Just a reminder that Expatriate Games has taken up new residence at http://www.expatriategames.net/.

The new site includes the blog, photographs, interviews, photo essays, documentaries and more. The official launch date of September 1st is here and we are celebrating the launch by giving away some great prizes all through the month of September. All you have to do to register is subscribe to the new RSS feed and leave a comment on the blog to let me know you were there, it’s that simple!

Head on over to the site and read the latest post for more details on how you can win an Apple iPad or a Cannon EF 100mm f/2.8 MACRO lens!

The new site includes the blog, photographs, interviews, photo essays, documentaries and more. The new address is www.expatriategames.net. The official launch comes on September 1st and you can win some great prizes just by updating your feed.

Head on over to the new site and read the latest post for more details on how to win!

Liang Zhirong

Liang eventually began to pay attention to how the instruments were being made and found he was a natural, even improving on designs over the years. He is an artist in residence with the Long Tan National Art Troupe and it is with that group that he has traveled to Japan, South Korea, America and Hong Kong. Multi-talented, he is also an actor and an accomplished painter. In fact, it was with his painting that he first garnered wide recognition. His main focus now is to preserve the regional folk arts. The government provides him studio space and pays his salary and so far, he has “re-discovered” over 20 traditional instruments, re-crafting them in his studio and teaching others how to play.

Liang at work in the studio…

When he’s not traveling around Guangxi looking for lost art, Liang spends his days in his cluttered, sauna-like studio, fabricating instruments from bamboo, gourds and other local woods. Some of the results include a traditional fiddle made to resemble a cow’s leg, a gourd flute and a double flute made of bamboo.

Liang Zhirong demonstrating some of his handi-work…

I met Liang on a photo-shoot for the Guangxi Tourism Bureau and afterward  he invited me to come take a look at his studio. I’m glad I did. If your ever find yourself in Liuzhou, head over to Long Tan Park, bear left past the children’s amusement park and head for the Yao Minority Village. The replica “village” is a disappointment but in the first building you come to you’ll likely find Liang Zhirong at work in his studio, crafting his latest instrument. He’ll happily perform an impromptu concert. Friendly and reserved, he comes alive when he’s playing…

Love the shirt…

This will likely be my last post on the wordpress.com blog. The new website is nearly ready to launch and I need to concentrate on getting it finished before the next term begins in September. I may go ahead and launch from there even before I have everything fully integrated..I’ll make sure to post the new url and links, you’ll want to keep an eye out as I’m giving away a bevy of freebies for those who register to get the feed. Details forthcoming, until then…

Peace!

All of these shots were all taken with the Canon 5D Mark II and the EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L lens. The light was harsh is some spots and almost non-existent in others so the settings were all over the place. More images from the park tomorrow…

I am awaiting official word on baby Layla, AKA grandchild number one. The kids went to the hospital about 20 hours ago but I haven’t heard anything since… “Layla, darling won’t you ease my worried mind…”

Positive waves toward California folks…

Peace!

The guides provide all sorts of folk-lore and in the canned presentation say things like “Here, as you can clearly see, this formation looks like a rhinoceros!”. Uh, yeah, I guess I kinda’ see that. Legend has it that the middle cave was inhabited by a fish goddess who leapt out of the cave through the ceiling to save her sister. I saw the hole in the ceiling so it must be true. We like our fish goddesses in Liuzhou, three separate stories all conveniently intertwined. Today’s version was number 46 I believe.

When we arrived at the park we discovered there was a lot of construction going on. Apparently the local government has decided to spend millions on re-developing the base area to include a hotel and spa, meeting facilities and a very large Buddhist Temple. Work on the temple is well underway and is scheduled for completion in December. It’s all being hand hewn in wood by artisans from across China, supposedly without a single nail. Everything was in various stages of completion but these four Buddhas were already in place at the entrance.

It looks like it’s going to be a nice place for photos so I want to return when the temple is complete. So yeah, a pretty good day.

I poached a wedding photographers shoot for a little while. It was a bit bizarre, he (the photographer) was running around shirtless (not pretty) and sweating as badly as I was while the bride and groom were full-on dressed up and dry as a bone. I only got a couple of shots because I didn’t want to make the other photographer uncomfortable or angry. As it was, the couple was already beginning to work my lens and not his.

