BryCox.com – Celebrity Style Imaging, Inc.™

After I was done speaking, I took some time to create some art images of the people and places there.  A few of us photographers chipped in and hired cars to take us to some remote places in China so that we could see some unique things.

I hope to do an art book of just Chinese art images similar to my Italian art book I did a few years ago.  I will first need to sort and choose my favorites, as well as do some slight artwork on the images and adjust for contrast and proper cropping.

For right now though, here is an early preview of some of my favorite images, before post-production artwork.  It was a fantastic journey and I’ll be excited to show these images after they are finished.

By the way, feel free to let me know some of your favorites!

BryCox - China Art Images 1

BryCox - China Art Images 2

BryCox - China Art Images 3

BryCox - China Art Images 4

BryCox - China Art Images 5

BryCox - China Art Images 6

BryCox - China Art Images 7

BryCox - China Art Images 8

BryCox - China Art Images 9

…That night we were treated to an amazing awards ceremony and party.  The awards ceremony was for the best of the best images from the international exhibition, of which 25,000 photographers entered from all over the world.  From those final images chosen for exhibition, some images where chosen for Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals.

I WON THE GOLD!  It was very fun to actually be there to receive the award!  Even though I was there in China to speak at the convention, I didn’t expect to win any awards with so many photographers entering.  It was so exciting to have them call me up as the Gold Medalist too!

BryCox - PPA China Awards Night 1

When I went up to get the award, I handed my camera to Doug Box and asked him to take a photo of me winning.  After the shot, I took my camera back and took this quick pano of the audience photographing me!  Look at all the people grouped up on the sides!

BryCox - PPA China Awards Night 2

Here’s a close-up of one of the sides.

BryCox - PPA China Awards Night 3

But before they started giving awards, they event started with beautiful Chinese models coming out wearing some of the top images from the exhibition.  They were strutting to music with a heavy beat.  The lighting, fog, and bubbles made it look amazing.

BryCox - PPA China Awards Night 4

Here’s a close-up of one of the girls.  They were stunning women!

BryCox - PPA China Awards Night 5

The model on the right of this image is wearing one of my images, the famous portrait I did of Joe McQueen.

BryCox - PPA China Awards Night 6

Afterward some of the models asked for a photograph with me.  It probably didn’t hurt that I’d just won the Gold Medal in front of them, or that they were wearing some of my images, or that the place was decorated with my images…but I have to tell you that I loved the attention and felt like a rock star!  They were beautiful and stunning women who were amazingly tall.  Notice how tall they are compared to me.  I’m 6 foot 4 — especially tall for China.

BryCox - PPA China Awards Night 7

BryCox - PPA China Awards Night 8

Then before dinner that night the models changed outfits and came back out to do another dance.  I loved this one too!

BryCox - PPA China Awards Night 10

BryCox - PPA China Awards Night 9

The dinner room was decorated with our photographs.  That’s actually my image hanging behind us.

BryCox - PPA China Awards Night 11

Here’s another shot showing two more of my images on the wall along with images from the other speakers.

BryCox - PPA China Awards Night 12

This dinner felt like another awards ceremony because we were all presented with gifts from the Chinese.  Here is Dennis Craft and I getting some traditional cut-out art pieces.

BryCox - PPA China Awards Night 13

That night was fantastic!  It made me feel very grateful and blessed to do what I do — to be an artist and to be able to travel and meet so many people from all over the world.  It was a joy to be able to speak and share my artistic ideas with the Chinese photographers.  They were incredibly hospitable and kind.  I hope to get back over there again soon!

It was a real honor to be asked to speak at PPA Asia.  Someone in our group pointed out that not only was I speaking at the first PPA Asia, but I was the first speaker at the first PPA Asia!  That made me feel really good.  It was such a great group in attendance, and I was able to meet some fantastic photographers over there and see some really amazing photographs.

So the first day, I started things off by speaking in the largest room, giving my creativity program.  I revised it many times over to make it more applicable to the Chinese culture, and making it more visual as well so that it would translate well.  It was received very well, and afterward I was mobbed by attention from people asking for autographs and photos with me.

Cox - Speaking at PPA China 1

The second day I started out speaking again in a smaller room doing a variation of my creativity program, but with more specific posing and lighting ideas for single individuals.  This too was met with me getting a bunch of attention afterward.

Cox - Speaking at PPA China 2

I have to admit, it was really fun to be treated like such a rock star!  A crowd would gather for pictures and autographs and would last for about an hour each time I spoke.  We would have to break it up so that we could get out of the way for the next presentation.

As you can see too, I got a lot of use out of my new Chinese tailored suits!  This black one is my third suit I had made out there.  They all fit so nice, I kind of wish I had gotten even more, except I just don’t need any more suits!  :-)

Cox - Speaking at PPA China 3

Then that afternoon, I spoke again in the large conference room and did a presentation on portrait lighting and posing for a more fashion approach.  It seemed that everyone’s favorite part was when I did live posing on stage using photographers in the audience as models.  They really loved it!

