Photographer Adam Crase shows us China through his eyes.

Adam Crase is an American photographer based in Guangdong. The Bruce Lee of photography, he hopes his multi-faceted approach to photography—explained in depth on his Kung Fu Imaging photoblog—helps show people in the West what the Middle Kingdom is all about. He usually just lets the pictures do the talking, but we've coaxed a little more from him as he shares his story and takes us along with him on a photographic journey to Guanyin Mountain Forest Park in Guangdong's Zhangmutou. >>>

I enjoy taking photos and it really doesn't matter if I'm in Guilin taking photos of karst mountains, if I'm in Shanghai photographing the architecture, if I'm shooting Xi'an's Terracotta Warriors, or if I'm in a factory photographing a table. It's my dream life!

I became interested in photography in 1992 when I was in high school. I signed up for "Beginners Photography" just to fill an elective, and the rest is history—I was hooked!

My most popular image from Xi’an at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda (Dàyàn Tǎ, 大雁塔)

One of my favorite locations in China, Leshan in Sichuan.

However, then "life" happened and I had to get a "real" job, so, I worked and shot in my spare time. I had a good career in telecoms in America, but I wasn't happy or fulfilled. Having been interested in China for many years, when the chance came, I left my old life to pursue a new challenge.

I sold up and came to China nearly three years ago, first living in Xianyang, Shaanxi (a city next to Xi'an), and then Dongguan, Guangdong, where I am still based, in December 2009.

Outside of Shanghai is a little known ocean-view area called Nanhuizui (Nánhuìzuǐ, 南汇嘴) with this giant fish-shaped monument.

China has many old and historic towns like this town, Nansha Ancient Village (Nánshā, 南沙) in Guangdong province. I really enjoy traveling to these towns all over China for a taste of what life used to be like.

In January of last year, I started my own Chinese photography business under the name of Kung Fu Imaging (the first four images in this post are the back of my name cards). There's a story behind that name but you'll have to visit my blog to find out more about that! My work is mostly product and event shoots, fashion, photographic workshops and classes, and stock photography and I'm also the photographer for what I believe to be the best local magazine in China: HERE! Dongguan.

My long-term project here though, is to bring interesting modern views of China to people in the western world.

Beijing is a very modern and amazing city, and this graffiti in the 798 Art District really caught my eye.

Like many other photographers, I don't look at the world like non-photographers. I see the world as if I have cameras for eyes—when I look, I see in angles, depth, colors and light.

Here I'd like to share a recent photo excursion with you, out to the large granite Guanyin statue at the top of the Guanyin Mountain Forest Park (Guānyīn Shān Sēnlín Gōngyuán, 观音山森林公园) in Zhangmutou (Zhāngmùtou, 樟木头), Guangdong.

Walking up very steep stairways is required to get to the granite statue, but there are a few sights along the way.

Near the top of the mountain are a couple of beekeepers. Here the lady is dumping the honeycomb into a large bucket with NO nets (look closely and you'll see bees flying all around).

Around the backside of the mountain are many temples hidden in the trees. This temple sticks out just far enough to get a photograph.

Here is a view from the buildings along the side of the courtyard. I focused on the birds here as opposed to the obvious Guanyin statue behind them.

One of the best parts of going to temples in China is the aroma of burning incense. This location was no different as they had some of the largest incense sticks I have encountered.

The wide angle here allows you to feel the massive size of the Guanyin.

I wanted to show the amount of detail the Guanyin has. Between the granite color changes, the intricate carving, and the weathered areas you can understand how beautiful this Guanyin statue is in Zhangmutou.

As we were leaving I saw sight of an amazing dusk scene. I used HDR technique to capture it, and it looks nearly identical to what I saw in actuality.

I hope you've enjoyed these few photos from China. It's a marvelous country and I hope to share more of it with you!

All images ©Adam Crase

If you've enjoyed checking out Adam's photography, there's plenty more to see. You can pay him a visit at his Kung Fu Imaging blog, check out his online portfolio (coming soon!), or in the social media world, befriend him on Facebook or Flickr.

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