Ryan Pyle Blog: Face Transplant Recipient Confirmed Dead

Hello,

I wanted to make you aware of some breaking news in China. It appears that Li Guoxing, the first recipient of a face transplant surgery in China as been confirmed dead. Li Guoxing received a face transplant surgery in 2006 from surgeon Guo Shuzhong in Xi'an, China. If you can remember Mr. Li, 30 years old when he had the surgery, had is face ripped off by a bear while hunting in rural Yunnan province where he lived in a small village community. Mr. Li's death, it has been said, was due to an infection because he wasn't taking prescribed immune-system drugs properly. Another report says he was favoring herbal medicines instead. No final report on the death will be available because Mr. Li has been buried for several months now, and no autopsy was completed.

Li Guoxing's surgery in 2006 was a ground breaking moment for Chinese surgery and something that I, as a photographer, was interested in covering. Although because I was a foreign journalist in China I was denied access to document Li Guoxing for almost a year after the surgery. In the summer of 2007 I was able to travel to Xi'an and, with Dr. Guo Zhuzhong's permission, follow Li Guoxing for a few days and document his life 1 year after the surgery. I had scheduled a visit to Mr. Li's village for 2009 to see how he was coping with his surgery in his natural environment, but that story won't be possible. Below is a link to the photo essay I shot of Li Guoxing when I visited the hospital in Xi'an in 2007. Above is a slide show of that essay. Also below is the most recent AFP story.

LINK: CLICK HERE TO SEARCH ARCHIVE

STORY: BEIJING (AFP) — A Chinese man who received a rare face transplant in 2006 has died, his doctor and a government official confirmed Saturday, highlighting the risks of a recent groundbreaking US operation.

Li Guoxing, 32, died in July at his rural home in rugged southwestern China after forsaking immune-system drugs in favor of herbal medicine, his surgeon Guo Shuzhong told AFP.

"His death was not caused by the surgery. Our operation was a success. But we cannot rule out a connection with the immune system drugs," said Guo, a surgeon with Xijing Hospital in the northern city of Xian who operated on Li in April 2006.

Qiao Guangliang, chief of Li's village in mountainous Yunnan province, also confirmed the death to AFP.

Both men said the exact cause of death was unknown as no autopsy was performed.

Li's death had been rumoured on Chinese blogs but has received scant attention in the mainstream press.

US doctors in Cleveland said last week they conducted the world's first near-total facial transplant on a disfigured woman.

It was just the fourth known facial transplant.

Doctors in France had performed the first partial transplant in 2005 on a 38-year-old woman disfigured in a dog attack.

The next year, Li, a farmer, underwent an apparently successful operation to replace about half his face after it was ripped off by a wild bear.

A 29-year-old French man then underwent surgery in 2007 for a facial tumor.

Guo said Li defied orders to remain in hospital and went home in late 2007.

Li soon stopped taking prescribed drugs in favour of a local herbal medicine, which Guo said may have caused liver damage.

Guo said the remoteness of Li's home had meant he could not make it to hospital for regular check-ups.

"After his death, I went to Yunnan and suggested an autopsy but his relatives refused" because Li had already been buried, Guo said.

AFP was not immediately able to reach Li's family members.

The US woman, whose identity has been kept secret, has shown no signs of rejecting her transplant, doctors said.

However, facial transplants remain controversial because of the risks and because they are driven by cosmetic, rather than life-saving concerns.


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Cheers,

Ryan Pyle
Photographer
ryan@ryanpyle.com
Website: www.ryanpyle.com
Archive: http://archive.ryanpyle.com
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Ryan Pyle Blog: "Better Services for Foreign Media" in China

Hello,

I wanted to share some fine fiction I read in the China Daily just last week. The government has held a press conference indicating that the government officially welcomes more journalists from abroad to cover news events in China. The real slap in the face was that they had the nerve to, in the same breath, mention that they are extending better service and freedom to Chinese journalists as well as foreign journalists. I don't know how anyone who follows my blog feels when they read news like this, but for me - it makes my guts turn.

China is, bar none, one of the most difficult countries to work in as a foreign journalist; and for a Chinese journalist you are essentially taking your life, the life of your family and even close friends, in your hands if you want to publish any kind of investigative reporting. While it's true that the life of a foreign journalist is not in danger, as it is in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and others, it is painstaking at every turn. And that's one of the reasons why a lot of well known photographers actually refuse to accept jobs in China because the bureaucracy and the difficulty of working freely just wares them down too much. All I can say to that is, yes.........yes it does ware you down. In fact, it's down right exhausting. So how are things supposedly changing?

