Viewing the Terracotta Warriors

Last week, I had the opportunity for the first time to visit the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an, in central China. I was excited to have this opportunity althougha little wary that I would be visiting a location that has been photographed from nearly every angle over the years, since their discovery in 1974. This is often the case when visiting popular sites and it is sometimes a real challenge to find something unique and different when you feel like you know a place well, even before you have visited.

As I wandered around the vast pits containing the warriors I, like everyone else, was stunned by the sight in front of me. The only problem was that there was quite a large distance between the visiting areas and the warriors themselves. This sense of wonderment in the visitors was therefore difficult to capture.

Upon further exploration of the site, I happened upon a room which containing a number of individual soldiers, encased in glass displays. This was the closest that visitors could get to a warrior. As a result, the hoardes of tourists squeezed around the case, all trying to get a good look.

My attention became focused on the visitors and I began to photograph them and their reactions to the warrior in front of them. It was their reactions which fascinated me the most and offered me the best opportunity at capturing the reaction of the people to seeing the warriors. I hope that the image above reflects (excuse the pun) their feelings and hints at the importance of this site to the Chinese people.

Camera Info: Canon 7D | 16-35mm f2.8 lens | ISO 1600 | f2.8 | 1/30th

Beijing, China. 2005

This week’s image comes from my first ever trip to China, back in the autumn of 2005. I had just finished an internship at Magnum in their London offices and I decided to go to Beijing, to start to photograph some stories I had been forming in my mind during my internship. One of the stories I worked on during my first six weeks in Beijing was on the destruction of the old ‘hutongs’ in the centre of the city. Hutongs are old courtyard communities, based around mazes of alleyways and form an integral part of the character of old Beijing. In recent years, many of these hutongs have been destroyed in an attempt to modernise the centre of the city.

I was out wandering the hutongs one day, as I had been doing a lot during the trip, when I cam across a family moving out of their hutong home. The surrounding area was being demolished and their small community was one of the last that was left. As I watched them start to remove tables, chairs and other items I decided to position myself down one of the small alleyways outside their home. I was hoping that I may be able to catch an interesting moment when someone walked past with an item from their home. I couldn’t hoped for better when for a brief second, someone walked past with a large classical Chinese painting depicting a group of cranes underneath a tree. I managed to capture two frames before the person was gone. Compared to the regular chairs and tables I had seen pass me, this image was the obvious choice from the situation I found.

Camera Info: Canon 20D | 20mm lens | ISO 100 | f4.5 | 1/60th

Hubei Province. Wuhan. 2008

This week’s Photo of the Week comes from the city of Wuhan, in Hubei province. I was in the city as part of a trip I was taking traveling down the great Yangtze River, upon which the city of Wuhan sits.

At the time this photo was taken, I was visiting the Yellow Crane tower, a beautiful structure which sits on one of the highest points in the area overlooking the city. As I was walking around the base of the tower, I stumbled upon the above situation. Of course, it was the man in traditional Peking Opera dress that first caught my attention however as I stood an observed it was the woman on the left who also caught my attention as she was actually teaching moves to the costumed man. Just off camera to the left was a large gathering of people next to a stage, waiting for the performance to begin. This was a little bit of last minute practice happening. The scene became even more interesting when I noticed the man peering over the balcony watching and the girl in the background.

For me, it’s a slightly odd picture. The woman’s gesture is interesting. The costumed man is intriguing. The composition is very pleasing, made complete by the woman in the blue coat. Overall, a very satisfying and enjoyable alternative image of a slice of Chinese life and culture.

Camera Info: Canon 20D | 16-35mm f2.8 lens | ISO 400 | f20 | 1/250th

Schoolchildren in Inner Mongolia. 2010

This week’s ‘Photo of the Week’ comes from Inner Mongolia, a province located in the north of China. I travelled to this province in spring of 2010 as part of a group from the Shanghai based NGO, Roots and Shoots. Every year, they travel to Inner Mongolia to take part in their annual tree planting sessions, normally accompanied by corporate sponsors. As well as planting trees to help combat desertification in the region, they also visit local schools in an effort to try to educate young children about the importance of protecting the environment.