One issue, when coming out of the cool caves into the hot humid air, my lens immediately fogged up. I didn’t think about that before we left the house so I was unprepared. There is a fairly easy way to deal with lens condensation, or at least to prevent it. Keep the camera in a water-proof, zip-lock plastic bag until the temperature of the camera equalizes with the air. Any condensation that occurs will occur on the bag. If you do get some condensation, you’ll just have to wait for it to evaporate. Even if you wipe it off, it will re-fog if the lens is still cooler than the air. I missed some landscapes today because of the foggy lens. Lesson learned, keep the plastic bag in the camera bag.

I finally heard from the group in Inner Mongolia and they say the project is being postponed until later in the month or even September. We’ll see if it actually happens. Still have the trip to Guangzhou, Shenzen and Hong Kong planned in a couple of weeks. I’ve been doing a lot of leg work on the new web site and it is coming along slowly but surely. Nothing else here for now…. later!

For Steve and Mrs. Stevo…

For Ryan and Maggie…

For Oliver and Keiko…

Congratulations. Cherish every moment because believe me they really do grow up too fast. Case in point, my first grandchild is due at any moment but I can remember so clearly when my kids were this size. I hope your children make each of  you as proud as my kids have made me.

I may be less active here for a while as I continue to work on getting the website put together. I am struggling mightily but have decided I’m not going to give up on it this time. Maybe I’ll find some time to post some photos to break up the monotony… Peace!

UPDATE:  In the original post I mistakenly said all three couples had boys. Actually, Steve and his wife are the proud parents of young Reilly Elizabeth, who as you can clearly see here is a beautiful baby girl! I will be avoiding the glare of Ms. Stevo when I head south later this month.

It’s nice to know you’re actually reading this stuff Steve!

This is old Ms. Wei, she’s 82 and still works the family fruit stand near a busy intersection in the middle of the market. It was about 9PM when I met her and she was going strong. She happily agreed to let me take this shot but kept her mouth covered, I figure she was a bit self-conscious as she had no teeth. She couldn’t hide her smiling eyes.

Granny Wei

Granny Wei II

This vendor was pacing back and forth and I think he was just about to call it a night. Notice the one pant leg rolled up, it’s a common “beat the heat” fashion statement. To complete the look, the more fashionable men will also roll up their shirts to reveal a little belly. Sexy.

Scale

A businessman proudly dotes on his son, feeding him tiny slices of mango. Within this four square block area you can find folks from every economic level. The neuvo riche and the poorest of the poor rub elbows, each pursuing their piece of China pie. Some pieces are bigger than others.

Baba’s Boy

Motorcycle Taxi drivers wait for one last fare at the market exit.

In The Spotlight

This cat is one of thousands of guys who work the streets in the cellular phone business. They offer a variety of services, everything from recycling to repair services to selling new phones. The new phones are either black market legitimate phones, pirated copies of legitimate phones or outright fakes. Now it is very common for men in some parts of China to let one fingernail grow to an absurd length and I have heard about 328 different reasons as to why its done. I have not seen this before…

Red Elephant Lamp

All the shots tonight were taken with the 5D Mark II and the 135mm f/2.0 L USM. I didn’t want to lug a lot of stuff around and I should really be using that lens more anyway. I think everything was shot at 2.0 at around 1250 ISO.

It looks like my return to Mongolia has been scratched. I was supposed to be traveling this week but have received no tickets or itinerary. I can’t get anybody to give me a direct answer as to if it’s on or off. Usually when that happens someone is trying to save face because nobody here wants to dole out any bad news. Most would rather say nothing at all. Anyway, I’m going on the assumption that its not happening. I’m disappointed but I’ll still go to Shenzhen and Hong Kong later this month and I also need to make a quick stop in Guangzhou.

The summer is moving along all to quickly… less than a month before the next term begins and I am so not feeling it!

This is a shot from a photowalk I took last spring with Jeremy Breningstall. We cut through Jian Bin Gong Yuan (Riverside Park) and at one point found ourselves surrounded by a large group of curious men. I remember thinking at the time that this guy might have had a little bit of The Forrest Gump in him. He was laughing for no apparent reason.  As I look again today though, I see all these guys were kind of smirking, so who knows what somebody may have said.  Chances are they are laughing at me…

20 Minutes In Monotone I

Canon 5D Mark II
EF 24-70mm F/2.8L USM @ 70mm

Aperture – f/2.8
Shutter Speed – 1/320
ISO – 200

Back to the grind… Peace!

