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The People of Longhu Town, China

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Tom R. Chambers had the opportunity to collaborate with Zhao Zhenhai, a Chinese documentary photographer, by putting together a two-person show, "Zhao/Chambers Joint Photo Exhibition". Zhao's photos cover the past twenty years throughout China, and Chambers' photos are from 2004 under the namesake of "The People of Longhu Town, China". This was the first time in Henan Province, China for a Chinese and American photographer to come together to offer an East/West perspective on the Chinese People and Culture.  Chambers' photo sessions are staged in the sense that the subjects are posed in relation to their surroundings. A 20mm lens (extreme wide angle) is used to "condense" the view and show the backdrop/background. The subjects' posture and expression come across as natural, but their "look" is manipulated through constant encouragement. They're not smiling, and in Chambers' opinion, a documentary portrait should not includ

Southwest Of Rusape: The Mucharambeyi Connection

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This documentary photography project was in association with the Mucharambeyi family in  Rusape , North-east  Zimbabwe  and sponsored by  U.S.I.S. ,  Harare , Zimbabwe as the  inaugural exhibition/event  for the United States Information center (1995). The Mucharambeyi family attended, and  Johnnie Carson , U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe, opened the exhibition. Chambers considers this project one of his more meaningful ones since he spent several days with the Mucharambeyi family in a rural setting that had him traveling from village to village for his assimilation into their culture and customs to provide photo documentation. Several examples follow: Exhibitions "Hyperlink: PhotoForum Worldwide Exhibition" (Southwest of Rusape: The Mucharambeyi Connection [SWRMC-1]) (group show), first, on-line/hyperlinked exhibition under the auspices of PhotoForum/Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York, U.S.A. (initiator/coordinator), 1997. "Southwest Of Rusape: The Mucha

Budapest, Hungary (2006)

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Tom R. Chambers spent two weeks in  Budapest ,  Hungary  visiting  Istvan Horkay  and documenting the streets of the city. Chambers (left) is seen below talking with Horkay at his home in Revulop, which is near Budapest. Budapest is the capital and the most populous city of Hungary. The history of Budapest began when an early Celtic settlement transformed into a Roman town of Aquincum, the capital of Lower Pannonia. The Hungarians arrived in the territory in the late 9th century. The area was pillaged by the Mongols in 1241. Buda, the settlements on the west bank of the river, became one of the centers of Renaissance humanist culture by the 15th century. After the reconquest of Buda in 1686, the region entered a new age of prosperity. Pest-Buda became a global city with the unification of Buda, and Pest on 17 November 1873, with the name 'Budapest' given to the new capital. Budapest also became the co-capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a great power that dissolved in 1918,

China (2003-2007)

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Tom R. Chambers spent four years in   China   (2003-2007) teaching English/Media-Communications and Digital/New Media Art at   Sheng Da College (SDC)   (Zhengzhou, Henan Province) and   Zhaoqing University (ZU)   (Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province), respectively. The image examples above show a bit of his coverage throughout this country as a result of his student connections. China emerged as one of the world's first civilizations, in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, China's political system was based on hereditary monarchies, or dynasties, beginning with the semi-legendary Xia dynasty in 21st century BCE. Since then, China has expanded, fractured, and re-unified numerous times. In the 3rd century BCE, the Qin reunited core China and established the first Chinese empire. The succeeding Han dynasty, which ruled from 206 BC until 220 AD, saw some of the most advanced technology at that time, including papermaking and the compass, along wi