huge figures of Yao Ming and Tiger Woods looming over the shopping street, I knew it would make an interesting composition, if I was able to work the moving elements of the pedestrians into the frame too. So, I sat and I waited. Waiting for all the ‘actors’ to pass by and fall into place.

I enjoy the symmetry of this photo, how the passing pedestrians form almost a triangle in the bottom portion of the frame and the figures of Woods and Yao Ming stand like pillars to either side, helping to frame the photograph.

“All the world’s a stage, And all men and women are merely players. They have their exits and entrances.” – As You Like It – Shakespeare

Just a very quick post to let you know that I have introduced a new ‘Archive’ page to the blog, which will allow you see all my previous posts in one place, allowing you to browse directly to each. Just look to the top-right of the screen and the archives are just to the right of the ‘About’ tab. Happy browsing!

Please find below, a selection of images from my exhibition opening this morning in the city hall of the the city of Wulanhaote, in Inner Mongolia as part of the International Conference of Science and Technology on Desertification Control (ICSTDC). The above image is the leading shot in the exhibition.

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The opening was a great success this morning with guests to the conference taking in the exhibit before the main opening ceremony. Today consisted of opening lectures from various Chinese and International scientists. The topics were as diverse as the speakers with talks covering subjects such as the history of desertification in China, agricultural ways to combat desertification, urban desertification and alternative energy sources from the desert.

I speak tomorrow morning here at the conference, presenting my 2 years of work covering desertification in China in a presentation titled “Desertification in China: A Photographic Journey.” I shall hopefully upload images and audio tomorrow from my talk.

I hope you enjoy the images of my exhibition opening!

My 'Representative' pass for the 2nd International Conference on Science and Technology for Desertification Control (ICSTDC)

After a 19 hour train journey from Beijing, I have finally arrived in the north-eastern city of Wulanhaote in Inner Mongolia. I’m here for the next 4 days to attend the 2nd International Conference on Science & Technology for Desertification Control – a gathering of some 200 people all linked by one thing – their interest in the fight against desertification.

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Sat on the steps of a yurt, a tourist adjusts her traditional mongolian clothing. Traditional life has all but disappeared on the Inner Mongolian Grasslands, along with much of the grass in places, which has been damaged by overgrazing. 2009

This week’s ‘Photo of the Week’ was taken in Inner Mongolia earlier this year, during my 6-week trip for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. I have chosen this photo this week because on Wednesday, I am heading back to Inner Mongolia to take part in the International Conference of Science & Technology on Desertification Control. I have been invited there to speak to the 150+ scientists, experts and businessmen attending, on the subject of desertification and my coverage of the issue for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. As I type this post, I have some 50 prints being printed, all to be shown as an exhibition in Wulanhaote, where the conference is being hosted.

I am really looking forward to this conference as it will be a great opportunity to bring my photography and work on desertification to a new audience and an important one at that. As photographers, we want people to see our images. We want as many people as possible to see them. This is great, but sometimes a targeted approach is equally good. Many of China’s leading experts on desertification and environmental issues shall be at this conference, therefore I have an opportunity to emphasise to them the importance of photography and its role in communicating scientific and environmental issues to the public.

I shall be sure to post from the conference and update about some of the key issues being discussed. I shall also post images of the final hanging of the exhibition. Thanks again to all who offered advice on the hanging, both here on the blog and over at Lightstalkers.

I have been invited to have an exhibition next week, which will showcase 48 images from my work on desertification in China over the past 2 years, at a Science and Technology Conference on Desertification Control in Inner Mongolia.

The details of the space I have available for the exhibition have been sent through to me at the very last minute and I am trying to brainstorm ways to hang this exhibition in an effective way.

I have been informed that I will have 40 wooden boards, measuring 120cm x 80cm, almost like an artist’s sketching easel, standing on wooden legs.

The prints aren’t going to be able to be framed in the time we have, so I also need to find a way to ‘stick’ the prints to the boards. Pins? Double-sided tape? Needs to look professional either way.

I’m completely open to ideas from my readership here, so if you have any thoughts, I’d be more than happy to hear them. Make them quick though, as I have 24hours before I head to the printers!

Many thanks in advance!