Thursday’s Picture of the Week: Muli, China

National Geographic BooksBehind the Scenes: The year is 1990 and Jeffrey Aaronson is photographing on assignment for the National Geographic Society in one of the most remote areas in the world: Muli, China. 

The book project, entitled, Beyond the Horizon: Adventures in Faraway Lands, has Jeffrey retracing the footsteps of Austrian-American botanist and explorer, Joseph Rock, who ventured to this region of China and Tibet in the early 1920′s.

Until 1953, Muli was a remote and independent mountainous Gelugpa Buddhist kingdom, located just north of Lake Lugu in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces. It was dubbed “The Yellow Lama’s Kingdom” by Rock.

Map of China

Jeffrey and writer, Patrick Booz, travel together on this epic, 30-day assignment for the Geographic. It takes four days to journey by jeep from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, on roads that

Since then only a handful of botanists, mountaineers and adventurers have trickled in to this are

The Answer…

To Monday’s “Where in the World Are You?” Photo Contest is:

MULI, CHINA

You had lots of great guesses. Thanks to all of you who participated in this contest.

Tomorrow for Thursday’s Picture of the Week, I will share a behind-the-scenes story about Jeffrey Aaronson’s National Geographic assignment in Muli, where he created this photograph, along with many others, including the cover photo for the book.

Photo Caption CONTEST

Take a peek at the photograph below and join our contest to see who can come up with the most creative caption for this image. The winner will receive a $10 Amazon gift card along with serious bragging rights for being crowned “Most Creative.”

Photo for Where in the World Contest 2

To enter, simply leave your caption in the comment box below by Wednesday, November 7th and check back Thursday morning to see who is crowned the winner. Good luck!

Repost: Memories of 9/11 and a Wish for Dreams

As I sit here grappling with how to explain the horrors of 9/11 to my 8-year old today, I can’t help but recall that gut-wrenching day like it was yesterday. I doubt there’s one among us who doesn’t feel the same.

Last year, on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11, I wrote an insanely long blog post recalling the events of that day. I had only just begun blogging and didn’t know that most people don’t have the time or inclination to read such lengthy pieces. I was also trying out a THEN and NOW format, in which I recalled memories from THEN and addressed current issues NOW. Much has changed in my blogging since then, but I thought I’d share this piece again in case you have the time or inclination to read it. Click here to take a peek.

 

Thursday’s Picture of the Week: President Nelson Mandela

Photo of Nelson Mandela for President South Africa 1994Behind the Scenes:  Johannesburg, May 1994. It’s a new day in South Africa. Historic change electrifies the air. Apartheid, the government’s official policy of racial segregation, has finally come to an end, and Nelson Mandela is about to be elected the country’s first black president in nearly three hundred fifty years.

Photo of a South African Woman

The emotion surging through Jeffrey Aaronson as he photographs this momentous occasion mimics that of the country’s new flag shimmering in the wind.

It’s impossible to repress his awe, remembering it had been just four years earlier that Nelson Mandela had been released from prison after serving a 27-year sentence for leading the armed struggle against apartheid.

Mandela’s prophetic words, uttered upon his release from prison couldn’t ring more true today:

“Our march to freedom is irreversible”

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Thursday’s Picture of the Week: Hong Kong Handover

Time Magazine 1997 Hong Kong Handover Cover

Behind the scenes: It’s late June 1997 and Hong Kong is about to be handed back to China after 150 years of British rule. Jeffrey Aaronson has been hired by Time magazine to document the events leading up to the handover ceremony, which is taking place at midnight on June 30th.

He has spent the past two weeks photographing all across China with one of Time’s senior correspondents, Joanna McCreary. They’ve ventured to several of China’s outlying cities, showing that while Communist leaders proclaim there will be “One country, Two Systems” with the Hong Kong handover, China is already comprised of a tangle of systems and economic policies created by local municipalities.

This is a memorable assignment for many reasons. One is that it’s an historic event. The other is that Jeffrey is arrested in the city of Suzhou. His visa has expired and the police have discovered he’s been working on a tourist visa instead of an official journalist visa. He’s always done that to avoid being controlled by government minders.

Locked in a jail cell, Jeffrey tries to ignore the sense of dread washing over him. A grizzly policeman glares with distain, then says between long drags on his cigarette, “You have until midnight to leave China. You’d better be on a plane out of here or….”

Once he’s released Jeffrey immediately begins trying to figure out his next move. He discovers there’s only one flight left to Hong Kong (which is still British for another week), but it’s out of Shanghai, which is least two hours away–on a good traffic day. He has less than three hours and he still must go back to his hotel and pack, then get to the airport, buy his ticket and board the plane.

After phoning the correspondent to tell her what has transpired, he’s in a car on the way to Shanghai. His plan is to fly to Hong Kong and apply for a new tourist visa—knowing China is still not computerized and not likely to discover his recent incarceration. Then he’ll fly into Beijing the next day and meet back up with the correspondent.

After a heart-racing drive and an absurd made-for-TV-sprint through the airport, Jeffrey catches his flight just as they are closing the door.

