2010 Year in Pictures
January 20, 2011

 Hui minority Muslim men wait for a meal to be served at a wedding in Pingliang, Gansu Province, China.
A man rides his bike along a road between tree-covered hills, a farm village, and factories near Qixia, Jiangsu, China.
A selection of images from the project We Chinese – 100 portraits accompanied by short interviews about China and the future.
Uighurs walk through the Uighur section of Urumqi, Xinjiang, China. The city is divided between Han and Uighur ethnicities, and violent clashes erupted between the groups in 2009.
Li Bin Feng text messages friends on the day before his wedding to Ma Re (seen in picture above the bed) in Pingliang, Gansu, China.
Workers herd sheep through the streets of the Old Town section of Kasghar, Xinjiang, China.
Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims gather to watch monks pray during the Monlam Festival at the Labrang Monastery in Xiahe, Gansu, China.
Leafless trees stand in an orchard outside an abandoned homestead on the Coffee Ranch in Rosebud County near Melstone and Sumatra, Montana, USA.
Construction workers enter a work site in Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.
Riot police patrol the streets of Kashgar, Xinjiang, China. After fighting between Uighurs and Hans in 2009, the government has maintained a heavy police presence in the city.
A defaced poster showing the local police hangs on a wall in Urumqi, Xinjiang, China. The city is divided between Han and Uighur ethnic groups and in 2009 saw violent clashes between the groups.
A Uighur woman stands near a partially-demolished building in the Old City section of Kashgar, Xinjiang, China.
Taking a break from hunting on the Coffee Ranch in Rosebud County near Melstone and Sumatra, Montana, USA.
Uighur men bake flat bread (nan) in a barrel oven in the Old City section of Kashgar, Xinjiang, China.
A monk tends butter candles in a temple at the Labrang Monastery during the Monlam Festival in Xiahe, Gansu, China.
Uighurs arrive at the Kashgar Sunday Animal Market with lambs and sheep for sale outside Kashgar, Xinjiang, China.
A torn advertisement stands next to an empty parking lot at a closed shopping mall in Pingliang, Gansu, China. Images of Western consumerism dominate advertising throughout China.
A man skins deer at the House of Meats wild game processing facility in Great Falls, Montana, USA.
After-wedding party at a bar in Pingliang, Gansu, China.
Competitors ride a mechanical bull at the Mechanical Bull-A-Rama at the Whoa Arena in Valier, Montana, USA. The event, organized by Janelle Nelson, was a benefit for local youth rodeo participants and the local food bank.
Hunting campsite outside Sumatra, Montana, USA.
New father. Pingliang, Gansu, China.
Hot air balloon pilots prepare their balloons for inflation before the Great Prosser Balloon Rally in Prosser, Washington, USA.
A People’s Armed Police security guard stands watch over a subway entrance in Shanghai, China. Military security guards were placed at all subway entrances throughout the city a few months before the opening of the Shanghai World Expo.
Old style concrete houses look onto new luxury highrise apartment buildings across the Yangtze River in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Monks gather for prayer during the Monlam Festival at the Labrang Monastery in Xiahe, Gansu, China.
Young men use their hats to get the attention of a friend while a crowd forms to watch the wet t-shirt contest at the Testicle Festival in Clinton, MT. The Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT, has hosted the annual Testicle Festival since the early 1980s. The four day festival and party revolves around the consumption of so-called Rocky Mountain Oysters, which are deep-fried bull testicles.
Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims fight sand and wind as they walk along the Kora prayer path outside the Labrang Monastery during the Monlam Festival in Xiahe, Gansu, China.
Monks control crowds of pilgrims during a prayer ceremony at night outside the Labrang Monastery during the Monlam Festival in Xiahe, Gansu, China.
A sandstorm blows into Cherchen, Xinjiang, China, on the southern border of the Taklamakan Desert. Frequent sandstorms are a common problem in the area as desertification of China’s west increases.
Here are a few of my favorites from 2010. The year ended in utter disaster: car wrecks, camera wrecks, personal wrecks. Photographically, I’ve never had a better year. There were publications, exhibitions, and awards throughout the year, and they’re continuing through the beginning of 2011. The last year has also been a time of transition as I move to a new phase of life, moving back to the US from China. The photos here may not be the best I took this year, but they represent a combination of my favorite from projects and personal work and many memories. Here’s hoping everyone else’s 2011 is full of good light and many tearsheets.

