Invite - Page 1

Dear All…Quick update today to let you know about a special event that we (myself and Greening the Beige) would like to invite you to on the evening of December 10th at the Hutong in Beijing.

As the exhibition of Threatened Waters finishes at Yugong Yishan, we wanted to do something productive with the prints, so in collaboration with Red Gate Gallery, we shall be having an evening of wine and Asian tapas, culminating in an auction of fifteen, signed prints of mine, ten from the exhibition and a further five from my China’s Growing Sands Series.

The proceeds of the auction will go to covering the costs of the exhibition, with all other proceeds going to the Mangrove Action Project. I chose this organization because they are actively involved in environmental education in China are on the forefront of trying to change perceptions of wetlands and their importance. I documented the work of this NGO this summer and you can see the great work they do by watching this multimedia piece.

I really hope to see some of the regular visitors to this blog there. Whether you are interested in purchasing a print for yourself or for a loved one or friend in the run up to Christmas, we hope that the added knowledge that your money is going help create positive environmental change in China, will make it an even better Christmas purchase.

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NPR

Quite a shocking piece of news fell into my inbox this morning, via the Mangrove Action Project newsletter which I receive every month. The news is a couple of weeks old but it seems that on November 15th, there was an explosion in a hotel in the Mexican resort of Playa del Carmen that tragically killed seven people. The cause, it has been speculated is most likely, is not a bomb but mangroves!

As many readers of this blog will know, I recently spent some time in the mangroves of the Southern Chinese city of Leizhou, as part of my reporting on China’s disappearing wetlands for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. The clearing of mangroves in this region has been severe, mainly because of coastal developments and conversion of many mangroves into shrimp ponds. During my research however, I had never heard of anything like mangroves causing explosions.

The following snippet from the NPR article hints at the cause:

The oxygen-deprived muck underlying mangrove swamps is known to produce methane gas, said Roberto Iglesias, a biologist with the Ocean Sciences Institute of Mexico’s National Autonomous University who works on coral reefs and coastal environments in Puerto Morelos, not far from the resort of Playa del Carmen.

“We used to take students around outside … and all you had to do was move the sediment a little, bubbles would come up and you could start flames when you lit them with a lighter,” Iglesias said, adding that builders frequently cover swampy areas with a layer of crushed rock and concrete, which acts as a stopper that accumulates gas.

The consequences of clearing mangroves are far-reaching and diverse. This is an ecosystem which demands our respect and protection. If you missed it the first time round and you’d like to learn more about mangroves, here’s a link to my short-video on the remaining pockets in Southern China and what is being done to protect them.

[vimeo width="580" height="330"]http://vimeo.com/16018786[/vimeo]

If you’re in China (and don’t have a VPN) you can view it here via Tudou.com

(Left) A CNN Newscast in a hotel room in Seoul, South Korea. (Right) An image of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il as a child appears on a television in a hotel in Pyongyang.

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As anyone who has been watching the news in the past 24 hours will know, tensions on the Korean peninsula have been increasing very very quickly following the shelling of a small South Korean island, by the north Koreans yesterday. Tensions are nothing new, however after yesterday’s events it seems like attention is focused on the conflict more now than in many previous years.

(Left) A handgun from the Korean War in a museum on the South Korean side of the DMZ. (Right) A handgun is depicted during a dispaly at the Arirang Mass Games in Pyongyang, North Korea.

This seemed like a good time to release a short series that I have been playing with over the past few months, currently titled ‘Korean Reflections’. Readers of this blog and followers of my work will know that I have, relatively recently, had the chance to visit both North and South Korea. I travelled to North Korea in the autumn on 2009, as part of a 5-day undercover assignment for the Globe and Mail and this year I have visited South Korea three times, two times for corporate work and once for the Globe and Mail.

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[slideshare id=5869543&doc=ucca-101123001230-phpapp01]

<<Return to the Learning Zone Last weekend, I was invited by Beijing based eco-group Greening the Beige to give a workshop at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art. We had a great turnout, with many students and photography enthusiasts all keen to see images from my environmental work in China over the past few years and learn about some of the thought processes that go into tackling these realtively large issues. We had such a great discussion, so I thought I would post my presentation here on my blog and highlight/elaborate on a couple of the key talking points. I hope this might prove useful for anyone who wasn’t able to make the event.

The aim of the workshop was to help people understand how I approach taking on large scale subjects, aiming this message at many of the students, from both the fields of photography and journalism, who were in attendance. The first question we tackled was: How do you find story ideas?

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Hu Jintao, President of the People's Republic of China

As many followers of my blog, Facebook and/or Twitter will know, I had a very unique assignment last week, photographing the British Prime Minister David Cameron on his recent visit to Beijing. It was one of the most interesting assignments I have ever had, mainly because of the access that I was able to get to the PM and the people that he was meeting thoughout his trip.

When I was approached to undertake this job, I assumed that that the PM would be meeting some high-ranking Chinese officials and I hoped that he would be meeting with those at the top. When I found out he would indeed be meeting the main leader in China, President Hu Jintao, my levels of anticipation were raised significantly.

Hu Jintao, is rarely seen outside of formal surroundings and images of him are much harder to come by. His security is tighter than for any other person in the country and he was recently voted by Forbes magazine as ‘the most powerful person in the world’, ahead of American President, Barack Obama. Whether you agree with that statement or not, the opportunity to photograph this man was one I did not want to pass up.

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Event Poster

For anybody who is in Beijing this coming weekend, I will be giving a workshop at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art on Saturday 20th November from 4:30 to 5:30. I’ll be talking about ways to photograph large-scale environmental issues and trying to give participants help in helping form and shape their own ideas for approaching these issues.

Here’s the general outline:

“UCCA welcomes two-time Pulitzer Center Grant recipient Sean Gallagher, who has spent the past two years traveling across China documenting the country’s fight against desertification and disappearing wetlands.

Having the ability to visually communicate overarching themes, theories and ideas is essential to helping the public understand sometimes complex and seemingly disjointed issues.

Gallagher’s workshop will focus on the art and science of effectively photographing large-scale environmental issues and conveying eco-stories through imagery. He will also provide participants with useful advice about identifying themes and stories, and offer tips about the process of eco-filmmaking, from shooting to distribution.”

If you think this might be of interest please come along. Entry is free and there are many other events on throughout the day, all along ‘green’ lines. Hope to see you there.

BBC Viewfinder

Last week, I had an assignment from the British Embassy in Beijing to photograph the visit of British Prime Minister, David Cameron on his first visit as PM to China. This was a very exciting and interesting assignment and I plan to feature some of my behind-the-scenes photos here on my blog in the coming weeks.

Photographing someone like the PM is a very unique experience and I thought it would be interesting to share some of my experiences with you. Please stay tuned in the coming weeks and I look out for these special posts. In the meantime, scroll down to read my interview with BBC Photo Editor Phil Coomes on my experiences.

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“Earlier this week photographer Sean Gallagher spent two days in the company of the British Prime Minister David Cameron during his visit to China. Here Sean talks about the project.

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Exhibition Flyer

Two weeks from today will see the first print exhibition of China’s Threatened Waters, at the Yugong Yishan venue in central Beijing. If you are free on the night of Monday 22nd November from 7:00p.m. till late.

The event is being organized with the help of Greening the Beige, a Beijing-based organization promoting green issues throughout China. As you can see from the flyer (above) there will be host of artists and performers there on the night, all promoting green initiatives and ideas.

Entry is free for the opening night party and the exhibition will run for three weeks after the opening night.

Hope to see you there!