The next day, after working with Mr. Kwok, his seedy connection in Hong Kong, he obtains a new visa and lands back in Beijing.

The correspondent, who is well-aware of what Jeffrey has just been through, recommends he rests and lays low, especially since she won’t be writing anything about Beijing.

Jeffrey, who has never been good at laying low, ignores Joanna’s advice and heads out to photograph anyway. In Tiananmen Square he happens upon a group of school children doing chalk drawings in celebration of the upcoming handover. A large “countdown clock” is ticking down the hours and minutes until the handover, which the mainland is exuberant about.

When he photographs these two schoolboys sporting 1997 glasses, he’s glad he followed his instincts instead of laying low. He knows he has just created an iconic image for their story. And he’s right. It becomes the cover of the magazine.

__________

A week later a similar situation happens. It’s the night of the handover ceremony and Jeffrey has been shooting all over Hong Kong, along with a small contingent of photographers working for Time. Each is assigned a dizzying number of symbolic events as the British say farewell.

Jeffrey is on a tight schedule trying to get from one event to the next. It’s the first assignment his editor has given him a cell phone to help with communication and logistics during this tricky project. It’s the size of a brick, but it’s indispensable.

He has spent much of the day with the last governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patton, and is now on his way to photograph the Britannia symbolically sailing out of Hong Kong Harbor.

Time Magazine Cover New Guard in Hong KongThe streets are filled with drunk Expats as they try to forget about their future and their certain loss of British freedoms. On the way from one event to the next Jeffrey sees the first ceremonial Chinese soldier standing guard where a British soldier once stood.

It’s dripping hot and humid, and the crowd is growing more and more unruly, taunting the soldier. Jeffrey knows he’s late for his next event, and a call from his editor reinforces that. “Your car and driver are waiting for you. Please get over there now.”

“Give me ten minutes, “ he says to his editor, convincing her that what he’s witnessing could make for a symbolic photograph. While she has the driver circle, he creates another cover of Time, which runs the week after his previous cover.

“It’s often unplanned moments that make for some of the most interesting and important photographs. Sometimes you just have to follow your intuition, even if it means ignoring your editor,” Jeffrey later reflects.

Sentimental Journey in the American West

Today’s post shares a slice of humor and nostalgia. Jeffrey Aaronson photographed this series along a rural highway in northern Colorado for Life magazine, stirring memories of the Old West and the cowboy tradition.

Jeffrey Aaronson Lone Ranger Series 1 of 4Jeffrey Aaronson Lone Ranger Series 2 of 4Jeffrey Aaronson Lone Ranger Series 3 of 4Jeffrey Aaronson Lone Ranger Series 4 of 4
All photos ©Jeffrey Aaronson                         The Art of an Improbable Life 2012

PS: Sharing one of my favorite series of photographs seems like the perfect way to celebrate my 100th post today!

Favorite Five Friday: Places

Thanks for making last Friday’s Favorite Five so much fun. Here’s this week’s topic:

Favorite Five Friday Places

Where are your favorite five places? It could be in far off lands, the chaise lounge in your backyard or simply somewhere in your imagination. Drop me a comment. I’d love to know what places inspire you most! Oh yeah, and please don’t strain your brain (it’s Friday, after all). Take five minutes or less and see what comes to mind first.

The Answer…

To Yesterday’s “Where in the World Are You?” Photo Contest is:

MICRONESIA

This was a tough one! Thanks to all of you who participated in the contest. I loved all your guesses, and I especially loved having so many first-time commenters (is that a word?) leave their two cents.

Unlike Bali, Tahiti or Thailand, Micronesia is not a common travel destination, so I can see why nobody got the correct answer.

The official name for Micronesia is The Federated States of Micronesia. It consists of four island states: Yap, Chuuk (Truk), Pohnpei (Ponape), and Kosrae–all in the Caroline Islands (I know, islands within islands are a bit confusing). Take a peek at the map below to get your bearings, and just know that Micronesia is located about 3,200 miles west-southwest of Hawaii, above the equator in the Pacific Ocean.

Map of Micronesia

Jeffrey was photographing a travel story here many years ago for Continental Airlines and captured the fisherman in yesterday’s photograph as he cast his net at sunrise on the island of Kosrae.

When I reviewed Eric Weiner’s book, The Geography of Bliss last November, I asked Jeffrey to rank some the happiest places he’s worked in the world, He described Micronesia as being the 4th Happiest Place. If you’d like to know why and see a few more photographs, you can click on my previous post: The Geography of Bliss (once you click on it, scroll half way down to get to Micronesia).

 Fisherman in Kosrae, Micronsia
Photo of Truk Micronesia

The most significant change to Micronesia since Jeffrey worked there in the late 80s is the impact global warming has had on the island chain. Micronesia, as well as many others in the South Pacific, are alarmed by the rise in ocean levels, which threaten low-lying islands with flooding and, eventually, submergence.

Now that has a way of putting our environmental issues into perspective!