Hire Me! – China’s entrepreneurial day laborers
December 20, 2010

 Day laborers and workers cell phone numbers are painted on a wall in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China.
Day laborers cell phone numbers are painted on a wall in Anchang, Shaoxing County, Zhejiang Province, China.
Stencils with cell phone numbers and advertisements fill a wall in an apartment building in Nanjng, China.
Advertisements and leaflets cover a bulletin board in Haerbin, Heilongjiang, China.
Cell phone numbers for day laborers are painted on the walls of a stairway in Xiahe, Gansu, China. Xiahe, home of the Labrang Monastery, is an important site for Tibetan Buddhists. The population of the town is divided between ethnic Tibetans, Muslims, and Han Chinese.
It seems like everywhere you go in China, the walls are covered with stencils or hand-drawn numbers. They're done hastily, with whatever paint is on hand, the numbers often dripping down the wall. These are cell phone numbers of day laborers: plumbers, tile workers, cabinet makers, window hangers, electricians. The crude advertisements usually appear in the stairway leading up to your apartment after you (or someone else in your building) hire someone to fix any of the many problems in your apartment. From Hohhot to Sanya, Harbin to Lanzhou, Beijing to Nanjing, these numbers scrawled on walls are the one constant in all Chinese cities, large and small. They're also a ubiquitous reminder that in China, everyone can be a capitalist. By the way, if you want to call one of these numbers, be sure to dial +86 first.

Outtakes: “In School’s Efforts to End Bullying, Some See Agenda” in Helena, Mont., for the New York Times
November 10, 2010

 Michael Gengler is a member of the Helena High School Gay-Straight Alliance. The group has taken a position in support of revisions to the Helena public schools sex education and anti-bullying curriculum. Michael Gengler came out as gay at the beginning of the 2010 school year. Photographed at Bagel Co in Helena, Montana, USA, on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010. Photo for the New York Times by M. Scott Brauer.
Kristi Allen-Gailushas, a candidate for Montana House District 82 formerly running as part of the Tea Party and a parent of 3 children in Helena area public schools, is an opponent of proposed changes the sex education and anti-bullying curriculum in the Helena school district. Photographed at Bagel Co in downtown Helena, Montana, USA, on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010. Photo for the New York Times by M. Scott Brauer.
Pastor Mark Seitz, of the Church of the Nazarene in Helena, Montana, USA, is an outspoken opponent of proposed changes to the sexual education and anti-bullying curriculum in the Helena School District. Photographed Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010 at the Church of the Nazarene in Helena, Montana, USA. Photo for the New York Times by M. Scott Brauer.
Mary Decker is a member of the Helena High School Gay-Straight Alliance. The group has taken a position in support of revisions to the Helena public schools sex education and anti-bullying curriculum. Photographed at Bagel Co in Helena, Montana, USA, on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010. Photo for the New York Times by M. Scott Brauer.
Pastor Mark Seitz, of the Church of the Nazarene in Helena, Montana, USA, is an outspoken opponent of proposed changes to the sexual education and anti-bullying curriculum in the Helena School District. Photographed Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010 at the Church of the Nazarene in Helena, Montana, USA. Photo for the New York Times by M. Scott Brauer.
Tess Dufrechou is a member of the Helena High School Gay-Straight Alliance. The group has taken a position in support of revisions to the Helena public schools sex education and anti-bullying curriculum. Photographed at Bagel Co in Helena, Montana, USA, on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010. Photo for the New York Times by M. Scott Brauer.
Pastor Rick DeMato of Liberty Baptist Church in Helena, Montana, USA, is an opponent of proposed changes to the sex education and anti-bullying curriculum in Helena public schools. Photographed at the Liberty Baptist Church in Helena, Montana, USA, on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010. Photo for the New York Times by M. Scott Brauer.
Kristi Allen-Gailushas, a candidate for Montana House District 82 formerly running as part of the Tea Party and a parent of 3 children in Helena area public schools, is an opponent of proposed changes the sex education and anti-bullying curriculum in the Helena school district. Photographed at Bagel Co in downtown Helena, Montana, USA, on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010. Photo for the New York Times by M. Scott Brauer.
Here are a few outtakes from a day of portraits for the New York Times meeting opponents and supporters of the proposed changes to the Helena, Montana, school district curriculum guidelines regarding changes to the school district's curriculum guidelines regarding sexual education, anti-bully measures, and issues relating to homosexuality. You can see the tearsheet here or read the article at the New York Times website.

