I’ve posted a new essay, “The Demolition Economy,” to the main section of my website. Taken over the course of a few months, and still continuing, the work examines the huge demolition infrastructure that moves from neighborhood to neighborhood as development and construction ventures pop up around China’s large cities. First the buildings are marked, then the mallets and heavy machines begin the destruction, and eventually small communities form to salvage any usable metal, wood, or bricks. When an area is exhausted, after being picked over for months, the whole machine moves to another location.

I’ve posted some excerpts from a recent essay, “Beijing: an Eastern City with Western Problems,” in the recent work section of this site. My apologies to Hunter S. Thompson; inspiration for the title came from his 1963 essay on Louisville, Kentucky. This essay explores the city of Beijing immediately after the Olympics, no longer at the struggling to find it’s identity after being at the center of the world’s attention for so long. International and domestic development continues to transform the city, but a weakening economy is leaving many by the wayside. Take a look here.

I spent the past couple of days photographing a variety of workers for Chinese lifestyle magazine Map. I’ve published a few pictures from the series in the recent work section of this site. Take a look here. Expect some tearsheets soon.

After a trip to Beijing and Tianjin, I’ve finished work on my ongoing story about China’s zoos. It’s been a depressing subject to photograph because the animals are in such bad condition. The updated story is located on my portfolio site here. I’ve also posted about my process in the completing the story over at dvafoto.com.

I’ve uploaded a small selection of work from Tianjin, an ultra-modern and constantly under-construction city just south of Beijing. The city has demolished and rebuilt itself with a fervor even greater than pre-Olympics Beijing. The hutongs are gone, the residents have been pushed to the suburbs, and shopping rules the nightlife. The photos can be seen over in the recent work section of this site.