Well, this is the kicker. They aren't really. In the 1990s, from what I've herd, things were really tough for foreign journalists. The country was closed off and there were few foreigners moving around the country at that time, so anyone who wanted to take a quick trip to a remote province was either a journalist or a spy. After the turn of the century things have opened up a lot more. More travelers, better infrastructure and more access to outsiders have created a countryside in China where towns and villages are accessible to travel to. But that doesn't mean that you are free to report from there, in fact, far from it.

Intimidation, confiscation and detention all still exist. You won't have to read too far into my past blogs to find stories about thugs in cars with tinted windows that pull you over and ask for your cameras, all without showing any ID at all. You don't have to travel too far outside of Beijing, or Shanghai, to find a lawless countryside where local officials intimidate and bend laws to get there ways. In fact, just a few weeks ago a report was published in a Chinese newspaper that indicated that government officials were arresting whistle blows of government corruption and sending them to mental hospitals. Their only crime was trying to travel to Beijing to tell officials there how corrupt their county communist party leaders are. And this highlights where the real problem exists: the central government in Beijing as no control over what happens in the rest of the country. A powerful statement, but true.

China has, for centuries, been a provincial place. Emperors have always sat at the head of government in the Middle Kingdom and their influence has been far reaching, but only by bribing and power sharing deals worked out with local warlords. And after a my years in China, having worked in every province, I can tell you that little has changed. In exchange for a show of solidarity and support, the central government has pretty much given a free hand to the provinces to develop at their own will and pace; which in many cases means shocking human rights abuses and complete disregard for even the most basic law.

So what do I think of the news that things will free up? I think it will happen, but not because of any judgement handed down from Beijing. If it happens it'll happen because provincial officials and business men will see the benefit of having some media savvy, and they'll learn some day that intimidating media, and engaging this cat and mouse game only makes all sides bitter; and can often lead to negative reporting.

A journalist who has the time to freely enter a village and speak with all the voices and understand all sides of the story can write a much more objective piece than the journalist who has to sneak in under the cover of night and speak to one or two people and then get chased out by thugs in a Mitsubishi Land Rover; barely escaping to the main expressway which can ferry them to the neighboring province; and hence safety.

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Cheers,

Ryan Pyle
Photographer
ryan@ryanpyle.com
Website: www.ryanpyle.com
Archive: http://archive.ryanpyle.com
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Ryan Pyle Blog: Reform and Opening: 30 Years Old

Hello,

Today is a historic day. December 18th 2008 marks the 30th anniversary of Reform and Opening in China. That's right, modern China is exactly 30 years old today. And what an incredible 30 years it's been:

- 10%+ growth almost every year since 1980
- China now accounts for 6% Global GDP, in 1978 it was 1.8%
- A 70% increase in grain production
- 250 million people have lifted themselves out of abject poverty
- 200 million people have moved from the countryside to the city creating some dynamic world class cities like Shanghai and Beijing.

On December 18th 1978 Deng Xiaoping declared, after weeks of meetings and 2 years of internal in-fighting, that China was open for business. Since then the country has developed faster than any other country in history. This economic advancement has led to incredible social changes throughout the country and greatly altered the traditional way of life in China.

The key city to this Reform and Opening policy, and the economic boom that was to follow, was the border city of Shenzhen. Formerly a rice field, the city now boasts a stable population of over 10 million people, as well as one of the most successful, until recently, housing and job markets in the country. The city of Shenzhen has continually re-invented itself from being a border town, to a port and shipping town, to a manufacturing hub of textiles and low quality goods. Today it is home to some of China's most successful "home grown" companies like Huawei, BYD and Hansee.

Although, due to an economic crisis in around much of the world, much of the Shenzhen and Pearl River Delta manufacturing sector is currently struggling with rapidly falling demand in the United States and Europe; but the development of this region can not be overlooked as one of the main engines of Chinese growth for the last three decades.

I've been based in Shanghai, China for several years and I have shot extensively in Shenzhen and Dongguan, through many of the ups and down's. Please follow the link to view a selection of images, some recently shot and some unpublished. Of course a much wider selection of images are available on my archive. I hope you enjoy the images.

