VISUAL THOUGHTS 视觉观点

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” – Charles Darwin

As the climate for photographers, journalists, media creatives etc. has changed (mostly for the worse) in recent years, it has forced the respective industries to look at themselves a lot closer and try to redefine who they are, what they do and how they do it. Photography has been no exception, with many photographers struggling in a market where the venues for distribution have all but run dry. This is not really news for anyone.

Old logo (top) and new logo (bottom)

Recently however, I was trying to come up with ideas about how to start to redefine my ‘brand’ and make sure I was completely clear in who I was and if that’s what everyone else thought I was too. I am not a marketing expert, so everything I know has come from trawling through websites of people who are experts on the subject and trying to pick-up as much as I can.

As I started to write down a list of my recent projects, subject matters etc. I started to see that I had made the natural movement towards multimedia and video. This was not a completely unconscious decision however the image I was projecting was still only that of a photographer and not of someone who was able to also provide multimedia and video too.

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Recently, I have started to venture more into the video world and this summer, I will have a project which will allow me to start to really produce more video-work. As I start to add the moving image to more of the work that I do, I start to look more to the video world for inspiration. If I am honest, I always did this anyway as I am a huge movie and documentary fan and drew inspiration from these for many many years for my still work. Now, I am starting to watch videos, movies, documentaries in a different way, mainly trying to visualise in my mind how they were conceived, shot, edited and created.

This week I was blown-away by two videos, actually advertisements, that I caught online. You can get inspired by advertisements? Seems a little odd I guess, for a photographer who concentrates mainly on documentary subjects, but the answer is yes. Each of these videos is quite different, but they both have their own sense of ‘wow’ factor about them. Clever ideas and beautifully shot.

Now I must admit, that with the first video I am slightly biased as I am a big football fan, however I think the video is just beautiful and the editing is really very good (watch out for the hilarious inclusion of Homer Simpson). Now, in the second video I will never use the techniques they employ (this will become obvious after you watch it) but I really like it because it’s nearly impossible not to want to watch it a second time to figure out what you just missed! It made me think a lot about our perception of scenes we view quickly. Don’t want to give too much away though!

What did you think? Which do you prefer?

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

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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If you have dropped by my blog over the past few weeks, you may have noticed something odd. There hasn’t been many new posts. “Why?” I hear you scream, or maybe just say. Well, we had a few issue with the security of the blog with it somehow being hacked and information was been compromised and changed. Needless to say it seems that things have returned to normal now and we (myself and website hosts) think we may have solved the problems.

So, in light of this, I have decided to give my blog a little bit of a new look. I hope you like the revamped design. I’m still in the stages of tweaking it, so please bear with me while I get this new format up and running. I have a backlog of ideas for new and interesting blog posts, so please do stay tuned and come back soon as there are going to be plenty of new updates.

Please let me know what you think of the new layout and design!

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Chinese New Year Special Workshop: White Cloud Temple Fair

February welcomes a very unique time of the Chinese calendar; Chinese New Year! To mark the most important holiday of the year, we are running a special workshop to coincide with the celebrations here in the nation’s capital. We continue in the vein of trying to introduce our workshop participants to less-visited and authentic locations, therefore will be holding this workshop at the White Cloud Temple, in XiCheng District on Tuesday 16th February from 11:00 a.m. to 16:00 p.m. This spectacular Taoist temple is over 1000 years old and is one of the city’s hidden cultural gems. It will be the perfect place for photographing the true, authentic and traditional new year celebrations. To find out more details about how to join us on this special workshop, please head to our workshop page here.

For those of you leaving Beijing for the holidays and won’t have a chance to attend the Chinese New Year workshop, do not worry! The increasingly popular Hutong Photography Workshop is back again on Sunday 28th February from 10:00 a.m. to 18:00 p.m. and will again offer participating students the chance to explore the maze-like hutongs whilst improving their photography. We were delighted to learn that this month a former student from this workshop was featured in Beijing City Weekend Magazine talking about her experiences taking this class. Read a snippet of her interview here and then find out how to book your place here through our workshop page.

We look forward to seeing you!

Inside a Photographer's Notebook | Images (c) Steve McCurry / Magnum Photos

I haven’t done one of these posts for a while, so thought it was about time I shared another page from my notebook. If you haven’t seen the previous posts on this, you can head here and here to see them. The concept is simple. When I was beginning in photography I compiled a notebook of pictures, phrases, poems, sayings etc. that inspired me. I did so that when I was out shooting and I maybe had a down moment, or was lacking inspiration, I could turn to it to help me get going again.

The above page are pictures by the legendary Magnum and National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry. I chose them because for me they represented the exoticism of the places he photographs and I wanted to be reminded of the dynamics of a photo that you could create using objects within a frame (see pic on left) and the power of a simple, well-lit portrait (see pic on right).

At the time, I believe I was reading a book by the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. I was completely captured by how he wrote about life and losing love in Japan. One small haiku that stuck with me was the following:

“furin ya, koenaki kaze wa, uta wa seru”

The translation, although not literal I believe, was interpreted as:

“alone, the wind has no voice, but when it moves through the wind chimes, it sings”

For me at that time, the photographer became the wind and the camera the wind chimes. I liked that idea very much and wanted to remember it.

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.

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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Inside a Photographer's Notebook #2 - Quotes

“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

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!