From Left to Right: Jessica, Sean, Pip, Ross, Rita, Fredrik, Eva, Andrea, Alexia
Last Sunday saw the 4th in our series of Hutong Photography Workshops. We had nearly a full class with nine students attending; Jim, Pip, Ross, Andrea, Daphne, Eva, Rita, Alexia and Fredrik.
Andrea, Eva and Rita
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.
Hutong Photography Workshop | Beijing | China
The temperature plummeted in Beijing this month but that didn’t stop us from heading out into the chilly hutongs for another “Hutong Photography” Workshop this weekend. Luckily for myself, guide Jessica Zheng and our students Bonnie, Scott, Tina and Kirsten the thermometer crept up over the weekend, hovering around 1-2C making it a perfect winter day to explore the hutongs.
Along with our class in the morning introducing everybody to the key, fundamental technical aspects of photography we had two shooting sessions in the morning and afternoon. The hutongs are a constant inspiration and you never know what may be round the next corner. For this month’s workshops students encounters included photographing a 98-year old hutong resident, bicycles buried in snow, conversations with pipe-smoking locals, coal deliverers and many more unique characters.
Thanks again to our students Kirsten, Bonnie, Scott and Tina who braved the threatening cold to make it another memorable workshop!
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.
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
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.
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.
NOVEMBER WORKSHOP – “Hutong Photography”
Dates: Sunday 15th November 2009 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Course Leaders: Photographer Sean Gallagher & Guide/Interpreter Jessica Zheng
Location: The Far East International Youth Hostel, Beijing
Participants: Minimum 5 people, Maximum 10 people (Registration is on a first-come first-serve basis)
Student Level: Beginner/Intermediate – All ages welcome!
Cost: 499 Chinese Renminbi per person*
As a result of the success of the first “Hutong Photography” workshop in October, another workshop has been scheduled in November for those who missed out on the first one. Just like the first workshop, our class will focus on one of the special areas that makes the Chinese capital so unique…the hutongs!
A chance to photograph the people of the hutongs
During this workshop, we shall focus on photographing the unique way of life that still remains in the hutongs of the central Qianmen district. Photographer Sean Gallagher will guide you through these maze-like communities to show you the best ways to approach and photograph the people and architecture. Along with tuition ‘on the street’ we will also cover the basics of photography before we head out, to make sure you are getting the most out of your camera. Professional guide and interpreter Jessica Zheng will be on hand at all times to offer you insights into the background and history of the hutongs and will also give a brief lesson in ‘Photography Chinese’, key words and phrases you need when photographing people.
