A stream is clogged with rubbish in a small Tibetan town on the Tibetan Plateau. Qinghai Province. 2012

Water pollution has been in the news a lot recently in China. The most notable story that has been circulating of late was the discovery of over 13,000 dead pigs in the Huangpu River outside of Shanghai. It’s another in a long line of stories that highlight the challenges that China faces in managing its waterways as the nation continues its rush to develop.

Reading the coverage of this story led me to think about some of the examples of water pollution I have witnessed in my 6 1/2 years criss-crossing China, documenting some of the country’s most pressing environmental crises. Polluted waterways have not been a rare sight on my travels.

So, here I present a selection of what I believe are some of the most severe examples of water pollution I have witnessed. From the Tibetan Plateau to China’s coastal cities, no region is exempt from the scourge of water pollution.

Explore the links between the images to learn more about the facts behind the water pollution crisis in China.

A man covers his face whilst passing refuse that has gathered on the surface of Dongting Lake, in Hunan Province. 2010

“In China, 320 million people are without access to clean drinking water and 190 million people are drinking water severely contaminated with hazardous chemicals.” – Greenpeace

A figure stands on the edge of a stagnant pool of water in a Tibetan relocation town in Qinghai Province, 2012.

Continue Reading »

A Tibetan nomad in the Amdo region of the Tibetan Plateau. 2012

For the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting

“I was forced to move here three years ago. Before, I was a nomad. I’m not happy with what has happened,” explained Dhakpa as we stood on the dusty street corner. (Dhakpa’s name and those of other Tibetans in the story have been changed to protect their identity.) The wind swept through the valley in which we stood, dirt and sand swirling around our feet. Nearby, large piles of refuse started to shuffle at the edges as the wind picked up.

We were standing in the outskirts of the town of Zaduo, a bustling little Tibetan community in the southeast of Qinghai Province, on the border with the Tibetan Autonomous Region. Surrounded by mountains and rolling green highland grasslands, it was described in my guidebook as “one of the remote [towns] on the plateau.”

Before us lay dusty streets, flanked on either side by a series of one-story yellow buildings that made up a “relocation village” built a few years previously to house the new influx of Tibetan nomads from the surrounding grasslands.

Nestled deep in the Sanjiangyuan region of southern Qinghai, the grasslands are home to the sources of the Yangtze, Yellow and Mekong Rivers. In recent decades, however, the grasslands on the “roof of the world” have become progressively degraded, many scientists believe as a result of rising temperatures and drying caused by climate change.

Continue Reading »

Photocrati Fund

Happy to share the news that I have been selected as one of the 2012 Photocrati Fund Top 25 Finalists. The fund has been running for a number of years and aims to support documentary photographers around the world who are working on projects looking and social and environmental issues.

“Our goal is to identify outstanding photographers and to provide the resources necessary to pursue projects that will have a tangible and positive effect on the world.” – Photocrati

Judging now heads to the very esteemed Photocrati Fund Board which includes photo-legends Steve McCurry, Mike ‘Nick’ Nichols and Jim Brandenburg.

It’s great to make the final shortlist and I wish all the other finalists good luck. Here’s a sneak preview of an image from my proposed project. Much more to come on this subject in the coming months!

Threatened Waters

JAPAN. Himeji. Women dancing in yukata (summer kimono) at the Kawa Matsuri (River Festival). 2004.

Today marks the one year anniversary since the devastating Japanese earthquake and subsequent tsunami of March 11th, 2011.

I lived in Japan for one year between 2003-2004, so Japan and the Japanese people hold a special place with me. I watched with horror one year ago today as the disasters rocked a nation I had grown great fondness of.

Rather than re-post imagery of the events that day. I wanted to post a few positive images of Japan. Fond memories of a rich and inspiring culture.

My thoughts today are with Japan and the Japanese people, on what must be a very painful anniversary.

JAPAN. Himeji. A market stall selling masks of Anime characters. 2004

Continue Reading »

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

- Alex Webb, Magnum Photos

*Update – 24th February* – Came across this video today released by Magnum and Leica about Alex Webb’s work in Chicago…

“There are worlds of experience beyond the world of the aggressive man, beyond history, and beyond science. The moods and qualities of nature and the revelations of great art are equally difficult to define; we can grasp them only in the depths of our perceptive spirit.”

- Ansel Adams

Learn more about the life and works of Ansel Adams in this excellent PBS documentary…

“It comes down to risk, again and again. If you risk coming out, if you risk making pictures that aren’t good, you might discover something in a photograph that is the key. The very doorway to your own interest.”

- Joel Meyerowitz

“Style has no formula, but it has a secret key. It is the extension of your personality. The summation of this indefinable net of your feeling, knowledge and experience. Take colour as a totality of relations within a frame…colour is joy. One does not think joy. One is carried by it.”

-Ernst Haas – Colour Photography

Here’s a really interesting interview between Aidan Sullivan of Getty Images and Ernst Haas’s son, Alex Haas. Well worth a listen…

“If you say you really want my job, okay, here’s the deal. There are no more hobbies, no more fun. You can have fun doing the work, but you have to be completely obsessed with it. I think 99% of the people think that professional photography is travel and adventure, and they forget that photography is very, very hard work. You’re “on” all the time. When you go out the door to take pictures, nobody cares about any of the excuses about bad weather or logistics, or how the authorities wouldn’t let you do your job. All that matters is what the photos say, how much money the magazine spent on that time, and whether or not it’s a successful coverage. Most people don’t really want that.”

- Michael Nichols / National Geographic

Check out more from Michael Nichols in this fascinating video how he made his famous tree image for National Geographic…

Participants of Diwali celebrations in Trafalgar Square. London. UK. 2004.

A very quick post to wish all my friends a very happy Diwali, should you be celebrating this amazing ‘festival of lights’ where you are in the world.

The above image was taken in Trafalgar Square, London, during celebrations in 2004. I am sure London will be awash with colours again, as will all those places throughout the world that are marking this very special occasion. Get your cameras out. It’s a great festival to photograph!