On our penultimate day in Inner Mongolia we woke to see the normally dry and arid landscape covered in snow. A heavy downfall had blanketed the school we intended to visit however we of course went anyway. This shot was captured from the bus as the children bid us goodbye after our visit. I like the angle I was able to get for this shot and using the overhanging branches of the tree makes for an interesting composition. The girl in the center in pink is also interesting as a focal point for the shot.

Camera Info: Canon 7D | 16-35mm f2.8 lens | ISO 400 | f9 | 1/320th

Tibetan Monk - Gansu Province

It has been some time since I have posted a ‘Photo of the Week’, so I thought it was about time that I revived this popular feature which I hope gives you a small insight into some of my thought processes when making images.

This week’s image comes from western China, from the Tibetan regions where I have been recently travelling.  The Tibetan areas of China not only comprise of the Tibetan Autonomous region but also spreads into neighbouring province Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan. Most of my travelling the past week was in Qinghai, a visually stunning part of the country, rich in spectacular landscapes and a diverse mix of people. This image however was taken just across the border of Qinghai province, in Gansu province.

As is quite clear, the image is a portrait of a Tibetan monk. He is standing in a cave that we were visiting, deep in the mountains in the west of the province. Inside the cave are a collection of Buddhist artworks and special areas which house shrines that people often make pilgrimages to.

I chose this image as it is maybe my favourite portrait of a monk that I was able to capture during my short travels. As many visitors to this blog will know, I primarily use natural light and am always looking for how I can capture images without having to rely on artificial light. For this image, the only light that was used was the light shining from the entrance to the cave. We had just completed our trip into the cave, a somewhat difficult and arduous journey into the depths of the mountain. Preparing to leave, I was stood near to this monk and saw him gazing out of the cave entrance. Even though I was very tired from the climb inside the cave, I tried to steady myself enough so that I could compose the shot. I was wide open at 2.8 and knew that would have to be incredibly steady and accurate to capture a sharp image in the limited light. I captured a few frames and this was the one I was most happy with.

Camera Info: Canon 7D | 16-35mm f2.8 lens | ISO 400 | f2.8 | 1/10th

Moving Sands in Dunhuang, Gansu Province. China. 2007

This week’s ‘Photo of the Week” comes with a slightly odd title and to be honest, is admittedly a slightly odd picture.

I created this image in 2007 near the town of Dunhuang, which is situated in western China in Gansu Province. The area is famous in China because of its spectacular desert scenery, an oasis which has been present for hundreds of years and also local grottoes that contain 1500 year-old Buddhist paintings.

I was in the region as I was beginning my work on the subject of desertification, which as readers of my blog will know has become one of my main works over the past couple of years. This was my first trip to begin photographing this phenomenon and I found myself outside of the slightly touristy town of Dunhuang, exploring areas away from the hoardes of visitors. As I tend to do when I visit a new place, I had rented a bicycle and began exploring the area on my own.  My meandering brought me to a very surreal and somber scene. A huge graveyard on the fringes of the desert.

What caught my eye the most was many of the graves were being swallowed by the sand. As I have travelled and photographed desertification, I have witnessed roads, buildings, power lines etc. being swallowed by sand, but this is the only time I have seen it happening to graves.

Treading with upmost care, I positioned myself near one of the tombstones to frame it in my viewfinder. As I did so, I noticed motorized hang gliders flying above me, carrying tourists who were visiting the region and who were trying to get an eagle’s-eye view of the area. As I framed the tip of the enveloped tombstone, the pair of hang gliders came perfectly into the frame.

The juxtaposition in this shot sometimes confuses people when they first look at it. I’ve had people comment that it looks like a coin has been stuck in the sand in the foreground. Others have missed the tombstone altogether and just seen the hang gliders and desert scenery in the background. What did you first see when you looked at it? Did you ‘get it’ straight away?

