Beauty of nature offers new lease on life

Thierry Bornier. Photo provided to China Daily

He says one of the things they share is concern about the too fast pace of tourism development in many areas.

"You don't really like the huge steel hotel logo hanging over a beautiful waterfall. But you cannot Photoshop it and pretend it isn't there," says Bornier, pointing to a picture he took in April.

He says one of the dilemmas for landscape photographers is shooting a place of natural beauty and making it so famous the natural beauty becomes spoiled by too many visitors.

"Beautiful places need to be protected. Development is important, but not at cost of destroying the natural environment," says Bornier.

Besides nature, Bornier is keen to focus his lens on other subjects as well, and his friend Yang Liping, the renowned dancer who directed and choreographed the show Dynamic Yunnan, has been helping him get commissions for fashion shoots and other commercial projects in Shanghai.

Bornier says it requires a change in mindset to switch from landscape photography, which is about being prepared in order to capture a moment, to commercial photography, which is about carefully preparing the moment to be captured.

"Nature is nature and it gives you the lighting, you see it and accept it, but shooting for commercials is another story, because you need to make sure things are perfect," says Bornier.

With more than a thousand expat photographers working in Shanghai, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of photographers working throughout the country, Bornier says he is now looking for an agent to help him get commissions.

"I am a baby in terms of photography," he adds. "I would like to explore lots of different subjects, babies, animals, landscapes, portraits, weddings, events, as long as I feel I can handle the project, I would love to have a try. I just want to take good pictures, learn new techniques and explore more opportunities," says Bornier.