Ryan Pyle Blog: Camera Shy: China's New Middle Class

There is an interesting phenomenon going on China with regards to picture taking. For the most part, China is a photographers dream. It would seem that you can't miss when looking for nice images here. In fact, all of Asia is fairly camera and image friendly. But that is not the whole truth.

With China on the rise, vast amounts of Chinese people are beginning to make some serious money, and privacy is slowly becoming a very big issue in the larger cities of Mainland China. Let me explain this further.

In China publicity and exposure are almost never a good thing, privacy seems to reign king these days. For example, in 2002 Forbes Magazine came out with a 100 Richest People in China. Immediately after the list was published the Chinese government followed with a crackdown on tax evasion and criminal charges for various folks who were "lucky" enough to be one of China's top 100. China is opening up fast, and for people to take advantage of the break neck speed of development, a significant number of people are making millions in the "gray" economy. With that being said, one can see how people who are making money and enjoying a luxurious living prefer to stay out of the media and keep their money hidden. I think there is a Japanese proverb that explains this behavior, it goes something like: "The nail that sticks up gets hammered down".

The upper class and the newly developed middle class are acting in much the same way, both are incredibly camera and publicity shy. While the growth and development of China's middle class could be one of the biggest and most important stories of our generation, I am constantly asked by photography editors to try to document examples of the middle class. This is a task that, as a photographer, always creates problems for me. Shopping that sell luxury brands, luxury apartment complexes and luxury car showrooms all have signs that say "no picture taking", and most signs are often backed up with absurd amounts of security guards who have one mission - to kill any photographic opportunity. With that being said, there are ways around this but they can be painfully tedious. I can often respect someone's wish to enjoy their life instead of being part of some photographers dreams of piecing together a great feature, but recently I have been caught off guard by people's responses to why they don't want me to take their pictures. One woman in a teahouse a few weeks ago asked me not to use "photoweb" to cut and paste her head on to pornographic pictures used for the internet; this was after I spoke to her explaining that I was working for a well know magazine in the UK. In fact, it turns out most people I ask to photograph, get denied and then try to reason with have little or no idea about the western media's interest. Often the most common response is that "I'll get in trouble", but the from whom, by who and afraid of what never seems become a definitive concrete person, association, group or thing.

While I am a China watcher of sorts, I am by no means a Psychologist or a Philosopher. Many people could interpret this in many different ways, but I still see plain and simple fear. I see this type of behavior as being a hang over to the Cultural Revolution and China's backwards education system. It is truly a reaction to being uncomfortable, and I am still amazed at how uncomfortable some Chinese people are with the thought of other people knowing too much about what they do, where they live or what they look like. Of course their are exceptions to the rule, but often people are just afraid for the sake of being afraid - big brother still looms large in this part of the world.........and "they" aren't going to relinquish their grip anytime soon.

Ryan Pyle
Photographer
China
ryan@ryanpyle.com
www.ryanpyle.com
Skype: ryanpyle

Ryan Pyle Blog: The Assistant

It occurred to me, almost immediately upon my arrival in China, that if I was to ever work efficiently in this country I would need to help of an assistant. That realization came to me five years ago.

I have yet to hire an assistant.

Most of the reason for this has been financial. It took me a few years to learn how to be a journalist and establish myself as someone who was based in China and working on strong features. With that being said, it is also serious business interviewing people and offering them any sense of job stability - or at least conveying a sense of the fact that you will at least pay them at the end of each month.

The job of journalism assistant is a tough one, let there be no doubt about it. The job itself offers almost no chance of advancement or substantial salary increase. A local Chinese assistant working for the New York Times Bureau in Beijing will surely never rise to the point of becoming the Beijing Bureau chief. So, the job requires someone with a motivation unlike most.

In China's big cities the economic growth is dizzying. Getting a job, for a bright University graduate can be as simple as breathing. Most young Shanghai residents switch jobs as often as two or three times a year - opting to take a new position for as little as US$20 more per month in salary. The growth is there to support this type of behavior. In this new economy money seems to rule, few potential employees care about being part of a team, or building something special. There are few that will sacrifice now for something greater in the future. In a very broad and general sense, these are the employment conditions in Shanghai.

