The fishing village of Sai Kung in the New Territories of the former British colony  is a microcosm of the now Hong Kong obsession with the dog as a pet … and not as a menu item. Here’s the text that accompanies the essay …

“The Chinese – and by obvious association the Hong Kongese – have long been accused of devouring ‘anything that moves’ including meals of our beloved canines.

However, the fishing village of Sai Kung in the New Territories of Hong Kong has embraced the dog as members of the family unit with a passion bordering on obsessive. In the 1970s Hong Kong government policy was to actively dissuade the population from having too many children. It worked … and the human birth rate in Hong Kong is now one of the World’s lowest at 1.10 per woman of child bearing age (2010), far below the replacement rate of 2.1. To compensate the locals have taken to treating their pet woofers as an integral and substitute part of the family.

Sundays sees the locals parading their pooches in prams along the pretty waterfront where they join their human ‘parents’ for exercise and lunch at the tables in the seafood restaurants. The town is awash with dog boutiques and even a doggy bakery where you can buy your precious pooch individual doggy pies and other fresh baked treats.

Lavish attention is paid to the grooming of the creatures and competition is fierce … just like comparing human babies.”

I’ve posted below a small selection of images from the new essay … the complete item can be found on ‘fotostrada’ here.

The essay will be added to my personal web site when time permits.

Images © Brian Cassey 2012

My images, along with other finalists from the US, the UK, Australia, India, Hong Kong, Canada and Puerto Rico, are part of the hanging exhibition that will be shown in galleries around California.

Prize winners will be announced during an awards ceremony at the Coastal Arts League Gallery in Half Moon Bay CA on July 7th before the exhibition moves to the Calumet Gallery in San Francisco in August.

You can see all the selected finalists images at … http://www.coastalartsleague.com/kellicutt/2012/HangingInShow/index.html … and I’m in some very good company. The selected photographs seem to cross almost all photographic disciplines and styles and will provide a fascinating exhibition.  Just a pity I probably won’t be there to see it!

Below I’ve posted the two images selected as ‘Finalists’ – “Rajasthan Dancers” and “Carol – Burns Survivor”

Images © Brian Cassey

The exhibition runs at the Global Gallery, Paddington, Sydney from Tuesday, 29th May to Sunday 3rd June with the grand opening eve on Wednesday 30th May from 6pm. All are welcome to attend.

Here’s the exhibit description from the Head On Festival program and web site …

“The bus is ubiquitous. Every country on the planet has some form of bus transportation.

From cramped roof top rides on dishevelled buses in India … to tiny ‘bemos’ in Indonesia, mundane mass transport in Hong Kong, luxury express buses in Australia … even a work bus in Antarctica – the ‘fotostrada’ collective team has captured all in images which convey the very essence of the travelling bus passenger and the machines that carry them.”

Several of my images made during visits to India, Hong Kong and Indonesia are featured in the exhibition alongside other great work by colleagues Dean Lewins, Tracey Nearmy, Graham Crouch, Sam Mooy, Renee Nowytarger, Mark ‘Crusty’ Baker and Melanie Russell.

I’ve put together my own personal extended version of “Portraits on a Bus” from all my images that made the short list for the exhibition collection … and this essay has been added to my personal web site at http://www.briancasseyphotographer.com/images.php?imagefolder=bus.

Posted below is a small selection of my “Portraits on a Bus” images.

Look forward to seeing you at the exhibition …

Images © Brian Cassey – from Hong Kong, Rajasthan India and Sukawati Bali Indonesia.

Really pleased and humble to be amongst the 26 photographers from Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Argentina and Italy featured in the publication.

Excellent work from all through the 122 pages of images … all wrapped in a great hard cover … and all for just a cent under twenty bucks! Particularly pleased to see works from Jonathan Clifford, Jon Reid and Katrin Koenning also featuring.

My set in ‘Take’ 2 is the pic essay “Soulless in Seoul” which portrays the plight of the homeless in Seoul, South Korea who are being evicted from the Seoul Railway Station. To see it, do yourself a favour and buy a copy of ‘Take’ 2. If 19.99 is beyond your budget my Seoul images can be found here either on my website or on the site of my collective ‘fotostrada’.

To get your copy of ‘Take’ 2 go to the Take Magazine Facebook page here.

