observing expressions

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Worldwide | Saturday, October 16, 2010 | 5 photos

I had the chance to visit the mainland last summer, while I studied abroad in Beijing for 3 months. I didn’t know what to expect from a country that shares the same language and culture but so different as well. The things I saw and experienced, the people that I met and conversed with, and the thoughts and memories I brought back were priceless.

The 5 pictures I choose are all very distinctive and can easily be shared individually, they share a common theme: working people. Each of them captures a unique occupation and environment in China. None of these shots were frontal; you can’t clearly see their faces. However, I think that body postures can be equally expressive. The backside of the rickshaw driver really puts another meaning to the expression “put your back into it”; especially since the back is what passengers see most of their journey. The solider at the palace museum did not move an inch for the 5 minutes I was watching. His solemn yet alert expression and erect posture was overshadowed by the thousands of tourists and the cacophony of loud talking and laughing.

Becoming a travel photographer has always been a dream and I see this scholarship as a step into fulfilling that goal, despite having any type of formal photography training. Travelling and experiencing new things is part of my nature; it is a lifestyle I grew up with. I am able to find beauty in the environment around me, and capture that image with the most basic point and shoot camera. As I approach this period of my life where I am pressured to find a cushy corporate job, it makes me realize more and more that working a 9-5 job is not what I want to do with my life.