Winter 2011 Update

In my last newsletter I was headed off for shoots in China and Japan. However, due to the tragedy in Japan and the subsequent nuclear fallout, I decided to extend my stay in China. There were too many adventures to mention but one highlight was having an opportunity to spend two nights with cormorant fishermen at work. The fishermen hang lanterns from the front of their bamboo rafts and the light attracts the fish. The trained cormorant birds then dive down, catch the fish and bring them back to the raft. What I found particularly interesting was that the birds are trained to expect a reward after catching roughly eight fish. The birds keep track of how many fish they have caught and if the number exceeds eight without reward they will simply quit their job for the night. I like to think of the birds as being more like unionized accountants.

Another highlight that I seriously hesitate to mention was getting up at 4am and having a local with a dirtbike drop me off at a random location 20km upriver. My plan was to spend the day hiking back along the Li River taking photos as I went. What I didn’t factor into my plan were dense bamboo forests, rice paddies and mud. After trudging along the river for several hours (and making virtually no progress) I came across a fisherman’s bamboo raft. To this day I feel terrible but I had no choice but to load my camera gear onto the raft, hijack it and paddle my way down river. Eventually I came to a small waterfall and had to hike the rest of the way. 12 hours later I was back in town, exhausted. I sure hope he found his raft.