Cox - Speaking at PPA China 4

Everything I did was translated by a live interpreter.  I had to pause every two to three sentences to allow interpretation.  I found that I had to make shorter and more precise statements, and really had to get used to the flow of speaking in such a way with long pauses.  I also had to use simpler words and try hard to not use deep photography jargon that the interpreter might not know.  It was a real adventure and I made quick friends with my incredible and gifted interpreter, Kevin.

Cox - Speaking at PPA China 5

Here’s a photo of me sitting for a minute to start a slideshow, and my interpreter standing near by.  He was a great guy and was really fun to hang out with.

In the next post I’ll talk about the awards ceremony and the fantastic party that was held later that night.

Early the next morning I set out to photograph and document the convention center before people started to arrive, because this is the first PPA convention in China, and the very first PhotoAsia — four years in the making!

Cox - PPA Photo Asia 1

Here is the place all ready for people to arrive!

Cox - PPA Photo Asia 2

I walked out to the main gate to photograph the guard…

Cox - PPA Photo Asia 3

…as well as various landmarks that surrounded the convention center like this pavilion in the distance (above) in one direction and this statute (below) in another direction.

Cox - PPA Photo Asia 4

By that time people started arriving and as I tried to get this image of me in front of the convention center.

Cox - PPA Photo Asia 5

I had only a short 3 minute walk back to the hotel, but I got stuck in this location for about 45 minutes because someone recognized me and wanted a photo with me.  That got other people’s attention and within moments I was mobbed by people on all sides wanting to photograph me  and wanting me to sign their shirts.  I have to admit, this really made me feel awesome!  This is just one quick shot of the crowd at the end as I was trying to leave and get to the opening ceremonies.  There were still people wanting photos with me, but I didn’t want to be late to the ceremony of which I was apart!

Cox - PPA Photo Asia 6

Cox - PPA Photo Asia 7

We had a quick welcome meeting with the VIP’s in a smaller room where flowers were pinned on us by Chinese women in traditional dress.  These women then escorted us to the main hall, the location of the opening ceremonies.  This photo is coming down the escalator towards the main hall.  The women in the red traditional dresses are our escorts.

Cox - PPA Photo Asia 8

As we approached, everyone began to take our picture.  So fun!

Cox - PPA Photo Asia 9

And here is PPA President, Ron Nichols up on the stage welcoming everyone to PPA Photo Asia.

Cox - PPA Photo Asia 10

Here’s me backstage with my flower pinned on, and wearing half of my second custom made Chinese suit.  That is also one of the custom made dress shirts too.

Cox - PPA Photo Asia 11

The opening ceremonies opened up the print exhibit.  This is just half of the exhibit, and only the accepted prints.  If I remember right, there were entries from over 25,000 photographers from around the world, and I won a Gold Medal!  I’ll talk more on this when I talk about the awards ceremony in a later post.

Cox - PPA Photo Asia 12

As you can see, all of us got mobbed for autographs and photos.  Here is Ron Nichols getting tons of attention.

Cox - PPA Photo Asia 13

And here is one of my photographs in the exhibit.

Cox - PPA Photo Asia 14

And I loved it when these women came up and asked to pose for a photo with me, so I made sure I got one with my camera too.  :-)

Cox - PPA Photo Asia 15

And I loved this moment when the beautiful editor of PhotoWorld Magazine came up and asked for a photo with me.  She later did a one-on-one interview too for her magazine.  That was one of the highlights of the trip.  She gave me a copy of a past issue and the cover photo was incredible!  It is a fabulous and beautiful magazine and I felt honored to be asked to be in it.

After the opening ceremonies, I had time for a quick and fast lunch before going off to speak — the first speaker at the first PhotoAsia.  I’ll have more on that in the next post!

After flying into Jinan, we had a bus waiting to take us to the convention center and hotel.  The bus driver took us on the long and scenic route to the hotel because I’m guessing he was proud of his town and wanted us to see it.  When we arrived at the hotel, we had plenty of people there to greet us, including our individual interpreters.

Cox - Jinan 1

Because the convention started the next day, some areas were still getting set up.

Cox - Jinan 2

Cox - Jinan 3

After getting checked in, we had a traditional chinese lunch waiting for us…

Cox - Jinan 4

After eating, David Trust (the CEO of the PPA), Ron Nichols (the President of the PPA) and I went to be interviewed by the media.  There was a room full of people from newspapers, magazines, radio and TV — all asking us questions through an interpreter.  It was very fun to be apart of the media interviews and to be addressed as “the Master Photographer from America!”

Afterward, the people from the press wanted to be photographed with us.  Here is one photo with someone from a magaizne (below).

Cox - Jinan 5

That night we had a formal dinner with the Governor of the region.  The sign behind me reads “Welcome party for friends from far.”  At the head table beneath the sign is Ron Nichols (PPA President) eating with the Governor.