LINK: Click Here

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Cheers,

Ryan Pyle
Photographer
ryan@ryanpyle.com
Website: www.ryanpyle.com
Archive: http://archive.ryanpyle.com
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Ryan Pyle Blog: Gongga Work on Travel Photographer Blog

Hello,

Tewfic el-Sawy runs a lovely TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG that covers some of the most interesting travel and documentary photography being created by talented images makers from all corners of the world.

Today I'm pleased to let you know that The Travel Photographer is running a nice little SLIDE SHOW of my work from Gongga Shan, work at was included as an honorable mention in this years Banff Rocky Mountain Culture Awards. It's always nice to see an imbedded slideshow and a wider variety of images, I hope you agree.

Be sure to keep an eye on the Travel Photographer Blog over the coming months. Lots of quality photography sure to come.

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Cheers,

Ryan Pyle
Photographer
ryan@ryanpyle.com
Website: www.ryanpyle.com
Archive: http://archive.ryanpyle.com
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Ryan Pyle Blog: Canon 5D Mark II's everywhere for XMAS!!!!!

Hello,

I recently visited my local camera market in Shanghai, China; and I'm pleased to announced that every store in the market was flush with Canon 5D Mark II's. The first question many of you may have is: are they fake? The answer is no, my buddy bought one and spent the next few days shooting in Shanghai with lovely low-light results.

The second question many of you might have is: did they fall off the back of a truck? Perhaps. It's clear that Canon is suffering to get these things to market fast enough, and part of that might be because so many are available in China. I recently heard that some shooters in NYC have been on a waiting list for several months to get their 5D Mark II, and I can't help but wonder how many of these camera's in China were prepared for the US and European market but never made it there.

Now don't get me wrong, China has a flourishing photography scene with loads of gifted image makers that can afford a US$2600 camera; and I can assure you that they are flying off the shelves. But surely it's horrible PR for Canon that their newest, and most highly anticipated product in years, is more readily available in Shanghai, China then in the New York City or Paris or London.

So, did I pick one up? Not yet. Why am I waiting? I'm not sure really. I'm not a big techie and I'm not very interested in upgrading my equipment very often but these new 5D's seem to really be a massive improvement to digital image making. I'm sure I'll pick one up around Xmas, a small gift for myself after a manic year of running around this ever changing country that has become my adopted home.

To all those of you in North America and Europe you can't get your hands on a new 5D Mark II? If you're thinking of finally taking that trip to China, it might as well be now - we've got all the gear readily available.


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Cheers,

Ryan Pyle
Photographer
ryan@ryanpyle.com
Website: www.ryanpyle.com
Archive: http://archive.ryanpyle.com
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Ryan Pyle Blog: Zeiss Lenses for Canon SLR's

Hello,

I'm not an equipment junkie, in fact I'm far from it. I am pretty unresponsive when friends in the industry email me links to blogs with new gear, new lenses, new software and the like. But a good friend of mine recently forwarded me a link that I got really excited about. It seems that Carl Zeiss is now making EF Mount lenses for Canon SLR's, wow!

I've been a Canon SLR user for my entire (relatively short) career and they carry the weight of much of my color editorial work. I've got 3 Canon EOS 1 film bodies and 1 Canon EOS 5D Digital body; along with a host of Canon lenses. But a few years ago I started dabbling with a Leica M6 and I use it for all of my Black and White work, and I've begun using it more and more in for my editorial assignments. It didn't take long, using the Leica Zeiss lenses, to notice that the image quality was superior in many many ways; but still I leaned towards my Canons because of their versatility and convenience.

Now, well it was announced a few months ago, Zeiss is making lenses for Canon Film and Digital SLR bodies and I'm on board in a big way. I've always been a big believer that the camera lens is far more important than the camera body and that quality lenses are an important element to strong image making. Zeiss has come out with a 50mm f/1.4 and an 85mm f/1.4. I'm keen on the 50mm and waiting for the 28mm to follow in early 2009.

The real kicker is that the Zeiss lenses are only marginally more expensive than their Canon counterparts. It seems like a no brainer to make the switch.

For years I've been reluctant to work in digital fearing image quality, but the induction of Zeiss lenses and the new Canon 5D Mark II may very well change my dinosaur-like old school perceptions of quality image making using digital SLR's.

So to all the folks at Zeiss, I'm excited, and let me tell you - it's a rare thing. So how about a free trial?

