48 exquisite China pictures and some remarks on photography

Last night my evening was closed in a beautiful way, when I got this link the The Atlantic to 48 stunning pictures taken in the past month in China. Some I had already seen in the media - for example the rescue of a girl in a wedding gown who tried to commit suicide. But most of these gems most have been made without coming to my attention.

I do not want to claim that these photographs only have value when I see them, but most likely I'm not the only one who had not seen them, when I look at the many reactions at Twitter.

This collection is only a small glimpse of events in China over the past month.

Says the short introduction in The Atlantic, suggesting I might be missing even more.

A second question came up: who is still making those pictures? And how are they rewarded, apart from the honor of being published?

Most of the pictures were distributed by Reuters or AP, and some came clearly from citizens who were at the scene with a mobile and mostly not attributed. Some came from Chinese media (like the one pictured here, from the China Daily), where the maker is also anonymous.

But still, despite these financially troubled times for professional photographers, there are still a few of them roaming around in China. I looked up a few names, and have added links where possible, if you are looking for a good photographer in the China region. (the list is not comprehensive).

Alexander F. Yuan is a photographer with AP at their Beijing office. (Yes, they still employ a photographer!)

Mike Clarke is affiliated with AFP (and his picture not come come from China, but the whole region)

Ed Jones, also affiliated with AFP

Rooney Chen, affiliated with Reuters in Hong Kong

Carlos Barria is a Reuters photographer in Shanghai.

Andy Wong, independent photographer

(First published at Fons Tuinstra's home)