Under the streets of Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia. 2008

This time last year, I was in a sewer underneath the streets on the Mongolian capital of Ulaan Baatar taking this picture. I was there to do a story on the homeless communities of the Mongolian capital who live underneath the streets. At that point last year, the economic crisis was in full swing and was having knock-on effects on this community, already living perilously close to the line which divides survival and death.

I don’t know if this image (and the story) have had any affect at all. I self-assigned this story to myself and certainly have made no money from it. The problem is, photographing homeless people is a bit of a photojournalistic cliche and many people switch off when you say you have photographed the homeless. The tragic lives of the homeless in Mongolia is definately a story which needs to be heard. What can I do? What can we do? Well, visit websites such as this one and this one and help spread the word. You never know who may hear.

One of the outlets that published the work was the Digital Journalist. Scroll down to read my article that I wrote for them about my trip and view a few more images.

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Read this quote here today and I just had to post it here…

“What kind of typewriter did Hemingway use?” Jim Estrin, photographer at the New York Times for the last 20 years, asked his news photography class by way of an introduction this morning.

Nobody knew.

“That’s because it doesn’t matter,” said Estrin.

Have a look at the original article for some more useful tips and thoughts on photography. The writer of the original article is Kristen Joy Watts, a production intern at Lens, the photojournalism blog of the New York Times.  You should check out her work.

Phoenix Weekly - Hong Kong

One of my biggest challenges working in China over the past few years has been making inroads into the Chinese press. Notorious for the control that is placed upon the industry by the state, it is hard for foreign reporters to contemplate working under such restrictions that see their work scrutinized so closely and possibly edited accordingly.

Phoenix Weekly - Hong Kong

Recently, I have started to have more and more work appear in the Chinese press, with relatively little interference. By far the most popular story for garnering interest from the Chinese press has been my work on the issue of desertification in China. Many editors and reporters who have contacted me seem fascinated that  a non-Chinese that is reporting this issue, providing a new and fresh visual representation of the issue. Surprisingly also is that many editors have been in contact with me state that the fact they know I have been in China for a number of years, adds to the ‘credibility’ of my work and makes them trust me and it more.

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China. The Taklamakan Desert. 2009

The ‘Sea of Death’ is the not-so affectionate name that has been given by the Chinese people to the Taklamakan desert, a desert of such epic proportions and intimidating size, that its name in the local Uygur language translates as ‘You can go in, but you will never come out’.

I visited the Taklamakan desert as part of my work on the issue of desertification in China for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting in April of this year and this is one of my favourote images, that I’d like to share with you as this week’s ‘Photo of the Week’.

Photographing in the Taklamakan

The trees in the images are dead poplar trees, on the edges of the Taklamakan. As the desert moves, whole forests of trees are engulfed by the sand and huge swathes of land are reduced to no more than forest graveyards. It is an eerie and unnerving place, conjuring up the image of the aftermath of some epic disaster. Well, this is a disaster, an environmental disaster in China on the grandest scale. The significance of which is slowly dawning on people. This is where I have tried to come in by visually communicating the scale of this under-reported issue.

There are some interesting and exciting developments happening for this work at the moment that I’d love to share with you but I dare not talk about it, in case I jinx it. If and when these developments happen, the news will be out here on my blog first, so stay tuned. In the meantime, please spread the word about this issue.

Our Facebook Page

As of this weekend, our WEEKEND WORKSHOPS programme now has a page on Facebook. To get updates on news, upcoming workshops, student photos etc. please become a ‘fan’ and get those updates sent straight to your news feed so that you know exactly what is happening and when. Click on the ‘Find us on Facebook’ link below to take you straight to our page.

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We’re really excited about the quick success of the workshops and also the enthusiasm of the students who have attended so far. We’re currently working on the plan for the next couple of workshops, so please stay tuned!

It is ALWAYS great to receive feedback from our students about how they think our workshops have gone. Over the past couple of weeks, we have gathered a few of their responses, which you can find below.

Chelin

Frank

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Weekend Workshops Beijing

This weekend saw our WEEKEND WORKSHOPS continue with the second of our “Hutong Photography” classes. Braving the bitter cold in Beijing were Anne, Charlotte, Frank, Chelin, Jenny and Josh. The weather was against us, but a great day was had by all in the end, as we were determined to explore the hutongs against the dropping temperature! Below is a selection of images from the day.

