A Photo Log of the 2011 Yun Tai Shan International Photographic Forum in China.
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A state-sponsored event, this symposium celebrated "Photography and Tourism." It brought together Chinese, Japanese, and American photographers working in landscape. We all hung our prints in a museum space in Zhengzhou, a city of ten million on the Yellow River in central China. There was press coverage of the opening, then a banquet with toasts with local dignitaries, including the regional secretary of the Communist Party. (The charming woman shown seated. Her toasts were non-alcoholic.)
Each of us did a presentation of our work, speaking slowly and simply. Translation was halting. My fellow Americans were Jamie Stillings, Magdalena Sole, Mike Torrey, Dennis Witmer, Jonathan Edwards, Bruce Haley, and Janet Delaney. I was honored to be included.
From Zhengzhou we were taken in a nice van to spectacular tourist sites. (Note driving style.) We were taken to a mountain resort for a grand ceremony and opportunities again to see (and photograph) the sights.
The organizer later got a portfolio of my work placed in Chinese Photographers magazine, in the section "Window on the World." (See the end of the scroll above.)
For me, the best part was wandering and photographing the old parts of the city. Sadly, these neighborhoods are being ripped out pellmell for huge apartment/condo buildings. Most of these that we saw were incomplete (with no sign of activity) or empty.