When I think of camels, I think of the Sahara. I should probably also think of the Silk Route. Camels are referred to as "ships of the desert" and certainly Xiang Sha Wan qualifies as a desert. It's also right on the old Silk Route and has a long history with camels. Evidently the summer tourists come in droves to ride camels. To accommodate the throngs, the locals keep a large camel population here. One of my photographic "rules to live by" is that one can never have too many photographs of camels. I was delighted to have the opportunity to follow this rule -- albeit for the first time in my photographic career.
It's easy to see why they can walk across the desert with such ease. They may be the only creatures on the planet that have flatter feet than I do.
I'm guessing the herd probably approaches 300 or so camels. The facility is large and, although primitive, impressive.
It takes a lot of work to care for this many animals. In spite of this morning's bitter temperatures, we found a crew working in the clear cold of the morning to feed all these hungry mouths. Corn must be a big part of their diet because there was a lot of activity with corn -- hauling stalks, grinding grain, and generally doing work that would be so familiar to farm workers all over the world.
This fellow, I was told, was involved in a process called "winnowing." Not being a farmhand myself, I was unfamiliar with the process but it's apparently just a means to have the wind -- a commodity they have plenty of here -- to separate the grain from, I guess, the stuff that is not grain. It looked like fun, so I motioned my request to give it a go. He smiled, handed me the shovel, and watched my feeble attempts to reproduce his fluid movements. He was winnowing the grain; I merely flung it chaotically about and made a bit of a mess. They didn't laugh at me, but I could tell they desperately wanted to do so.
Over the years, I've discovered that a self-deprecating humor is a photographic virtue. My willingness to try winnowing the corn lead to a tender moment. After I put down the shovel, the fellow motioned me to come with him. Around the corner, tucked deep in the midst of some jumble of old equipment, he reached in and pulled out a newly born puppy which he was proud to show me and allow me to photograph.
Why he wanted to share this with me, I don't know, but it was a special moment I was glad to record. I've experienced a number of these kinds of events in my life as a photographer -- a connection across the barriers of culture and language that, for the briefest of moments, allow two strangers to connect with one another over a simple human sentiment. It's one of the reasons I love photography so much. Without a camera and a purpose for being here, I would most likely never have shared this moment with this fellow. I shall always remember him as The Corn Winnower of Xiang Sha Wan.
Camels are not the only animal cared for here. These guys were out back.
To me, they looked like pigs, but I knew better. As I focused my camera and set my exposure I kept thinking "barbecued pork, barbecued pork." I had forgotten my audio recorder in the hotel room so I was unable to record their greeting. Insert imaginary pig noises at this point in the blog.
I was just heading down a back alleyway for this picture . . .
. . . when suddenly one of the doors in the row of the farm workers' apartments opened. A young woman tossed out a basin full of dishwater onto the frozen ground in the alleyway. I wasn't fast enough to record her actions, but the reflection of water off the ice was worth photographing.
Two more quick portraits from the morning session. Scenes are lovely, but it's the people that keep calling out to me in my photographic dreams. This fellow was taking a smoke break and I gestured for permission to photograph him. He agreed and then struck this pose. I made six exposures and he never moved, waiting for me to finish. He then walked over and wanted to see the photographs on the screen of my digital camera. He nodded with approval, so I guess I have his permission to share this image.
We were waiting for one of the guys to bring over the camel considered the best looking one of the herd. (I'm not kidding. There is one camel they've named "Face" because it's so handsome. Seriously. I suppose when you work with camels as intensely as these guys do, you get to know them pretty well and develop an aesthetic camel-eye.) This guy seemed so intent on making sure they brought over the correct camel that he was not aware that I was photographing him. The camel certainly had a very camel-like face, but this guy -- at least to my eye -- had the most character.
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