The People of Zhongwei

I figured I'd pick a few people shots to start with. Slightly limited (portraiture wise) with 17-50mm glass, I couldn't get as close as I would've liked to capture facial expressions, etc. Just about all of these are from Zhongwei, China. Zhongwei is located in the Ningxia province, and also the city where I ran the Olympic torch.

"Wassup holmes", says the dude second to the far right.

Days are long and hard for Chinese laborers. This guy is sneaking in a Marlboro while on the job. Can ya blame him?

Ah, scooters. Asia's quintessential mode of transportation. And of course you gotta have the face mask as exhibited by the young lady passenger. I don't know what's more dangerous in China: getting struck by their crazy cab drivers, or ingesting air pollution by the tons.

As you can see, the people of Zhongwei were geared up quite well for the Olympic torch relay which would take place the following day. The stickers on his front dash, flags on his side mirrors, and t-shirt say it all. Patriotism at it's finest.

You'll commonly find middle to late aged men on sidewalks gathered in circles. Usually they are playing an intense game of Chinese chess, one of my past time favorites as a youngster actually. In fact, the characters on Chinese chess pieces were the first set of Chinese words I had ever learned, thanks to my grandpa.

These little shacks are quite common and can be found all over the place in China. Goods sold typically include the daily paper, cigarettes, water, phone cards, and popsicles. Dude in the orange had matching sandals. Piiimp!

An old man on his tricycle.

Tomorrow, we participate in the Olympic torch relay. The anticipation begins.