Great Prosser Balloon Rally
October 12, 2010

 Hot air balloon pilots prepare their balloons for inflation before the Great Prosser Balloon Rally in Prosser, Washington, USA.
Balloon pilots listen to a weather briefing before the last day of the Great Prosser Balloon Rally in Prosser, Washington, USA.
Hot air balloons lift off into the sky for the Great Prosser Balloon Rally in Prosser, Washington, USA.
Riders wave to the crowd as a balloon takes off from the ground at the Great Prosser Balloon Rally in Prosser, Washington, USA.
Spectators watch as balloons inflate at the Great Prosser Balloon Rally in Prosser, Washington, USA.
After a light rain started, a hot air balloon returns to the ground and volunteers deflate the balloon at the Great Prosser Balloon Rally in Prosser, Washington, USA.
After a light rain started, a hot air balloon returns to the ground and volunteers deflate the balloon at the Great Prosser Balloon Rally in Prosser, Washington, USA.
A few images from the Great Prosser Balloon Rally in Prosser, Washington, USA. Bad weather put a cramp on the day; only a few of the 20+ slated to fly that day actually made it into the air. More images available for license at my archive.

Mechanical Bull-A-Rama
September 10, 2010

 Competitors ride a mechanical bull at the Mechanical Bull-A-Rama at the Whoa Arena in Valier, Montana, USA. The event, organized by Janelle Nelson, was a benefit for local youth rodeo participants and the local food bank.
A small converted camping trailer serves as a concession stand at the Mechanical Bull-A-Rama at the Whoa Arena in Valier, Montana, USA. The event, organized by Janelle Nelson, was a benefit for local youth rodeo participants and the local food bank.
A small audience watches competitors ride a mechanical bull at the Mechanical Bull-A-Rama at the Whoa Arena in Valier, Montana, USA. The event, organized by Janelle Nelson, was a benefit for local youth rodeo participants and the local food bank.
A small audience watches competitors ride a mechanical bull at the Mechanical Bull-A-Rama at the Whoa Arena in Valier, Montana, USA. The event, organized by Janelle Nelson, was a benefit for local youth rodeo participants and the local food bank.
Competitors ride a mechanical bull at the Mechanical Bull-A-Rama at the Whoa Arena in Valier, Montana, USA. The event, organized by Janelle Nelson, was a benefit for local youth rodeo participants and the local food bank.
Young riders wait their turn on the mechanical bull at the Mechanical Bull-A-Rama at the Whoa Arena in Valier, Montana, USA. The event, organized by Janelle Nelson, was a benefit for local youth rodeo participants and the local food bank.
A small audience watches competitors ride a mechanical bull at the Mechanical Bull-A-Rama at the Whoa Arena in Valier, Montana, USA. The event, organized by Janelle Nelson, was a benefit for local youth rodeo participants and the local food bank.
Competitors ride a mechanical bull at the Mechanical Bull-A-Rama at the Whoa Arena in Valier, Montana, USA. The event, organized by Janelle Nelson, was a benefit for local youth rodeo participants and the local food bank.
A small audience watches competitors ride a mechanical bull at the Mechanical Bull-A-Rama at the Whoa Arena in Valier, Montana, USA. The event, organized by Janelle Nelson, was a benefit for local youth rodeo participants and the local food bank.
Dogs lay at the feet of people watching the mechanical bull rodeo at the Mechanical Bull-A-Rama at the Whoa Arena in Valier, Montana, USA. The event, organized by Janelle Nelson, was a benefit for local youth rodeo participants and the local food bank.
The winning children’s team poses for pictures at the Mechanical Bull-A-Rama at the Whoa Arena in Valier, Montana, USA. The event, organized by Janelle Nelson, was a benefit for local youth rodeo participants and the local food bank.
Teenagers play while watching the competition at the Mechanical Bull-A-Rama at the Whoa Arena in Valier, Montana, USA. The event, organized by Janelle Nelson, was a benefit for local youth rodeo participants and the local food bank.
A small converted camping trailer serves as a concession stand at the Mechanical Bull-A-Rama at the Whoa Arena in Valier, Montana, USA. The event, organized by Janelle Nelson, was a benefit for local youth rodeo participants and the local food bank.
Bumper stickers decorate the back end of a Chevy Nova car in Valier, Montana, USA.
The Mechanical Bull-a-Rama, a first in Valier, MT, is expected to become a yearly tradition. Janelle Nelson owns the arena in the town (population 498) and wanted to give a little back to her community. She met a mechanical bull operator from Idaho who was willing to come up to Valier, and the Bull-a-Rama was born as a fundraiser for local youth rodeo participants. Competition was fierce but friendly; age and gender were no limit. Really, it was just an excuse for something to do as the day turned into night. Couldn't have been a better time. More pictures available at my photoshelter archive.

