Sat on the steps of a yurt, a tourist adjusts her traditional mongolian clothing. Traditional life has all but disappeared on the Inner Mongolian Grasslands, along with much of the grass in places, which has been damaged by overgrazing. 2009

This week’s ‘Photo of the Week’ was taken in Inner Mongolia earlier this year, during my 6-week trip for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. I have chosen this photo this week because on Wednesday, I am heading back to Inner Mongolia to take part in the International Conference of Science & Technology on Desertification Control. I have been invited there to speak to the 150+ scientists, experts and businessmen attending, on the subject of desertification and my coverage of the issue for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. As I type this post, I have some 50 prints being printed, all to be shown as an exhibition in Wulanhaote, where the conference is being hosted.

I am really looking forward to this conference as it will be a great opportunity to bring my photography and work on desertification to a new audience and an important one at that. As photographers, we want people to see our images. We want as many people as possible to see them. This is great, but sometimes a targeted approach is equally good. Many of China’s leading experts on desertification and environmental issues shall be at this conference, therefore I have an opportunity to emphasise to them the importance of photography and its role in communicating scientific and environmental issues to the public.

I shall be sure to post from the conference and update about some of the key issues being discussed. I shall also post images of the final hanging of the exhibition. Thanks again to all who offered advice on the hanging, both here on the blog and over at Lightstalkers.

A turtle in Beijing Aquarium, the world' largest inland aquarium. 2009

This week’s ‘Photo of the Week’ is a choice in response to a video I saw last week online which I quite enjoyed. The video was of an aquarium in Okinawa, Japan filmed for nearly 5 minutes accompanied by a music track. Whilst a relatively simple concept, the video reminded me of a recent trip I made to Beijing’s own aquarium and the hours that I whiled away just watching and gazing at the animals inside of the tanks. A child-like wonder seems to take over me in aquariums and it is all too easy for an afternoon to disappear.

Having studied Zoology at university, I am no stranger to watching animals for prolonged periods of time but there is something quite special about aquariums. I’m not a particularly big fan of zoos but I do like their watery counterparts, as long as there is plenty of room for the aquatic residents.

So, this is quite a sedate and relaxing photo for the beginning of the week. It does not require much explanation. Just sit back and enjoy.

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Image from my series on China's Growing Sands also selected for the foto8 Summer Show, selected for the Telgraph.co.uk's Photo of the Day

You may recognise the image to the left as my selected ‘Photo of the Week’, which I posted on Monday. As regular visitors here will know, it was recently chosen for inclusion in the foto8 Summer show exhibition at HOST gallery in London.

Well, in addition to the above, it was also chosen by Daily Telegraph photo department’s Lucy Davies, as her ‘Photo of the Day’ for July 29th. I only just noticed today as the past couple of days have been very busy!

It’s great to see this image getting a little more exposure as I think it’s a very important image in my work on China’s Growing Sands. If you missed Monday’s post, please do check it out my just scrolling down on the blog homepage.

Image from the 'ecological refugee' town of Hongsibao in Ningxia Province, China. Selected as part of Foto8's Summer Show 2009.

I’m pleased to announce that the above image has been selected for the foto8 Summer Show which is currently on show at HOST Gallery in London this week and will be there until the 5th of September.

“The Foto8 Summer Show saw over 2,300 individual image entries submitted by photographers from over 44 countries. The final selection of more than 120 framed prints is hung at HOST gallery in London. It was a tough choice with many spectacular images to view, but the Foto8 editorial team has made a final selection for the exhibitors of the second Annual Foto8 Awards & Summer Show 2009.” -Foto8

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Model replica of the American moon landing in the Hong Kong Space Museum. 2008

Forty years ago today, the world watched a truly unique event as Apollo 11 blasted off on its journey to the Moon, putting human beings on another world for the first time. Now, don’t let the above photo fool you. I must admit, I was not there, although it would of been possibly the best photo-assignment ever! This photo was taken inside the Hong Kong Space Museum which is dedicated to promoting the space exploration programs of  China and other nations.

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Air pollution hangs over the Bund in central Shanghai. 2008

This week’s ‘Photo of the Week’ is about a subject that is never too far away from the lips of China’s residents…air pollution. The above photograph was taken in Shanghai, in early 2008, towards the end of a trip I undertook travelling the Yangtze river. Shanghai is one of China’s most spectacular cities, however this alternative photo sheds the city in a different light. A somewhat greyish light, if you will.

The debate surrounding air pollution has always been intense. In the run up to the Olympic Games last summer, China famously banned cars from the roads, closed building sites and shut down factories ahead of the games, in attempt to clear up the air and protect competing athletes. Athletes arrived, some sporting masks, however it was generally perceived that air quality was improved during the games. A new study published just last month in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, has revealed that spectators and participants faced an “unprecedented level” of air pollution at the Games. Particulate air pollution in the air during the Beijing games was most worrying, well above the World Health Organisation’s safe limits and at levels almost 30% more than stated by experts in China.

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China. Hetian. The uncomfortable co-existence of Han and Uyghurs in Xinjiang Province. May 2009

This week’s photo comes from a region of China that has shot straight into the headlines over the past 24 hours. The region is Xinjiang, China’s westernmost province . In Chinese, its name means “new land” or “new frontier” and it is one of the most exciting, beautiful and interesting provinces in the whole of the country, however it is also one of the country’s most volatile.

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China. Beijing. A young boy in a hutong near Tiananmen Square. 2005

I first came to China in the autumn of 2005. I had just finished a 1-year paid internship at Magnum Photos in London and upon the completion of the internship, Magnum gave me and my fellow interns a grant in order to help begin our work as photographers. The grant basically enabled us to afford a plane ticket to anywhere in the world. I decided to go to China.

For 6 weeks, I walked the traditional alleways, or  hutongs, that make up the old part of the center of Beijing working on a story about the disappearance and destruction of these traditional neighborhoods. One evening I came across this young boy, standing, watching the world pass him by in a hutong to the south of Tiananmen Square. At this point, I spoke virtually no Chinese which presented the challenge of trying to capture a portrait without being able to communicate with my subject. So, how do you do it?

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China. Beijing. Lightning storm over the city. 2007

‘Photo of the week’ is to be a regular feature here on the Sean Gallagher Photography Blog. Every Monday, I shall post an image from my archive and write a little bit about it to explain my choice. The choice may be because it didn’t make the cut into my portfolio site, or maybe it will be tied in to something in the news, or maybe it’ll just be a photo I really like.

So here is the first one I have chosen for you.

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