Ryan Pyle Blog: New Work: The Butter Lamp Festival

Hello,

I've recently completed some work that I thought be of interest to my blog followers.

I traveled to the Ganden Monastery, located in Central Tibet, during winter to photograph the Butter Lamp festival. The reason for visiting was that years ago, on a previous assignment, a local once told me that she had always wished to celebrate the Butter Lamp festival at the Ganden Monastery because of the special Thanka (large carpet with painted Buddha) that is unveiled during that celebration. I marked it down on a my list as something that I was keen to photograph. And so I was finally able to make the trip, and it was an amazing visual experience at over 16,000 feet; I spent most of the next two days in bed with altitude sickness after shooting the festival. Details are below.


What is the Butter Lamp Festival?

The Tibet Butter Lamp Festival is celebrated on the final day of the Great Prayer Festival The event was also established way back in 1409 by Tsong Khapa to celebrate the victory of Sakyamuni against heretics in a religious debate. At that time he commissioned monks to make flowers and trees with colored butter. This tradition has been maintained to this day. In the past, various giant butter and butter sculptures, in forms of auspicious symbols and figures, were displayed on Barkhor Street in Lhasa. But today things are toned down an the festival is centered around the display of thousands of small hand held butter lamps.


What is the Ganden Monastery?

The Ganden Monastery was the original monastery in the Geluk order, founded by Je Tsongkhapa himself in 1409, and traditionally considered to be the seat of Geluk administrative and political power. Being the farthest from Lhasa of the three university monasteries, Ganden traditionally had a smaller population with some 6,000 monks in the early 20th century. Ganden Monastery consisted of two principal original colleges, Jangtse and Shartse, meaning North Peak and East Peak respectively. Ganden Monastery contained more than two dozen major chapels with large Buddha statues. The largest chapel was capable of seating 3,500 monks.

Below is an edit of the photography completed at the Ganden Monastery, part of the Yellow Hat Sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
LINK: http://archive.ryanpyle.com/gallery/Tibet-Butter-Lamp-Festival/G0000l.8PTU5UslU

My Favorite Images: LINK#1 & LINK #2

For anyone interested, the work was shot on two Lecia M6's. One had a 50mm f/1.4 and the other had a 28mm f/2.0. The work was shot on Kodak Color 100 VS film.

--
Ryan Pyle
Photographer
ryan@ryanpyle.com
Website: www.ryanpyle.com
Archive: http://archive.ryanpyle.com
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Ryan Pyle Blog: Blogging in 2009

Hello.

This is another one of those boring blogs that looks back at 2009. This time we are looking at my blogging.

To be honest I've been blogging since 2006. But I would have to say that in 2009 I finally got my feet moving and began blogging on a regular basis. I had a total of 102 blogs in 2009. That is a vast improvement over 2008 (22 blogs), 2007 (14 blogs) and 2006 (13 blogs).

So I'm blogging, most of it is rubbish but I hope there are a few entertaining gems in there somewhere. Needless to say 102 blogs in one year is a pretty aggressive number for a single blogger who tries to focus on original content. Many of my blogs are short and introduce new work, and when feeling motivated I try to branch out and write something longer and more opinionated.

My goal is that 2010 will bring a similar number of blogs to the viewing public. I seem to have settled in to a nice routine of 1 or 2 blogs a week, focusing more on quality than quantity. Fingers crossed it all comes together nicely. I appreciate that there is at least some people who enjoy the regular read, and your emails and feedback are very much welcomed. Please continue to write and I'll try to reply to everyone on questions regarding photography and China in general.

Keep reading, and tell all your friends.

--
Ryan Pyle
Photographer
ryan@ryanpyle.com
Website: www.ryanpyle.com
Archive: http://archive.ryanpyle.com
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Ryan Pyle Blog: Newsweek "Year in Images"

Hello.

I'm very honored to have been included in 2009's edition of Newsweek's "The Year in Images" issue. It's always nice to have your work recognized and it's even nicer to have one of your images published as a defining image of the year. I'm very proud to have a strong relationship with Newsweek. They've been very supportive of my work in China and I've throughly enjoyed my collaboration with their editors on every occasion.