A Giant Salamander in Wuhan Zoo. 2008

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way that it treats its animals” – Mohandas Gandhi

In March of 2008, I was travelling down China’s greatest river, the Yangtze. Passing through the city of Wuhan, I happened upon the city’s zoo one day and was shocked by the conditions in which the animals were being kept. As a result, I returned to the city a few weeks later in order to photograph the various animals in an attempt to convey the appalling conditions in which they were living.

China has a mixed record in the way in which it treats its animals. From the use of animal parts for Chinese medicine to the new conservation efforts to protect tigers (as a result of  this year being the year of the tiger), it seems confusing whether animals are valued or not. Maybe attitudes are changing. A quick trip to the  zoo in Wuhan will certainly dispel you optimism for change however.

In this week’s ‘Photo of the Week’, a Giant Salamander is kept in the zoo’s aquatic house in a cramped and shallow pool. As visitors pass the pool, they throw coins in an attempt to make them land on top of the Salamander. This is done supposedly to bring the visitors luck and fortune.

To view more images from this series of animals such as crocodiles, lions and bears and the awful conditions in which they live in, please visit my portfolio site and follow Index>China>Lockdown-Inside China’s Zoos

Cadres | Beijing | China | 2007

This week’s ‘Photo of the Week’ was a shot taken as part of the ‘One Night in Beijing’ shoot for the Immersion Guides to Beijing in 2007. Exactly one year before the beginning of the Olympic Games in Beijing, photographers all across the capital were commissioned to head out onto the streets to capture images that represented the city at night.

It was an interesting shoot and the result was a very nice book which showed off many of the eclectic pictures captured from that night. The above picture from a club in the city didn’t actually make the final edit but I always liked it due to the intense colours and the contrast between the Long March Cadres on the wall and the revellers dancing.

White Cloud Temple | Baiyun Guan

On Saturday night, the skies lit up with fireworks above most Chinese cities, signifying the start of China’s most special holiday of the year: Chinese New Year.

For the next week Chinese families will spent most of the time eating, drinking, visiting family members, catching up with old friends and heading to many of the temple fairs that are taking place. This week’s ‘Photo(s) of the Week’ come from the White Cloud Temple in Beijing. This Taoist temple is over a thousand years old and is one of the locations for Beijing’s most interesting celebrations during this special week.

The photo at the top is of people rubbing chinese characters, in order to gain luck, fortune, prosperity etc. from the character of corresponding meaning.

White Cloud Temple | Baiyun Guan

The second image is taken within the grounds of the temple and is of two young girls, dressed up in their finest new year clothes.

We’re very excited to be returning to this temple tomorrow for our special Chinese New Year Photography Workshop where students will have the chance to capture the unique celebrations at this special temple. I wish all readers of my blog a happy and prosperous new year of the Tiger! 虎年快乐！

St Mark's Square | Venice | Italy

This week’s ‘Photo of the Week’ is one that I have dug out of my archive from possibly the most photographed city of all time…Venice, Italy.

I made the obligatory photographers/travellers pilgrimage to this city for a short weekend break and was overcome, mostly by the hordes of visitors there at the same time as me. Luckily, I had a good friend who was a local, who was able to steer me away from some of the more heavily visited areas.

When you visit a place like Venice, which is photographed constantly, it is sometimes hard to create something that is perceived as unique or different. You try to avoid visual cliches that have been reproduced by hundreds of other photographers before you.

Whilst I was happy with a lot of my photos, my favourite photo actually came from the most visited part of the city, St Mark’s Square. As anyone who has visited the square will know, it is normally inhabited by large numbers of pigeons all vying for the food which tourists happily feed them. This one girl donned in a cat’s mask, patiently waited in what almost seemed like a trap for the unsuspecting avian residents. Did she catch any? I can’t remember but it was fun to watch as she created this visual idiom before me.