Testicle Festival in Clinton, MT
August 19, 2010

 A sign advertising the Testicle Festival and the Rock Creek Lodge stands outside Clinton, MT, alongside I-90. The Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT, has hosted the annual Testicle Festival since the early 1980s. The four day festival and party revolves around the consumption of so-called Rocky Mountain Oysters, which are deep-fried bull testicles.
A man uses a wooden penis attached to a hose to spray a contestant in the wet t-shirt contest at the Testicle Festival at the Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT. The Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT, has hosted the annual Testicle Festival since the early 1980s. The four day festival and party revolves around the consumption of so-called Rocky Mountain Oysters, which are deep-fried bull testicles.
The crowd gathers to watch young women perform in the wet t-shirt contest at the Testicle Festival in Clinton, MT. Most participants in the wet t-shirt contest removed all of their clothing while performing for the crowd. The Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT, has hosted the annual Testicle Festival since the early 1980s. The four day festival and party revolves around the consumption of so-called Rocky Mountain Oysters, which are deep-fried bull testicles.
A sign next to a pool outside a trailer declares the pool is for skinny dipping only at the Testicle Festival at the Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT. The Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT, has hosted the annual Testicle Festival since the early 1980s. The four day festival and party revolves around the consumption of so-called Rocky Mountain Oysters, which are deep-fried bull testicles.
A woman flashes people in exchange for beads at the Testicle Festival at the Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT. The Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT, has hosted the annual Testicle Festival since the early 1980s. The four day festival and party revolves around the consumption of so-called Rocky Mountain Oysters, which are deep-fried bull testicles.
A man displays beads around his neck at the Testicle Festival at the Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT. The beads are typically given to women in hopes that woman will expose her breasts. The Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT, has hosted the annual Testicle Festival since the early 1980s. The four day festival and party revolves around the consumption of so-called Rocky Mountain Oysters, which are deep-fried bull testicles.
People walk past an overflowing garbage can at the Testicle Festival at the Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT. The Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT, has hosted the annual Testicle Festival since the early 1980s. The four day festival and party revolves around the consumption of so-called Rocky Mountain Oysters, which are deep-fried bull testicles.
The campground is filled to capacity with tents, RVs, and trailers at the Testicle Festival at the Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT. The Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT, has hosted the annual Testicle Festival since the early 1980s. The four day festival and party revolves around the consumption of so-called Rocky Mountain Oysters, which are deep-fried bull testicles.
People whip and spank a man wearing little at the Testicle Festival at the Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT. The Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT, has hosted the annual Testicle Festival since the early 1980s. The four day festival and party revolves around the consumption of so-called Rocky Mountain Oysters, which are deep-fried bull testicles.
Young men use their hats to get the attention of a friend while a crowd forms to watch the wet t-shirt contest at the Testicle Festival in Clinton, MT. The Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT, has hosted the annual Testicle Festival since the early 1980s. The four day festival and party revolves around the consumption of so-called Rocky Mountain Oysters, which are deep-fried bull testicles.
Men eat Rocky Mountain Oysters at the Testicle Festival at the Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT. The Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT, has hosted the annual Testicle Festival since the early 1980s. The four day festival and party revolves around the consumption of so-called Rocky Mountain Oysters, which are deep-fried bull testicles.
A man takes a shot of alcohol from a cocktail waitress at the Testicle Festival at the Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT. The Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT, has hosted the annual Testicle Festival since the early 1980s. The four day festival and party revolves around the consumption of so-called Rocky Mountain Oysters, which are deep-fried bull testicles.
A woman falls to the ground at the Testicle Festival at the Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT. The Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT, has hosted the annual Testicle Festival since the early 1980s. The four day festival and party revolves around the consumption of so-called Rocky Mountain Oysters, which are deep-fried bull testicles.
Crowds gather to watch the Undie 500 competition at the Testicle Festival in Clinton, MT, in which racers drink beer, ride tricycles, and remove articles of clothing when they perform poorly. Many contestants were fully naked by the end of the competition. The Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT, has hosted the annual Testicle Festival since the early 1980s. The four day festival and party revolves around the consumption of so-called Rocky Mountain Oysters, which are deep-fried bull testicles.
People walk past the Rock Creek Lodge during the night at the Testicle Festival in Clinton, MT. The Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT, has hosted the annual Testicle Festival since the early 1980s. The four day festival and party revolves around the consumption of so-called Rocky Mountain Oysters, which are deep-fried bull testicles.
The Testicle Festival is a Montana institution. Held at the Rock Creek Lodge in Clinton, MT, just outside of Missoula, the festival has been going for nearly 30 years. Thousands come to the wild event from all over to indulge in a local delicacy: Rocky Mountain Oysters. Battered and deep-fried, the bull testicles are a favorite among attendees, but the real fun to be had is the 4-day party. Ridiculous games such as the Undie 500, in which contestants drink beer, race tricycles, strip away clothing for poor perforance; a wet t-shirt contest that always turns into an amateur strip show; and dancing late into the night to live bands. On one evening this year, the crowd packed the dance floor to a raucous cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd. At the Testicle Festival, however, the song echoing through the valley was "Sweet Home Montana."

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