The image chosen, see above, was of the BaLing Bridge. The bridge is a massive suspension bridge in rural China that is set to help connect the Southwestern cities of Guiyang and Kunming, two relative backwaters that could very well be at the forefront of China's next round of powerful economic growth.

The image was used, by Newsweek, as an example of China's stimulus package of USD 585 billion - which mainly went to infrastructure projects like this one. While the bridge was obviously planned, and construction had begun, well before the financial crisis it is nonetheless a symbol of China's commitment to connecting the countryside with the wealth and business opportunities enjoyed in coastal cities and provinces.

I'm not an economist, but I guess if China keeps spending on infrastructure and helping more businesses tap cheap land and labor further inland even more rural residents will be lifted from poverty and China's industrial revolution could very well continue for another decade or more. Fingers crossed these infrastructure projects get used and help deliver real progress and improvement in people's lives. China doesn't have much more room for anymore "white elephants".

--
Ryan Pyle
Photographer
ryan@ryanpyle.com
Website: www.ryanpyle.com
Archive: http://archive.ryanpyle.com
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Ryan Pyle Blog: Kodak Support

Hello.

I’ve been using Kodak black and white film for my entire career; meaning simply that I’ve been a TriX fan since day one, and I will die a TriX fan. But the film is expensive and it’s been incredibly difficult to find in China in 35mm format. So it was essentially a sign from the heavens above when Kodak contacted me earlier this year and offered me some free TriX; I was glowing for weeks.

My color film choices have been slightly more strained. I’ve been a Fuji man for most of my career, for no other reason that this kind of film is the most readily available in China. My choices of Provia 100 and 400 provided me with a quality film with a vast range; but I never gave it much of a thought really. I never dabbled with competitor films and I never questioned my film choices. I just went with the flow, concerned more about the story and the composition than the actual film being used.

Then earlier this year Kodak sent me that batch of TriX, that I mentioned above, and they included a few rolls of color film as well; a very savvy move on their part. I’ll admit the color stock sat on my desk for several weeks before I got off my butt and put them through a few test runs, and I can’t tell you how glad I am that I finally did. I was incredibly pleased with the results, so much so that I asked Kodak for a few more rolls. And to my surprise they said sure. I glowed further.

I’m mainly shooting color side film, or transparency film. I rarely dabble in negative film anymore these days. So I’ve been shooting the new E100VS and EV 200 Kodak color slide film, and I’ve been pleased with the results. The range and the richness of the colors are lovely. The super-fine grain is helpful as well, especially when the film is pushed, as I push the EV200 to ISO 800 for some of my shots where there is less available light.

So now, finally, I am a die-hard Kodak user. And much to my pleasure they have begun supplying me with all of my black and white and color film needs, and I couldn’t be thankful enough. It’s my first sponsorship of sorts, and it’s very humbling to have a company like Kodak supporting my image making.

How has this changed my life? Well, first off it has allowed me to have more control over my work. For example, often clients I work for ask me to now shoot longer projects, that don’t have fast turn around times, in digital. When I ask why they insist on digital they often site cost concerns. My reply now is, “don’t worry. I’ll be shooting film and it won’t cost you a thing”. Kodak have stepped in a filled a financing gap. Where I would have normally shot in digital to keep costs down follow the instructions of the magazine, I can now pursue my artistic belief that film still offers more range and higher quality, it still my preferred medium. And I now have the financial flexibility to continue using film when many clients have turned their backs on analog photography. And you know what the funny thing is? After I turn in the projects clients often write back saying thanks for making the effort to use film, the results are lovely. I love that.

Now, I’m not very good at comparing gear or writing blogs about how one camera, or film, is better than the other and why. I just know what I like and it now makes me very happy to have new opportunities to pursue more film photography. And in this day and age, given the harsh economic conditions, having a choice between film and digital, when it doesn’t cost you extra money, is a pretty special thing.

