Immersion Guides

Author Biographies

Diego Azubel left his native Argentina in 1996 to pursue his passion for travel and photography. After years of being based out of a backpack, Diego remained in China upon completing a 15-month-long 4,000km expedition on foot along the entire length of The Great Wall of China producing a TV documentary for National Geographic. When Diego is not on expedition, he works for the European Pressphoto Agency (EPA) in Beijing. www.thegreatwalk.com

Beijing-born webmaster Bai Xu enjoys drinking beer, reading books, traveling and exploring his hometown on foot and bike with his trusty camera at his side. His expensive and time-consuming hobbies could explain his empty bank account and current single lifestyle.

Natalie Behring is a freelance photographer based in Beijing, covering stories throughout China and Asia. From a humble beginning in rural America, she arrived in China in 1994 fresh out of university, where she stumbled into photography. Her work includes mostly editorial subjects but also food and architectural images. She is currently working on a project about the modernization of Beijing, which can be seen at www.nataliebehring.com.

Susetta Bozzi, whose iconic shot of the National Grand Theater is featured on the cover, is a freelance photographer based in Beijing. After working many years as a graphic designer, she turned to photography in 2003. Her photographs have appeared in publications including Io Donna, the weekly magazine of Corriere della Sera, Vanity Fair, Gente Viaggi, Espresso and Capital.

Lionel Derimais has been a photographer for 27 years and was previously based in London, Tokyo, Brussels and Paris before settling in Beijing in 2005. His pictures have appeared in the French National Geographic, The New York Times, Paris-Match and the International Herald Tribune, among other publications. His work can be seen at www.digitalrailroad.net/lionelderimais

Andrew Field has a PhD in East Asian Languages and Cultures from Columbia University (2001). He is currently a Lecturer in Chinese History at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. His main research interests are modern and contemporary Chinese urban culture and society and the influence of globalization on China.

Sean Gallagher is a British photojournalist currently based in Beijing. Having originally trained as a zoologist in the depths of northern England, a trip to the Sicilian countryside one summer converted him to photography. He was selected for the prestigious Magnum Photos Internship program in 2004 and has since been published and exhibited internationally. He is normally found stalking around the hutongs of central Beijing or wandering the deserts of Gansu province. www.gallagher-photo.com.

Jim Gourley has been living in Tianjin and visiting Beijing since 1998. For the past few years, his energy has been focused on a grassroots project that enables educational opportunities for Tibetan students in rural Qinghai province.

French freelance photographer Elisa Haberer has been living in Beijing for two years, focusing on social issues and portraiture. She mainly works with the French press and is preparing a long-term project regarding the Olympic Games.

Professional photographer and faithful Nikonian Walk Hall started with an FM10 and has recently sought to buy a second-hand FM2 in good condition for his bookshelf. After graduating with a degree in Intercultural Communication, he's determined to utilize his passion for digital imaging to enthusiastically serve the international community. He usually sneaks around in Li-Ning shoes with a Lowepro bag.

Describing herself as “dull, quiet and unassuming” – despite being blonde, 1.82m tall and a part-time underwear model – Nina Helmke left Germany for China in 2006 to pursue a career as either an International Woman of Mystery, a gangster's moll, or, more modestly, a programmer. Through her photography, Nina likes discovering the small things in the midst of all this chaos that bring joy or delight.

Katharina Hesse holds a graduate degree in Chinese (and Japanese) studies from the Institut National des Langues et Civilizations Orientales (INALCO) in Paris and has lived in China for 14 years. She freelanced for Newsweek from 1996 to 2002, before covering China for Getty Images in 2003 and 2004. Her photos have appeared in publications such as Courrier International, Der Spiegel, D della Repubblica, Die Zeit, Marie-Claire, Stern, Time Asia and Vanity Fair.

Freelance photographer and kilt-wearing Scot, Matthew Kelly followed his Chinese partner to Beijing in July 2007. He has travelled throughout Europe and North Africa, taking pictures for a variety of UK-based publications. Easily recognized as a white-haired, ageing hippy wandering around the parks of Beijing in vintage Ray Bans, he’s currently working on a book on park life in Beijing and trying to improve his feeble attempts at Mandarin.

Simon Lim left his native Singapore for his first China visit in 1988, proceeding to drift from continent to continent, taking photographs all the while. Since floating back to Beijing in 2002, he’s published three manuals on the art of charming one’s way out of a traffic ticket. When not nursing his passion for making Beijing look beautiful, he follows his muse to Egyptian hookah opium dens and Afghani gun markets as often as he can.

Documentary-devoted photographer Laura Liverani is now based in Italy, but she has also lived in London and Hong Kong. Her work focuses on metropolitan areas in Asia, from Hong Kong to Tokyo. Her photos have been featured in publications such as La Repubblica, Grazia, The Guardian Guide, and The Hong Kong Standard. A solo exhibiton of her work was presented in Hong Kong as part of the Year of Italy in China 2006. www.lauraliverani.com

Dominic Lüdin is what one might call a modern nomad. He grew up in Basel, Switzerland, studied International Relations in Geneva and worked and lived in the US, Colombia and South Africa before setting up his tent in China. He is passionate about photography because it enables him to catch the seemingly little things in life to tell and remember the stories they stand for.