So you can imagine my pitch: You are going to work long days, doing difficult work and I'll be paying you less than you can make working for someone else. But I can offer you a bit of excitement, some travel and you'll get to see a side of China that you didn't learn about in high school classes. If only that pitch could generate some interest.

By the way, this is not simply a problem I have. Most of my journalism friends or people in the publishing business have similar difficulty. Compounding the problem is finding someone who doesn't always take what they are told for truth. Open mindedness, critical thinking and having opinions are also important for a job like this; but these qualities are not exactly stressed in the Chinese educational system. In fact, a student who shows the kind of behavior and mental capacity that I am looking for would often be reprimanded if in the class room.

So this is where I stand today. I am assistant-less, but still fairly efficient and working hard. Assignments are starting to pick up again after the summer lull that seems to fall over the entire industry.

More interviews next week.

Ryan Pyle
Photographer
China
ryan@ryanpyle.com
www.ryanpyle.com
Skype: ryanpyle

Ryan Pyle Blog: Home Sweet Home

It’s been 5 days since my last blog. Speaking about "the father", has anyone been watching the news and seen the hot water the Pope has gotten himself in to after a very brief quotation. These are difficult times we live in.

Right, I have been too busy to write, in saying that, I have a great excuse. I am tired and jet lagged mostly, and after nearly a month on the road, taking in stops in London, New York, Toronto and Perpignan - I am finally home and my body has crashed. Most of my time, during the last few days, was spent going through the business cards and notes I had made during the week that I atteneded a photography industry festival in Perpignan, France.

Perpignan is essentially a monster networking event, attended by all walks of life – from established professional photographers, to keen amatures. And then there were people like me. I am a professional photographer, but I am far from being an established house hold name. Guys and Gals like me were out there trying to make a name for ourselves, trying to show our portfolio's and trying to generate some contacts. For me, living in China, networking is a one a year opportunity - since the photography editors don't ever make the trip to China. So it is an essential part of the game of generating interest in the work I am doing in China. It is always and uphill struggle.

Now that I am back in China, and generating new story ideas, I am as motivated as ever to start working again. Today is Sunday and my body is finally coming around. I got a decent sleep last night - I spent most of the day researching on the internet - pulling together new story ideas.

I am also in the process of hiring my first assistant. It's always a difficult task, finding someone who can tolerate me on a full time basis. I wouldn't say that I am cranky, but I am very intense and I take my work seriously - and that can scare some people away. The resume's have begun to flood in. I've been going through each one with care. I am trying to weed out people who just seem to be drifting and thought that being a photographer's assistant for a few months would be exciting. I need someone long term, to build a solid working relationship with - no drifters need apply. I'll keep you posted on how the process goes.

It looks like I'll have a busy fall season. Magazines have started contacting me regarding scheduling and lining up work for October and November. Everything should fall in to place nicely. But more importantly than that is my personal work - what will I do with my spare time and how can I build an important story that I feel passionate about. That will be a true test for my journalism skills.

It's a Sunday night. I have written enough. My goal is that this blog will become much more interesting as my work picks up. I can report from the road on my adventures and mis-adventures.

Stay tuned.

--
Ryan Pyle
Photographer
China
ryan@ryanpyle.com
www.ryanpyle.com
Skype: ryanpyle
__________________________________

Ryan Pyle Blog: The Introduction

Hello. This is the beginning.

I have begun a blog to tell you a story about life in China. The "life" that will be described in the following blog will be both mine, and of my subjects. The word subjects referring to those whom I document.

In this initial blog, I will introduce myself and my purpose. The reason for the introduction is because I want you (the reader) to know who I am, to know my background and my reason for being here. My hope is that this knowledge will better prepare you to follow my story.

