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:: CATEGORIES :: > Mid. East, Asia, Australia Welcome to Pyongyang by Charlie Crane Charlie Crane’s large-format photographs of Pyongyang, the capital city of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, were taken on three visits between 2005 and 2006. His landscapes and portraits are presented here in the manner of a guidebook, with an introduction by Crane’s collaborator and producer, Nicholas Bonner, and with commentaries on the scenes depicted from interviews recorded with the city’s official tourist guides. Charlie Crane was born in London in 1975 and works as an advertising and editorial assignment photographer for clients including Sony, Ford, W and the New York Times magazine. In 1998 Crane won the Kodak Gold Award as ‘portrait photographer of the year’ and, in 2006, the annual award of the British Journal of Photography. This is his first book. Nicholas Bonner produced the Welcome to Pyongyang project, with the co-operation of the Korean International Travel Company (KITC) – North Korea’s official state-run tourism agency. Nick says about the project: “Charlie Crane and I got to know each other in 2004 and since this time we have travelled to North Korea for three shoots (September 05, March and September 06, one week each time). On each visit we have been amazed at the access we have been granted and the almost casual way that we were accepted. The public were curious about our work, fascinated by the bizarre sight of a Westerner taking a portrait of a Korean rather than steering a wide berth as you might expect. “We had asked KITC to allow us to produce a photographic book which would allow us to show the side of Pyongyang that we have known intimately. We thought we would be limited to pre arranged photographic opportunities but there was no great bureaucratic process, our guides trusted us and we did nothing to abuse that trust. We had no problem bringing in the equipment, no images were censored and we photographed everything we wanted to do within the limitations of our subject – ‘a photographic portrait of tourism in Pyongyang’. “The guides asked for a list of places we wanted to visit, which we duly provided. However some of the best shots were obtained by just cruising around until inspiration hit – a methodology considered quite peculiar by the Koreans but which was remarkably effective. “The Pyongyang public were very receptive though on occasion people were shy and had to be coaxed into having their photograph taken – mainly for reasons of their vanity. Many of the photos Charlie took were people who we spotted and who we then asked for permission to photograph. Often this took quite some time as people’s natural reaction was to refuse or to be embarrassed. Most of the time they could be won over – or gently coerced. However when Charlie set up his large format camera on its tripod, asking his subjects to be still while he sorted out the focus, before disappearing under a Dracula-esque cape to take the picture, many people were bemused, amused or simply confused. This bit of theatre helped to relax everyone involved. List price: £20.00 On offer: £16.00 Enter the appropriate quantity you wish to buy below, then click the 'Add To Cart' button to place this item in your shopping cart. * - Denotes a required field. Quantity * Motherland by Simon Roberts List price: £25.00 On offer: £20.00

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