Japanese photographer MAYA from West End studied philosophy in university. Her interest in China first brought her to Beijing in 1998-99. Back in Japan, while working for an advertising agency, she began shooting documentary photos of Tokyo's underground kids. She quit the ad agency in 2007 to start a documentary project focusing on social problems in China and Japan. www.maya-fwe.com

Upon his arrival in 2005, Mitchell Masilun's first taste of China was a mouthful of an anti-SARS gas. Fortunately, later that same day he found consolation in chuan’r from a kind Uighur street vendor. With an Eddie Adams' Workshop Certificate, newspaper experience and 25+ countries under his belt, this Chicago native and Buckeye alum will photograph anything for the pure love of it ... and the 3 G's of course: Glory, Glamor, Graft. www.1world1eye.com

Jim Nagler was born on October 6th, 1982. He enjoys photographing people in action and animals in captivity. Someday Jim hopes to apprentice with a master, as was done in the days of old. He lives in Beijing beside a canal.

Nick Otto is a Minnesota native who enjoys a good pair of slacks, yahtzee! and big game fishing. He spends a good portion of his time photographing the sights, sounds and people of Beijing, but has, on occasion, been spotted elsewhere. When he's not behind a lens searching for definitive moments, he tends to gravitate toward Huxley's, one of Beijing's finest haunts, spending money on the Underhill's credit card. Want the number?

Trying to see things from different perspectives and taking the risk of being perceived as an un-cool smart-ass – that's pretty much Jacopo Della Ragione's life. Proud son of Florence, Italy, he's tried to learn something new every day since landing in China six years ago. He takes photos too.

Charles Rountree is from Boulder, Colorado. He likes slacklining, diving after flying plates, and riding a bike with a boombox in the basket. Curiosity recently inspired him to move to Beijing after an aborted road trip from Buenos Aires to the United States. Interested in photography education as a means to empower marginalized populations, he has taught indigenous groups in Honduras, single mothers in Jamaica, impoverished youth in Argentina, and elementary school students in China.

Gilles Sabrié is an independent photographer based in Beijing. After years of working in television, he switched careers to embrace his passion, documentary photography, with a particular focus on social issues in China. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including Newsweek, Time, US News, The Herald Tribune, le Figaro, L'Express and Focus. He is a regular contributor to the French daily Liberation and the author of the photo-blog “Un oeil sur la Chine” for Le Monde.

Freelance photographer Lidia Sakarapani arrived in China in early 2006 with half a year to achieve two goals – finish her double degree in Chinese and PR and research the China PR and media industry. Six months later, she was hooked on China. Nowadays, pursuing her two passions has become habitual. By day she is a PR professional, by night a freelance photographer, capturing life in the streets of her adopted city, Beijing.

Freelance photographer James Shi has not had any especially interesting experiences since elementary school. A 2006 graduate of the product design department of Beijing Institute of Clothing Technology, he specializes in product photography and portraits. He thanks the hardworking people of Beijing for making her so beautiful, and all the people who have helped him along the way. He gratefully hopes to allow others to appreciate the beauty he sees.

Having successfully taught himself how to hold a camera, Oak Taylor-Smith has been exploring the medium for many years producing work in many different fields, including architecture, journalism and wildlife. Living in Beijing since January 2006, his personal studies are often focused on landscapes, scenes and abstract forms. At 6’ 4”, he often can’t get close enough to photograph people without them running away. www.oaktaylorsmith.com

Freelance photojournalist Janek Żdżarski Jr first came to China from his native Poland in 2001 and … was amazed. In 2006 he quit his job as a news photographer for a major Polish newspaper and moved to Beijing with his lovely wife, Ola. China is like a drug for him that makes him alternately feel happy, sad, empowered and ill. His remedy is a camera and a notebook: www.zdzarski.com

Once upon a time, Luna Zhang worked for a software company and enjoyed dancing, shopping, traveling and watching movies … but it got boring. So in 2005 she picked up a camera, quit her job and became a freelance photographer – a profession that liberated her artistic spirit. Luna loves taking portraits, as well as anything else that communicates the human experience. She hopes to produce works that capture the zeitgeist and stir the soul. www.luna.cdd.cn

After living in Beijing for two years working in communications and PR, Sheila Zhao decided in 2007 to focus on taking pictures for a living, specializing in social documentary and photojournalism. Her work has appeared in media groups such as Reuters, EuroBiz, and China Economic Review. Her other clients have included Hill & Knowlton, Octagon PR and KISS Cafe.

Inspired by the bewitching beauty of Xinjiang - in National Geographic magazine and then firsthand, while traveling as a high schooler – Shenzhen native Judy Zhou studied photography at Beijing's Central Academy of Fine Art. As a staff photographer for that’s Beijing magazine, she is a bubbly, poly-talented polyglot. Enjoying a new adventure with each new day, she ably roams around town with Beijing’s most intriguing scenes in her crosshairs.