Outtakes: Portraits of Overseas Chinese Returning to the Mainland
April 20, 2010

 Henry Chen, 24, is a an English teacher in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. After graduating with a degree in business from an Australian university, Chen has returned to China hoping to find a position in the fast-growing economy. In the meantime, Chen has been teaching English.
Jonathan Tse, 34, is currently an architecture student at Dong Nan Da Shui (Southeast University) in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. Tse left Hong Kong when he was about 7 years old, immigrating to the United States with his family, eventually graduating from Washington University at St. Louis. Now, seeing business opportunities and a chance “to find something I lost in the past” Tse has returned to China to pursue a degree in architecture. “My heart is more American,” Tse said, “and I want to be more Chinese.” He said, “I always knew I wanted to come back.”
Helen Li is general manager of Nanjing Rhino Solutions Corporation in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. Li left China in 2001 to live abroad, and after positions at a variety of foreign companies in North America and Europe, returned to China in January 2008 to pursue business opportunities and provide a Chinese education and lifestyle for her daughter. “We have a 5-year itch,” Li said, referring to desire to return home felt by many Chinese expatriates. Although she now considers herself a “global citizen,” Li has found it easy to return to Chinese business culture. “They respect my experience abroad,” Li said of her business colleagues.
Dr. He Tao (male) and Dr. Li Xuemei (female) are two researchers at the Nanjing University of Technology in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. The couple are married, and lived and worked in the Netherlands for 9 years before returning to China 3 years ago. Dr. He Tao is a water filtration and membrane engineer, and Dr. Li Xuemei is a nanoparticle chemist.
Jason Hsu, 30, is Regional Purchasing Manager (Asia-Pacific and Africa) for Ford Motor Company in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. After living in the United States for 14 years, Hsu returned to his homeland in Taiwan and then eventually moved to China, where he has been working for nearly 6 years. “There are a lot of sea turtles in China,” Hsu said of Chinese expatriates returning to work on mainland China and the difficulty of finding a job in China as a returning expat. Hsu said he moved to China to pursue business opportunities. “It’s probably the fastest growing place in the world,” Hsu said of the possibilities for work in the country.
For Map Magazine, a Chinese publication, I was assigned to photograph a few portraits of overseas Chinese people who have returned to the mainland for a variety of reasons. Some returned to chase business opportunities, others for reasons relating to family and heritage.

Lunar New Year 2010 (Xining, Qinghai Province, and Pingliang, Gansu Province)
February 20, 2010
A woman buys incense and ceremonial paper before the Lunar New Year Holiday in Xining, Qinghai, China.
I spent the better part of the Lunar New Year traveling between Qinghai and Gansu Provinces, hoping to make it to Pingliang in time for the evening celebrations. The night was spent in good company with a group of young Hui minority Muslims enjoying Beijing's annual holiday gala on the television and a few fireworks.

Streets of Pingliang
January 21, 2010
Muslim men, most of the Hui ethnic minority, take part in friday prayers at a mosque in Pingliang, Gansu, China.
While in the city of Pingliang in Gansu Province for an ethnic minority Hui wedding, I got the chance to explore the streets a bit.

Two hours in Chongqing
January 20, 2010

 Men fish in the Yangtze River as barges pass by Chongqing, China. Increased river traffic and nearby manufacturing in the area has threatened the river’s long-term ecology.
Travelers wait for trains at the Chongqing Railway Station in Chongqing, China.
Outside Chongqing city
Dogs play on a muddy road in Chongqing, China.
A railway worker sleeps on a bus in Chongqing, China.
A taxi driver looks at his engine in Chongqing, China.
Busses serve as the primary method of transportation for many people in Chongqing, China.
Waiting for a plane, I had a couple hours to kill in Chongqing.

Big Sky Montana Beef
January 19, 2010

 Black Angus beef cattle graze on land outside of Fairfield for the Malek Angus Ranch operation. The Malek Angus Ranch operates Big Sky Montana Beef, a high-quality jerky and other processed meat business.
Ty Malek adjusts baling twine on a small hay baler while harvesting hay that he will use on his ranch, the Malek Angus Ranch. The Malek Angus Ranch operates Big Sky Montana Beef, a high-quality jerky and other processed meat business.
Ty Malek bales hay on fields outside of Highwood, Montana, to use on the Malek Angus Ranch. The Malek Angus Ranch operates Big Sky Montana Beef, a high-quality jerky and other processed meat business.
Black Angus beef cattle graze on land outside of Fairfield for the Malek Angus Ranch operation. The Malek Angus Ranch operates Big Sky Montana Beef, a high-quality jerky and other processed meat business.
Wild plants grow in the pasture of the Malek Angus Ranch in Highwood, Montana. The Malek Angus Ranch operates Big Sky Montana Beef, a high-quality jerky and other processed meat business.
Black Angus beef cattle graze on the Malek Angus Ranch outside Highwood, Montana. The Malek Angus Ranch operates Big Sky Montana Beef, a high-quality jerky and other processed meat business.
Black Angus beef cattle graze on land outside of Fairfield for the Malek Angus Ranch operation. The Malek Angus Ranch operates Big Sky Montana Beef, a high-quality jerky and other processed meat business.
Black Angus beef cattle graze on the Malek Angus Ranch outside Highwood, Montana. The Malek Angus Ranch operates Big Sky Montana Beef, a high-quality jerky and other processed meat business.
Ty Malek bales hay on fields outside of Highwood, Montana, to use on the Malek Angus Ranch. The Malek Angus Ranch operates Big Sky Montana Beef, a high-quality jerky and other processed meat business.
Black Angus beef cattle graze on land outside of Fairfield for the Malek Angus Ranch operation. The Malek Angus Ranch operates Big Sky Montana Beef, a high-quality jerky and other processed meat business.
Black Angus beef cattle graze on land outside of Fairfield for the Malek Angus Ranch operation. The Malek Angus Ranch operates Big Sky Montana Beef, a high-quality jerky and other processed meat business.
Last summer I had a great couple of days shooting on the Malek Angus Ranch in north-central Montana for Big Sky Montana Beef, a free-range, grass-fed, high-quality line of beef jerky. Ty Malek's a great guy and the shoot was a blast, though I did have a close call with a rattlesnake. The jerky's great if you can find some, by the way. Currently, Big Sky Montana Beef is available in a few locations in Montana, online, and at fairs throughout the western United States.

In the Gobi Desert
January 18, 2010

 Scenes of the Gobi Desert – near Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China.
Scenes of the Gobi Desert – near Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China.
Scenes of the Gobi Desert – near Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China.
Scenes of the Gobi Desert – near Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China.
A cemetery stands beneath dunes of the Gobi Desert near Dunhuang, Gansu, China. An area of the desert near this dune will be the site of the world’s largest solar power generating field. The desert and surrounding areas is closely protected and managed by the local government, but ethnic groups have been given special permission to use the desert according to their traditions.
Scenes of the Gobi Desert – near Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China.
The moon illuminates the dunes of the Gobi Desert at night near Dunhuang, Gansu, China. An area of the desert near this dune will be the site of the world’s largest solar power generating field.
The dunes of the Gobi Desert at night near Dunhuang, Gansu, China.
The dunes of the Gobi Desert at night near Dunhuang, Gansu, China.
Images of the Gobi Desert outside of Dunhuang, China. The local government has turned the desert into a tremendous draw for tourists, a consequence of which is strict rules of environmental preservation. Access to the sands is tightly controlled, though locals whose traditions involve use of the dunes, such as in the cemetery shown above, are allowed to carry on with their customs.

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