Disciples of The Pear Garden

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Worldwide | Thursday, October 14, 2010 | 5 photos

I would like to apply for Travel Photography Scholarship 2010 - Kingdom of Bhutan.
This chance to go on assignment with renowned wildlife photographer Jason Edward would be great for me not only as an invaluable learning opportunity, but also as unforgettable experience what’s like to be a travel photographer. It’s a great honor to get to know how it is to be photographer-on assignment with National Geographic. It would be an impressive experience for me to go to mystical Bhutan. It sounds like the most amazing adventure in my life.
For me, photography has become a way of trying to make sense of the very interesting world that I see around me – with different kind of people, cultures and traditions, beauty and ugliness. I have been studying photography for 2 years and I’m planning to continue my studies in London collage of communication (MA Photojournalism). I have been working with different kind of documentary projects of mine. The story which I’ve submitted to worldnomads.com is called “Disciples of the Pear Garden.” More than thousand years Chinese Opera performers are still referred to as "Disciples of the Pear Garden", after the first opera troupe name. In this series of photos I show what happens behind the scene of Chinese opera. Backstage is like a borderland between everyday life and the magnificent world of Chinese opera. I attempted to depict how the ordinary man becomes larger and more idealized than in real life, when he/she puts on make-up and opera costume. Besides I wanted to demonstrate the real sense of presence and intimacy of the connection between the persons represented in these portraits.
I believe that this opportunity going to give me competence to work deeper with travel photography and gain further practical photography knowledge. For me it’s a great honor to learn from such an experienced mentor and have an opportunity to be published on the National Geographic Channel's website. I totally agree with you, this is an incredible chance to get my foot in the door of one of the most revered exploration organizations in the world!