Below is an image of the beautiful hard cover of the new ‘Take’ 2 magazine and images of my featured pages.

Images © Take Magazine and Brian Cassey

The image (below) of Atherton Tablelands farmer Shane O’Brien was made at the end of a day of clearing trees felled by Yasi’s power. Falling trees killed hundreds of head of Shane’s stock and the felled trunks made traversing and operating his cattle farm impossible. Despite the quick response to cyclone damage on the coastal strip of north Queensland, farmers inland from the coast on the Tablelands received little or no support.

It was published in The Australian newspaper on February 14th 2011 … full text of the story here.

Image © Brian Cassey 2011

“Instagram” has quickly grown to 27 million iPhone users in just 17 months … and a version for Android users is due to be realised any day now.

It is widely used on a daily basis by a growing number of Australia’s top photojournalists who delight in the creativity and competition that the app invites.

The article in The Weekend Australian – written by journalist Chris Griffith and published across the entire top half of page 7 on Saturday March 24th – tells of the rapid rise and the possible future for the “Instagram” app, and my experiences using it.

The main pic in the spread was an image I (reluctantly!) shot of myself using the iPhone at beautiful Mission Beach … and this was surrounded by some of my most ‘liked’ “Instagram” images. (I promise not to get into the habit of taking pics of myself!)

Below I’ve posted an image of the top half of page 7 showing how The Weekend Australian ran the story.

The text of the article can be found here … and The Australian’s gallery of some of my “Instagram” images – all taken on a now ageing iPhone4 –  is here.

If you wish to follow my work on “Instagram” look for … brian_cassey.

The images in the essay show the plight of the hundreds of homeless who are currently being evicted from Seoul Railway Station and precinct by South Korea’s super efficient state rail authority Korail.

Bizarrely, Korail have stated that the homeless pose a ‘terrorist threat’. In the latest twist the newly elected mayor of Seoul has asked Korail to reverse the decision to evict – but Korail have no intention of doing so.

I came across the sorry story during a brief stopover in Seoul whilst returning from exhibiting my work “Cage Dogs of Hong Kong” at the Gwangju Design Biennale in the south of South Korea.

Below I’ve posted an image of the Walkley Magazine spread and one larger image from the essay.

The full “Soulless in Seoul” essay can be viewed on my personal website at http://www.briancasseyphotographer.com/images.php?imagefolder=seoul … and on the web site of my collective ‘fotostrada’ at http://www.fotostrada.com/#/brian-cassey/soulless-in-seoul/BCSeoul1s

© images by Brian Cassey

As well as maintaining a web site shopfront at www.fotostrada.com which showcases our collective work in personal folios, pic essays and monthly ‘New Singles’ , we also host a Facebook page where we compile, on a regular basis, news items on all aspects of photojournalism, street photography, pro photographer gear and other pro photography related interests.

The page has already amassed a large following (well over 700 at present) and discussion on items posted is proving popular.

You may become one of our ‘fotostrada’ Facebook page followers by visiting us at http://www.facebook.com/pages/fotostrada/109039275790133 and clicking on the ‘Like’ button at the top of the page.

Below is a screen shot of part of the latest ‘fotostrada’ page showing news items etc .

See you there …

It was excellent to attend the Nikon-Walkley opening eve and to catch up with colleagues and friends – and an honour to give the opening floor talk and to receive an embarrassingly over the top introduction by MEAA Federal Secretary Chris Warren ! Thanks Chris!

It was also an honour to have my image “Carol – Burns Survivor” exhibited amongst some truly fantastic work from Australia’s best press photographers.

(Something I was not so excited about was the ABC radio and TV interviews I was required to do – a learning curve.)

The Powerhouse is a fantastic exhibition space oozing character, all the works were all very well lit … and the staff were super attentive and efficient.

The exhibition runs to February 27th and is very well worth a visit.

Below is an iPhone pic of my image nestled in the Powerhouse’s beautiful exhibition space.

Image © Brian Cassey 2012

You can read the Daily Mail article and see the images at … http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2084971/Hong-Kongs-cage-homes-Tens-thousands-living-6ft-2ft-rabbit-hutches.html

Clicking on the screen shot below will also take you to the DM article.

Images © Brian Cassey