The place was packed and, as is the norm, there were just about as many employees milling about as customers. China is labor intensive and it often looks like nobody is actually working. Over the years I’ve come to realize that’s because for every one person I may see sitting there are probably three others working!

By some estimates, almost 70% of the Chinese adult male population are smokers. That number may be off a bit. At times there were as many as 4 men smoking at our table during the meal. The employee break area was conveniently located stage left. Convenient for them. There were three laowai (foreigners) at our table and we were in the fishbowl. This guy was really giving me the stink eye but warmed up after I showed him this shot.

It wasn’t the best meal I’ve had in China but it wasn’t terrible either. The cuisine was local and I prefer dishes from the north of China. Still, on a hot and humid night, the beer was cold and the company was good.

The last shot is of Matata, making a wish before blowing out the candles on her birthday cake. She’s 25.

So, it’s raining here again. Today at mid-day I was wondering if I had somehow missed an eclipse warning it got so dark. Weird, in that it is still in the 90′s but raining. It’s like soup out there. I have to go out again tonight though, as speaking of birthdays, today is Lily’s. I am not allowed to tell you how old she is.

I might not update much for the new few days as I try (again) to get the website finished and moved. Maybe I’ll at least post some photos…

Until then, Peace!

Last night I took a walk down to the Liuzhou Government Headquarters Building. There is a huge public square in front of the building and on these hot, humid summer nights a lot of folks go out for a walk near the large fountain there to cool down. As I walked around, I discovered that in one corner of the square there were literally hundreds of people dancing. These old gals had arrived just ahead of me and were sizing up the potential dance partners.  Tough luck for the ladies, as they outnumberd the men about 10 to 1.

Dancing With The Stars – South China Style

I decided to stick with the old birds for a while and followed them around the edge of the main “dance floor” until they found a little clear spot on the far side of the action. There weren’t any men over there either, so, undeterred, they began to dance with each other. Fact is, most of the couples were women anyway. Ms. Ping had to wait patiently for her turn, “Because”, as she told Lily, “I can’t lead.”

Wallflower

Ms. Ping got her turn with the lovely Ms. Wei. They tore it up to some Latin number before the rain came and put a damper on everything. I may go back another night and see if i can talk to some of the folks and find out a little more about the dancers.

Samba Baby

The City Government building isn’t exactly new anymore. It’s been here a couple of years now and has been a beacon for new construction in an area of town that was pretty much Nothingsville when I first came here four years ago. You can see yet another group of hi-rise apartments going up behind the building on the right.

Liuzhou Government Headquarters Building

On the way home, the rain stopped and I took a few shots of this hi-rise going up near the place where I live now. What with the mass migration to China’s cities and the newfound middle class’ desire to own their own home, the demand for housing is steep. Even at prices that are untouchable for most, new complexes are usually sold out even before they break ground. On some projects, crews work three shifts, 24 hours a day to keep up. The noise can be pretty obnoxious but I have been assimilated, I seem to barely notice it anymore.

Meeting Demand

I pretty much have a camera with me everywhere I go these days. I had quit doing that for a while but decided I was missing way too many shots. I’m glad I had one with me tonight. On the way back to the house I heard a ruckus and saw some lights so I stopped to take a look. I thought it may have been an argument or fight but I found these guys razzing two of their friends who were (poorly) playing 8 ball. They pretty much clammed up when I showed up but did warm up to me later.

Pool III

I’m thinking this must be fairly common across China because I’ve seen so many weathered, outdoor pool tables. The felt and balls on this table were a mess but the cues, were straight and the tips, were surprisingly pristine. The sign on the bottom of the table says something like “No Children Allowed – Break The Rules And Face The Consequences!” That’s certainly a loose translation and it sounds pretty harsh but really, it just means “No Kids!”

Pool II

By the time this game was over the guys were back to boisterously razzing their buddies.There were some small wagers, lots of cigarettes and some large bottles of cold beer. I got asked to play but couldn’t figure out what to do with my camera and backpack (laptop). I mean they were friendly and all, but I wasn’t about to just put the bag down on the ground. Easy pickins and way too tempting for one of these guys to grab and bolt. I am not as fast as I used to be, I’m built for distance. A short distance. I got out of there only having to drink one beer. It’s hot and humid here, so, they offered and it would have been rude not to have at least one. That’s my story.

Pool I

So, that’s my last couple of evenings. What’s going on in your world? Until next time… Peace!