At this very moment I’ve taken a couple hundred rolls of Kodak color slide film and I’m currently working on a project that will hopefully get some decent responses from my clients. It’s my first, color, all-Kodak large film project and it’ll involve me hunkering down in a remote part of China for about 10-12 days and just shooting. And with the weather being horribly cold, film cameras – my Canon EOS 1V’s - and their fantastic durability are the only choice. And with that, of course, comes an entire bag of my Kodak E100VS and E200.

Lastly, I few months back I wrote a blog about how Kodak Kodachrome was retired and that Kodak and their color film business might be on it’s last legs. But clearly I was wrong. They’ve recently developed the new slide film that I am using today and they’ve introduced a new color negative film as well. So, yes, while Kodachrome was retired it appears that Kodak have improved on a previous model and retired an aging workhorse. Kodak are still in the film game, they are still heavily invested in producing color and black and white film; and they are also investing in people like me, a relative new comer to the game, but a photographer who puts a serious amount of film through his camera and isn’t afraid to talk about it. And I can’t thank Kodak enough for their support. Now if someone from Canon would just call, I’d be walking on air.

--
Ryan Pyle
Photographer
ryan@ryanpyle.com
Website: www.ryanpyle.com
Archive: http://archive.ryanpyle.com
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Ryan Pyle Blog: Final Reminder, Gallery Exhibition "Chinese Turkistan"

Hello,

Bare with me, just a final reminder that my Chinese Turkistan show will run tomorrow. The show will be held at the newly renovated Dylan Ellis Gallery (DEG)

Dylan Ellis Gallery
42 Industrial Street,
Toronto, ON M4G 1Y9
Hours: M-f 9am to 5pm;
Sat. noon - 5pm, Sun. by Appointment
416.406.3131

The opening time on Thursday night is 630pm, that's when I'll hold a Q&A and that will be followed by a reception from 7pm to 9pm. I'll also be at the gallery after the show on Friday August 7th and Saturday August 8th in case anyone would like to stop by and discuss the project. I'll also make myself available prior to the show should anyone be interested in learning more about the region of Chinese Turkistan and my inspiration behind the project. With the recent news of unrest in Urumqi I feel that it is really time to begin looking more closely at Xinjiang, and begin a serious dialog about the repercussions of such unrest. It's often considered a forgotten part of the world, but the people there are beginning to rise up and are very capable of challenging government authority.

In my eyes the project is timely and beginning to come together. I hope you'll have a chance to attend the show. The work will stay on display at the DEG for 2 months after August 6th. I hope there is a chance to meet up with each and every one of you at some stage. Follow the gallery website link above to view my bio and project summary as well as some of the images that will be displayed at the show.

I hope if you are in Toronto you'll have a chance to stop by.

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

Ryan Pyle Blog: Gallery Exhibition "Chinese Turkistan"

Hello,

I just wanted to let you know that preparations for my solo gallery show, which will open on Thursday August 6th, are nearly finished.

The show will be held at the newly renovated Dylan Ellis Gallery (DEG): (http://www.elevatordigital.ca/deg/)

Dylan Ellis Gallery
42 Industrial Street,
Toronto, ON M4G 1Y9
Hours: M-f 9am to 5pm;
Sat. noon - 5pm, Sun. by Appointment
416.406.3131

The opening time on Thursday night is 630pm, that's when I'll hold a Q&A and that will be followed by a reception from 7pm to 9pm. I'll also be at the gallery after the show on Friday August 7th and Saturday August 8th in case anyone would like to stop by and discuss the project. I'll also make myself available prior to the show should anyone be interested in learning more about the region of Chinese Turkistan and my inspiration behind the project. With the recent news of unrest in Urumqi I feel that it is really time to begin looking more closely at Xinjiang, and begin a serious dialog about the repercussions of such unrest. It's often considered a forgotten part of the world, but the people there are beginning to rise up and are very capable of challenging government authority.

In my eyes the project is timely and beginning to come together. I hope you'll have a chance to attend the show. The work will stay on display at the DEG for 2 months after August 6th. I hope there is a chance to meet up with each and every one of you at some stage. Follow the gallery website link above to view my bio and project summary as well as some of the images that will be displayed at the show.

I hope if you are in Toronto you'll have a chance to stop by.

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