i will try to catch you up to date...

Wednesday 10/10/2007:

We traveled east across the river once again; racing along the interstate passing bicycles and scooters, looking at the construction going up in the countryside. I attempt to shoot out the window of the van but it just doesn't work the way I would like for it to - too obvious I am using a long lens in attempts to get some sort of interesting composition.

After about a 20 minute drive out of the center of the city, we turn into a construction site. The small parking lot is surrounded by apartment buildings. Though, a better way of describing them would be make shift dorm rooms, at 2 levels, to house the workers brought in from middle China and the countryside to help build up and out Shanghai.

Turning into a lot, of steel scaffolding and green nets covering the beginning of the high rises, muddied fields and men with bright orange hard hats. We follow Bill, Jason's brother, to the building that he has designed and we step in for me to take some architectural shots of the progress. Of course, its a repeat of the time we were at that lot and I heard the record stop and the needle scratch from one end to the other.

Stares, gawks, and just holding onto my image. Jason and I step outside to meander around and for me to snap more pictures. A group of 3 men walk towards me just staring, neck turns and its just too obvious for me not to smile and say hello, in mandarin. They stop, smile with a curious grin and approach me. The nod and mumble a slight hello in return.

Jason asks them if I may take their picture and they don't understand him. He realizes that they are from middle China and have a different dialect, but finally we get the point across and they agree. I snap only 2 pictures, and then my memory card is having problems from when I renamed the folders after shooting the wedding. Only 2 images will have to do.

They continue to work with stares, more men coming over to take a look. Smiles, snickers, and just blatant stares. The group of young men lining up against the wall are staring and I go over to greet them and I smile, and point to my camera. They shake their heads no, I respect peoples wishes and thank them and walk away.

Working like this is exhausting. Not so much work, but its exhausting not being able to verbally communicate and then being examined all the time. I get breaks when I am in the actual city, but overall its just plain, downright, tiring.

Tomorrow, Thursday, we leave for Heilongjiang - a 3 hour flight to the middle of nowhere. We will be close to the North Korean border and its suppose to be cold.