LINK TO STORY


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Cheers,

Ryan Pyle
Photographer
ryan@ryanpyle.com
Website: www.ryanpyle.com
Archive: http://archive.ryanpyle.com
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Ryan Pyle Blog: New Work: Fragile China (Newsweek Cover & NYT)

Hello,

I just wanted to share some new and exciting work with you.

Much of China looks like it get caught up in this global financial slowdown. A government stimulus package for infrastructure should get China back in to that airy double digit growth region again. But some parts of China, and in fact some entire regions of China, are bracing themselves for a shock.

One of those regions is China's Pearl River Delta, home to much of the manufacturing that has helped make China the "Workshop of the World". I've done some work in the region the last few weeks and several of the images have been published in the USA. However, this week I am very honored to have the Cover of Newsweek International, in which they devoted their cover story to China's manufacturing slowdown and what that means for global business.

And I just completed another story about China's steel industry under pressure with the New York Times, Click Here.

You can see a scanned copy of the cover if you Click Here

You can find a link to more images from my series on Dongguan if you Click Here

You can read the Newsweek story if you Click Here


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Cheers,

Ryan Pyle
Photographer
ryan@ryanpyle.com
Website: www.ryanpyle.com
Archive: http://archive.ryanpyle.com
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Ryan Pyle Blog: Mountain Culture Award: Honorable Mention

Hello,

I just wanted to write to make you aware of a photo essay I recently completed on Gongga Shan or Gongga Mountain. It was included as an Honorable Mention in the awards at the Banff Mountain Culture Awards earlier this year.

The photo essay was a journey through China's remote Sichuan province; departing from the Chinese town of Kangding my writing partner and I walked 4 days (at an average altitude of 4000m) to reach the remote Tibetan Gongga Mountain Monastery. It was very much a journey from Han China to Tibetan China at a time when relations between the two have been severely strained.

Over the years I've dedicated a lot of time to the documentation of various parts of the Tibetan community and this essay was one of the most rewarding, walking an average of 30km per day we passed through one of the most remote and isolated parts of Sichuan's ethnic Tibetan regions. The monastery was a full days walk from the nearest village, a two days walk form the nearest road and perched on the side of a mountain near the Gongga Mountain (7556m) base camp.

The monastery was visited by Dr. Joseph Rock in the 1920s when he documented and explored much of south west China for National Geographic. It was very much Dr. Rock's footsteps in which we walked and planned our journey.

A tight edit of the photo essay can be found at the Following Link

The Rocky Mountain Culture awards can be found at the Following Link


My Interview with the Mountain Culture center regarding the picture is below:

"I had first learned about Minya Konka, or Gongga Shan, from naturalist Joseph Rock. His work in eastern Tibet, now western Sichuan, was pioneering and when he first laid eyes on Minya Konka he believed he had found the largest mountain in the world. He wasn't far off. Minya Konka stands an impressive 7556m and towers above the rest of the range. It's a sight beyond words. The Minya Konka Tibetan Monastery rests at the base of the mountain. My journey to the monastery began on foot in the town of Laoyulin, just outside of Kangding. From there the four-day, 120-km trek to the monastery had taken its toll, walking at an average altitude of about 4000 m. But this is the way many of the pilgrims make the journey to this remote monastery, and it was important to follow in their footsteps to understand the significance of the temple and its role in the community. Each morning at the monastery one monk prays alone in the main prayer hall. It was a damp and cold morning and there was a lovely light coming in from the single window; my only concern was to do justice to the moment."


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Cheers,

Ryan Pyle
Photographer
ryan@ryanpyle.com
Website: www.ryanpyle.com
Archive: http://archive.ryanpyle.com
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Ryan Pyle Blog: New Work: Taiwan Investing in China's Healthcare System

Hello,

I wanted to write and let you know of some recent work I completed on Taiwanese investment in China's healthcare industry. BenQ, a Taiwanese conglomerate mostly known for consumer electronics, has opened its first hospital in China geared towards China's medium and lower income families. Many Chinese have lost faith in the large state run hospitals where corruption and efficiencies are well documented. Many patients are keen to try something different and are beginning to put their faith in private hospitals like BenQ's new hospital outside of Nanjing, China - some 300km west of Shanghai.

The work was completed as an assignment with the Wall Street Journal. Below is a link to the article and Photo Essay slide show:

Link to Photos

Link to Article

A Larger Edit: http://archive.ryanpyle.com


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Cheers,

Ryan Pyle
Photographer
ryan@ryanpyle.com
Website: www.ryanpyle.com
Archive: http://archive.ryanpyle.com
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