[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!

Join the hoards at Badaling during 'Golden Week' Holidays. 2006

<<Return to the Learning Zone In the second of my series of “Where is the best place to photograph…” (view the first one can be found here), I want to tackle possibly THE most famous landmark in the whole of the country: The Great Wall of China.

This iconic landmark is photographed like no-other and has fascinated photographers, all looking for the best vantage point in order to capture this amazing structure. But the question is; Where is the best place to photograph the Great Wall of China?

In this post, I shall offer up 4 suggestions. These are not the only locations of course. I have not visited every part and these are just my choices. If you know of, or want to recommend interesting/photogenic parts you have been to, please feel free to let us know in the comments section below and vote in the survey.  So, let’s begin….

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On Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th June, we headed out on our first “Desert Workshop”, focusing on introducing our students to Tianmo desert which is located just 80km north-west of Beijing. We spent two days exploring the local dune systems and experiencing local life amongst the people of the area. You may think that I might be a little tired of deserts by now, but it really was a lot of fun to introduce people to this little visited area, so close to Beijing.

We had a jam packed 2-days full of shooting in the desert, visiting people’s homes, lots of editing sessions and trying traditional food from the area. Highlights including getting up for the sunrise over the desert and having a run-in with the local army plus multiple wedding parties! An odd mix but a lot of fun and it provided plenty of photo opportunities for everyone!

Please take a moment to play the slideshow and see some of the images from our trip. We hope to run this workshop again sometime soon, so please stay tuned and sign-up for our newsletter to be the first to know about new classes and trips!

Tourists on Tiananmen Square in central Beijing, China. 2006

Follow the link to find out what happened On-This-Day in various years…

CHINA. Beijing. Muslim men worshiping at Niu Jie Mosque during Eid ul-Fitr, the festival marking the end of Ramadan. 2005

<<Return to the Learning Zone During our workshops over the past few months, I have often been asked the question “Where is the best place in Beijing to photograph….?” Now, you can insert pretty much anything you like into the last part of that question, as queries have come in to me about a myriad of different things. So, I thought it would be interesting to start a new series of posts that answers some of these questions about where I think are the best places to photograph in Beijing.

I have chosen Beijing for this focus, purely because I have lived in this city for nearly 4 years and like to think I have a good idea where things are and where are the best places for taking pictures. I would like to expand this concept to other cities in China, but I’ll start with my ‘home’ city first.

So, for the first part of these new posts, I answer the question “Where is the best place in Beijing to photograph…religion?”

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Tianmo Desert Workshop

We are delighted to announce our upcoming workshops for May 2010! We have two workshops planned, “Shoot-Edit-Photoshop” and “Beijing Desert Workshop”. We hope each one will cater to whatever you current goals in photography may be. Please find the initial outlines below. For more details and detailed itineraries, please head to our Workshop page (via the tab at the top-right of the blog) .  We look forward to seeing you on one of our upcoming classes!

This new workshop titled ‘Shoot-Edit-Photoshop’ is aimed at beginner/intermediate photographers who are looking to improve their digital workflow from the shooting stage, through to editing and finishing images in Photoshop. We all know how it is easy to lose control of all those images you take, so you will learn effective ways in which to edit and categorize your images to improve you skills at managing your photos straight after a shoot. After categorizing our images, we will take them into Photoshop to learn how to get the best out of them through simple alterations such as cropping, changing colour balance, levels, contrast and saturation. Photoshop can be very daunting but we will break it down and show you the few essential functions you can use to get the very best out of your images.

Editing Session: Weekend Workshops

“Beijing Desert Workshop” - Dates: Saturday 5th June and Sunday 6th June 2010 (Please note these dates have changed)

During this workshop you will explore and photograph the little-visited desert of Tianmo. Located just 80km from central Beijing, next to the Longbao Mountain Range, it is the closest desert to the capital and offers visitors a glimpse at the spectacular desert regions that now dominate 20% of northern China. Sean Gallagher, whose images of China’s deserts have appeared in National Geographic China, will guide you during this workshop helping you capture this unique environment. You will have a chance to shoot side-by-side with Sean and learn how to capture landscapes, natural scenery and photograph daily life in this dry but fascinating area.