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As in our first “Hutong Photography” workshop in October, our schedule began with a class introducing the basics of photography, making sure everyone was comfortable with how their cameras worked and providing everyone with advice about how to approach people to take pictures in the hutongs. We then had a ‘Photography Chinese’ class taught by Jessica Zheng before heading out into the cold to begin our first shooting session.

We had two shooting sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Both were followed by group editing sessions where we sat down and looked at everybody’s photos, sharing ideas and thoughts about how we could improve. In between the morning and afternoon sessions, the usual hearty spread of food was layed on by the Far East International Youth Hostel, to keep us fuelled for the day’s work.

Even though it was a bitterly cold day in Beijing, it was great to see everyone’s passion for photography keeping us going (although the heater in the hostel did help…see gallery photo of everyone franticly trying to warm hands!). A big thanks from me and Jessica to Anne, Charlotte, Frank, Chelin, Jenny and Josh for making this another enjoyable and successful “Hutong Photography” Workshop!

Charlotte, poses for a photo, during a break between classes. 2007

*This week’s ‘Photo of the Week’ is an image from my story on the Bethel Training Center for Blind Orphans, currently being featured on the Photophilanthropy website. Below is the extract which supports the story. To see more images from this story, please click on the Photophilanthropy link.”

“I can see, and that is why I can be happy, in what you call the dark, but which to me is golden.” – Helen Keller, Blind and Deaf US Writer.

There are around 500,000 blind and visually impaired children in China. As a result of China’s strict one-child policy, children born with physical or mental disabilities are regularly abandoned as parents strive to have their only child born ‘normal’ and well.

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Myself (left), Paul Hayward (center) and Alex Yallop (right)

It’s Friday night here in Beijing and rather than being out and about, I have just returned from another busy day since my return from the US last week. It always seems that being away from home for any period of time leads to a serious build up of work that needs to be caught up on upon return. As I was going through my archive tonight, I stumbled upon another photo taken from my time as an intern at Magnum Photos London office during 2004-2005. Readers of this blog in its earlier stages will know I have already posted one photo from my internship, here.

The above photo was more than likely taken on a Friday night, probably around 5 years ago now in what was the old Magnum London Office situated on Old Street in central London. Pictured above are myself (left), Paul Hayward (centre) and Alex Yallop (right) my fellow interns at the time, indulging in a beer in the office after what I am sure was a typically busy week.

Moments like this were a great part in the whole experience of being an intern at Magnum. Chances to stop and digest what we were experiencing, were fairly few and far between but the bonding experiences we felt as interns was something pretty special.

It’s also great to know that we are all still in touch and finding our own paths in photography. If you ever get the opportunity to intern at Magnum, or any other quality photo-agency for that matter, one of my biggest pieces of advise would be to grab every opportunity you are presented with. Paul Hayward (pictured center) for example, is now the head of the digital department at Magnum London after starting as an intern in the same department. Alex Yallop (pictured right) is now a professional freelancer, spending his time flitting between Europe and Asia. I, myself, have been freelancing in China since leaving Magnum and was lucky enough to be awarded Magnum photographer David Alan Harvey’s Emerging Photographer Award last year. Many other interns have gone on to be assistants of the photographers and previous intern Jonas Bendiksen is now even a member of the agency whose photographers he once made coffees for and whose phone calls he answered!

My point is, if you get an opportunity, a chance, a break etc….seize it. You never know where it may take you.

Myself on Capitol Hill (c) Brendan Hoffman

One of the highlights of my trip to the States this month was a behind-the-scenes look on Capitol Hill in Washinton DC. Guided by fellow photographer and friend Brendan Hoffman, who is an accredited photographer on ‘the hill’, I was given a glimpse of life behind the scenes of the American Senate.

Behind the Scenes of the American Senate

Brendan spends many of his days photographing some of the most powerful people in America and even the world (See his photo of Obama on the front cover of TIME here). On the day I visited, Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor had just visited. When I arrived in the late afternoon however, she had left and things had quietened down somewhat as Brendan showed me around the opulent and warren-like corridors that make up the interior of the senate. I’m not that into politics but it really was fascinating to get a glimpse behind the scenes.

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Earlier in the week, I had a chance to take in the White House and the Washington monument to complete my political tour of the capital. Hope you enjoy a few of the pictures I captured on this very interesting trip.

The Washington Monument