A quick post to let you know of a new multimedia production that I just launched late last week looking at the challenges facing China Forests. Followers of my work will know that I began work on this topic late last summer with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. I was very happy when the Asia Society’s China Green indicated their interest in helping make this become a multimedia project which we launched together recently.

Above is the video embedded fro YouTube, but I also encourage you to visit the China Green website and look around. They have some great work looking at various environmental issues in China. To watch the video in max. 1920×1080 HD quality (recommended!), head over to my Vimeo channel.

China Green - The Asia Society

I came across this video over the weekend which I felt compelled to share here on my blog. It’s a panel discussion with the great Sebastiao Salgado, whose work I greatly admire. Salgado has taken documentary photography to another level, pushing the role of photographer beyond being merely a witness and into an agent for change. The above video is nearly an hour and a half in length but it is well worth the time to sit down and take in some of the great discussion.

“What I want is the world to remember the problems and the people I photograph. What I want is to create a discussion about what is happening around the world and to provoke some debate with these pictures. Nothing more than this. I don’t want people to look at them and appreciate the light and the palate of tones. I want them to look inside and see what the pictures represent, and the kind of people I photograph.” – Sebastiao Salgado (from PhotoQuotes.com)

JAPAN. Himeji. Women dancing in yukata (summer kimono) at the Kawa Matsuri (River Festival). 2004.

Today marks the one year anniversary since the devastating Japanese earthquake and subsequent tsunami of March 11th, 2011.

I lived in Japan for one year between 2003-2004, so Japan and the Japanese people hold a special place with me. I watched with horror one year ago today as the disasters rocked a nation I had grown great fondness of.

Rather than re-post imagery of the events that day. I wanted to post a few positive images of Japan. Fond memories of a rich and inspiring culture.

My thoughts today are with Japan and the Japanese people, on what must be a very painful anniversary.

JAPAN. Himeji. A market stall selling masks of Anime characters. 2004

JAPAN. Baseball fans release hundreds of balloons, during a game. 2004

JAPAN. Himeji. A man cycles past a colorful mural painted on a wall. 2004

A quick post here to let you know of a new video that has just been released by the Asia Society, focusing on my work over the past few years on China’s environmental crises. It was put together by Shreeya Sinha, who is an excellent multimedia journalist in her own right, and recorded when I was in New York a few months ago. The video provides a pretty concise view of my work and what I have been trying to do whilst covering these issues in China. Hope you enjoy!

From the Asia Society Blog…

Beijing-based videographer and photographer Sean Gallagher has been documenting China’s environmental problems from various perspectives since 2006 — covering everything from wetland disappearance, desertification, air pollution, to endangered species like the giant panda. Often backed by Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Gallagher has raised awareness about the global impact of China’s rapid development.

Gallagher points to China’s desertification problem, which parallels similar issues in North Africa and Australia, as one example of a topic he’s covered that resonates worldwide. “These are issues affecting everybody and it’s incredibly important that we realize the impact we are having on our ecosystems and bio-diversity.”

The multimedia profile above encompasses the wide range of Gallagher’s reporting in photography and video, and offers a personal account of what it’s like to be a freelance journalist in China.

Canon 7D - 16-35 L lens - ISO200 - f6.3 - 1/1250sec

I recently had the opportunity to meet and photograph one of China’s leading media women, Ms. Mei Yan of Viacom China. On assignment for the Brazilian magazine, Serafina, I met and photographed Mei Yan who runs MTV, amongst other media entities, at her office in central Beijing. I thought I would post a couple of the images from the afternoon here and give a small insight into the shoot.

The image above is the one that the magazine chose to run last weekend. You can see that this image was shot through a window, with Mei Yan standing on the inside while I stood outside. I was trying to get an interesting shot of her and I noticed that the harsh afternoon sunlight was creating some really interesting reflections. I asked Mei Yan to stand inside, making sure that the sunlight was hitting her face. I then proceeded to photograph her from the outside, making sure that I was getting her face against the black of the building. As the light was quite strong, I was under-exposing my a stop or two, to make sure her face wasn’t too overexposed.

Canon 7D - 16-35 L lens - ISO 200 - f9 - 1/160sec

The second shot was a little bit more straightforward however I again tried to use the harsh light and shadows to make the image a little more interesting. I under-exposed the image again to make the shadows very dark, almost black. As I was shooting, Mei Yan and I were talking and joking which meant I was able to get a very natural image of her smiling. I tried to balance to photo and make it a little bit more interesting by waiting for the cleaner to pass by on the left and place the plant on the opposite side. Altogether I was quite satisfied with this image and how we got a little bit of luck to make the portrait unique.

To learn more about Mei Yan, check out the article “A Censor’s Daughter Changes the System” on the Daily Best website.

Chan Koonchung - The Globe & Mail

Last week I had the opportunity to photograph the Hong Kong author, Chan Koonchung, who has recently sprung to the attention of the international community as a result of the publication of his book, The Fat Years. The Fat Years paints a dystopian picture of China, dissecting the political workings of the country and its implications on the pysche of modern Chinese.

I’ve included  a couple of images from the shoot, one of which was used online to accompany the article written by the Globe & Mail’s East Asia correspodent, Mark Mackinon. Read his article “Chinese must not forget the past, warns author of the Fat Years“.

Chan Koonchung in a Starbucks in Beijing. 2012

Chan Koonchung in the Sanlitun district of Beijing. 2012

Burn Magazine

This week, one of the most important grants of the year was announced, the Emerging Photographer Fund from David Alan Harvey and BURN Magazine. This year, $15,000 is being given away to photographers of any discipline, who are seeking funding to continue their long-term photographic work. I was lucky enough to receive the first of these grants back in 2008 and I can assure you that is well worth your time applying. Last year I wrote a post explaining what the grant had done for me, in terms of my professional development, which you can read here.

Earlier this week, one of my most recent projects ‘China’s Fragile Forests’ was published on Burn Magazine. It’s a perfect venue for the work and I thank David for helping the issue reach more people.

The deadline for the Emerging Photographer Fund is May 15th, 2012. So, start getting that application together. Or, if you have more images to shoot, stop reading this and get out there taking some pictures! Good luck!

Shi Kang - Wall Street Journal

If you happen to look at the Wall Street Journal today, keep an eye out for a few images of mine that are online and in print. I recently had the opportunity to spend the day with Chinese author, Shi Kang, on a shoot for the Wall Street Journal. The story has been published today. Read it here.

Shi Kang is a fascinating character. He writes mostly about the disillusioned lives of young Chinese and is now a household name, due to the success of his novels. I spent the day with him photographing his daily life and chatted with him a lot about his writings and his thoughts about modern China. Watch the video below, by Angela Yeoh, to get a further glimpse into Shi Kang’s life…

- Alex Webb, Magnum Photos

*Update – 24th February* – Came across this video today released by Magnum and Leica about Alex Webb’s work in Chicago…

- Ansel Adams

Learn more about the life and works of Ansel Adams in this excellent PBS documentary…