It was very fun to attend such an event and I was excited to wear one of my new suits too!  This is the first suit, a pin striped suit.  I’m also wearing one of my custom shirts too — a polka-dot white shirt.  The medals around my neck are my photographic credentials (Master / Craftsman) that are supposed to be worn at photographic events.

Cox - Jinan 6

The dinner was really good and we were fed some very interesting foods, many of which I had never seen before.  My interpreter told me that many of the foods we were given were specialties and are rarely served except at special events.  He told me that it was a real honor to be given such delicacies.  I’m an adventurous eater but had never seen some of the sea urchins and creatures that they had prepared for us.  I ate them all and was very pleased!

After dinner, we were rushed off to see an acrobatic opera in downtown Jinan.  Our host had made arrangements for us and it was absolutely spectacular!

Cox - Jinan 7

These performers were incredible!  The colors and costumes were amazing, and they did the most amazing stunts!

Cox - Jinan 7

It was a great first day in Jinan and I felt very pampered and welcomed by my Chinese hosts!  I went to bed excited for the next day!

More on Jinan in the next post….

Ahhh! I’m back in America! I arrived yesterday morning (the 4th of July) and am so excited to be back in a free country again where simply accessing and reading a blog is allowed! The first thing I did when I arrived, before even bringing in my luggage, was to hang up my American Flag on my front porch.

So now I can finally talk about my trip. I was unable to access my blog while in China, and have a lot of catching up to do. On the flight over, we were told stories about people being taken from flights and quarantined for having a fever or being near someone with a fever. When we landed, we were not allowed to get up out of our seats, but had to wait and be “screened” for the swine flu. Now there have only been 13 deaths in the US from the new swine flu, and there have been 13,000 deaths during the same time period from the regular flu. Nevertheless, I think this is a front of the Chinese government to make a good face to the Chinese people.

Chinese Hazmat 1

So as soon as we landed, the plane was boarded by a crew dressed in what looks like hazmat gear.  We all had to sit and wait until they took everyone’s temperature with a gun that they’d shine on your forehead (pictured below).  I took these images with my iPhone.

Chinese Hazmat 2

It turned out that a member of our photographic group (Sandy “Sam” Puc of Colorado) that was on another plane was taken and quarantined, not for having a fever, but for being within a certain amount of rows of someone that had a fever.  After leaving the plane, guards came to her hotel and took her and her kids to an old abandoned hotel in China and kept prisoner there under guard for seven days.  This hotel had brown water, mice, no beds, and they were given little to no food or toilet paper.  They weren’t allowed outside contact and couldn’t receive food or anything else from the outside.  A horrible situation to say the least.  We were so grateful when she could finally rejoin us.

Cox - Shanghai Old Town

After landing in Shanghai, David Trust, the CEO of the PPA (Professional Photographers of America) took me to see his tailor.  I had been awake and flying for over 24 hours, but was so excited to meet his tailor and get a suit made.  We wanted to get an early start on the suit so that it could be done before we left Shanghai so that I could have it to speak in later that week.

I had a hard time narrowing down what material I liked and ended up getting THREE suits!  It was so much fun!  I also had four custom dress shirts made too and all of it was ready for me the next day before we left Shanghai!  After being measured for a suit, we went to eat and then headed back to the hotel to get caught up on some sleep.

Cox - Shanghai Hotel 1

This is the hotel greeter, Stephanie, that says hi when you arrive (above) and here is a pano image of my hotel room below.  This place was way hip and totally loaded with amenities  There was even hidden jacks at the desk were I could plug my laptop into the TV and watch movies from my laptop on the large screen.  There is also a large window on the far right of this image that opens up into the very cool bathroom.

Cox - Shanghai Hotel 2

This image below is the view from the hotel lobby.  Most of the time when walking through this lobby, there was live music.  When I took this image, the music was being created by this woman playing a stringed instrument.

Cox - Shanghai Hotel 3

The next day we hung out in Shanghai and later that afternoon did a little shopping.  I was looking for interesting colors, textures and faces, and here are some of the images I created that day.

Cox - Shanghai Streets 1

Cox - Shanghai Streets 2

Cox - Shanghai Streets 3

I was amazed at the poverty that was everywhere, even a stone’s throw from our fabulous and clean hotel.  People were making, cooking, selling and eating food in some very dirty situations, right on the street!

Cox - Shanghai Streets 4

And as you can see from this image below, people were living in very cramped situations.

Cox - Shanghai Streets 5

I also took some very fun and very fast cab rides that were sooo cool!  I’ve always wanted to drive the way these guys drove!  Man!  Just like a video game!

Cox - Shanghai Streets 6

The next morning we caught a Chinese domestic flight from Shanghai to Jinan, the place of the PPA PhotoAsia conference.  I’ll put more on that in the next post…..