I am a Canadian born documentary photographer based in China. A documentary photographer basically means that I photograph real life in order to tell social, environmental, and political stories. I take my job very seriously. China is perhaps the fastest changing country in the world, billions of dollars of foreign investment are pumped in to the country each year, it's important to understand as much as possible about how that money is spent, who it is reaching and who is being left behind.

Another reason why I take my job very seriously is because the Chinese Media (local media) is restricted and censored. That simply means that the Communist Party, the single party that governs China, controls the media and has final say over what exactly is published. With that being said, the local media is getting more aggressive and starting to take more chances with reports on corruption and environment disasters, but in the end, they can only go so far before risking jail sentences. It is, therefore, essentially the job of foreign media to tell the stories of China, and its citizens; to help those who are unable to visit the country better understand what exactly is happening. I am proud and honored to have such a role as a journalist covering China. I personally feel there is no greater story in our time as the rise and development of China. The country's growth and development will have an incredible impact on life in every country around the globe; from coal miners in Sudan to oil rig workers in the Gulf of Mexico.

ABOUT ME
I was born in Toronto, Canada on September 20th 1978. I spent my entire youth living and being educated in Canada. I graduated from the University of Toronto (International Politics) in 2001, I specialized in Asia - focusing intensely on China.

After graduation I traveled through Europe and then in September 2001 I made my first journey to China. It was a solo mission. I spent three months wondering around China's most extreme environments. I journeyed through the French quarter in Shanghai, I strolled through the hutongs of Beijing. I snapped pictures in the airport hanger that houses the terricota warriors in Xi'an, I ventured to the heavily militarized border area of China and Kazahstan where I was arrested and spent four days in custody. Fresh from release from jail, I hitch hiked in to Tibet where I walked from Shegar (4000m) to Everest Base Camp (5200m) (about 90km) and then back out again to the town of Tingri (another 75km).

Needless to say, that initial trip to China inspired me in ways that few things in this world can. Within two weeks of returning home I had my bags packed and was headed on a one way ticket to Hong Kong - which was to be my base for further exploration in China. The stories from that first trip, including my arrest and hike to Everest, are currently being put together as part of my first written book. I first person travel narrative, about people and places in China. Fingers crossed, it will be out sometime in 2007.

Back to my story, in November of 2004 I made the decision that Hong Kong just wasn't close enough. So I packed my bags again and moved to Shanghai, my current base of operations. It wasn't until my move to Shanghai that I could properly call myself a photographer. While my stay in Hong Kong was fantastic, it was simply too expensive, offered too many distractions and at the end of the day - it just wasn't China.

My move to Shanghai left me isolated and focused. I began to work on producing features and promoting my work to magazines and newspapers around the world. My first few sales were to local expat magazines based within China. The pay was horrid, the edit was always bad and the experience left me frustrated and feeling hopeless. But I kept working at it and things got progressively better, a few jobs from the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong and then a break through - a gig with the New York Times.

From June 2005 to August 2006 I had a part in producing about 30+ stories for the New York Times working with such excellent journalists as Shanghai based Howard W. French and David Barboza. The NYTimes is a great newspaper with perhaps some of the best international news coverage in the world. It was a fantastic experience working for them, and my 14 months being associated with that publication was like going through a four year bachelors degree in journalism.

And this takes me to where we are today - sitting in a hotel room in Paris, blogging. It is September 11, the five year anniversary of the attacks on the USA. I have the live broadcast from ground zero buzzing in the background while I work. I am exhausted after having just spent the last 8 days enjoying a photography festival in Perpignan, France - making contacts and promoting my work. I am excited about returning to Shanghai. My experience in Perpignan has left me incredibly motivated and ready for more work. My work schedule for the next few weeks is filling up. I'll hopefully blog often, but please be patient if a few days go by. Today has been good.

As for what tomorrow holds, watch this space.

--
Ryan Pyle
Photographer
China
ryan@ryanpyle.com
www.ryanpyle.com
Skype: ryanpyle
__________________________________