Customer Reviews

China Obscura

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

First, full disclosure: I have known Mark Leong for 10 years and worked with him as a colleague in China. So this may account for my bias, but I believe that his photos of modern-day China are among the best taken during the post-Tiananmen era. During my decade as a correspondent in China, I always wanted to work with Mark because I thought his gritty, in-your-face pictures captured a side of China that often was overlooked. Instead of showing us the by-now stock shots of high-rises and neon lights, he took viewers to the street level, his 28mm lens always getting reeeeaallly close up into people's faces. I loved it and this book brings back in superb detail the China that I knew in the late 20th and early 21st century. I strongly recommend it for anyone interested in China--it's a beautiful, affordable addition to anyone's library.

Leong's beautiful, yet haunting photographs show us a side of China not covered by the media's focus on China's economic growth story. The compositions are arresting and the content intriguing.

Mark's work embodies the raw feeling and sense I've always felt in China. His work is journalistic in it's explorations and perspective, and serves as a great document and window for everyone to see a slice of post-Tianamen (1989 - 2003) China. An easy add to anyone's library of books on China.

Overall this book is a bit pompous and superficial. Drugs on a Chinese money, and boring portraits of old relatives, hackneyed scenes of bicycles with stickers on them.... I hope Mr. Leong's future books are edited a bit more carefully. This current one looks like he went into his closet, took out all his prints, and threw them at his publisher.