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Not ready to give up

Hou Wen Lai is 92 and has been living in his little all-in-one-room wooden shack for 78 years, which now ended up lying in the middle of one of the most valuable real-estate districts in Chengdu, one of the 20 fastest growing cities in the world. His days and the ones of his neighbors are counted, as greedy developers ganged up with government officials have their fangs set on them. It won't be long until they are gone and replaced by yet another big shopping center.

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Daniel Martin 3 weeks ago

Incredible shot! Real control over a wide angle lens! And they say that asian poeple are the ones who takes best care of their elders... I gess greed and materialisism is taking over the poor poeple like this gentleman...

Nicolas Marino THanks a lot for your comment Daniel. Indeed, materialism has taken over the whole world and the most basic values in a society are getting lost more and more. A sad reality.

Pourya 6 months ago

G rea T ++++++++++

Lewis 7 months ago

So great! Very nice Color and composition!

Risquillo 9 months ago

Todas tus fotos narran historias............ !
Un abrazo Nico!

Mandy Schoch 9 months ago

Nic, you shoot brilliant work. That's a fact. But in my opinion, this one rises to the very top. You have captured the soul of this man, communicated your respect for him, and also told a bittersweet story in one single frame. My absolute favorite of yours, though I will add..... so far :)

Nicolas Marino I'm humbled by your words Mandy, thank you very much! =) He is a really lovely and amazing man indeed. I visit him every week and we have wonderful conversations. I'm documenting all these remaining shacks before they are gone, they are next to my building and from it I see thier shacks and the thousands of square meters around that are all construction sites for modern shopping centers!

Ursula I Abresch 9 months ago

You do these well, Nicolas. Excellent work.

Nicolas Marino Thanks a lot Ursula! =) more going into your queue soon jejej

Codrin Lupei 9 months ago

Nicolas, an excellent image, delighted to see it published! Thanks for sharing it and also the touching story! Congrats!

Nicolas Marino Thank you very much dear Codrin!

thierry ysebaert 9 months ago

Painfull story in a great photo !

Nicolas Marino Thanks a lot Thierry !

Phyllis Clarke 9 months ago

Nic.....well lets hope it is after he is long gone..that the shopping center arrives. He looks quite young for 92 I must say. I would guess he has some kind of community...so this is his STUIDO flat then is it? Amazing to me how so many people live day to day...poor is relative. I like your shot so very much...he seems proud, and thriving actually. It is like documentary piece for me..Congratulations. Phyllis

Nicolas Marino You know phyl, i was shocked when he told me he is 92! He is so bright and cheerful too, always smiling when I come. I love visiting him, every week I come over his little shack. He tells me stories of the old China during the Mao years, it is shocking. Especially because it is so much more intense when somebody that had to go through it tells you that in person. A lot more than reading the books about it. THanks a lot my friend!

limawhisky 9 months ago

great documentary hermano.. you migt be the last one who came to visit him before all his story replace with modern stuff..

Nicolas Marino Thanks a lot Unggul ! I actually visit him pretty often, his shack and his neighboors are squeezed next to the building where are I live. But yes, it is a matter of time before they are wiped out, very sad!

Monki Ho 9 months ago

story in a photo, great job!

Nicolas Marino Thanks a lot Monki!

alenium 9 months ago

great portrait and illustration of a living environment.

Nicolas Marino Thank you Alenium!

Vlad Dumitrescu 9 months ago

bravo Nicolas! great work... it has everything! Congrats!

Nicolas Marino THanks a lot Vlad!

Kim Ayres 9 months ago

Wonderful shot, Nico! Really nice light - what's the main source there? Is it reflected sunlight?

Nicolas Marino Thanks a lot Kim. No, this is not natural light. This is an off-camera flash in a small small softbox (the chinese cheap version of the super expensive Ezy Box from Lastolite) The flash is gelled with a half-cut CTO. It works great to warm up the images. I didn't invent it, I took the advice from Joe McNally's books ;)

Kim Ayres It works well - gives a kind of late afternoon look

Reggy 9 months ago

Congratulations Nicolas, with this amazing shot. You give such a intimate view in the life of this man. The picture is beautiful and yet the story is so sad. I know that we can't stop the expansion of the world, but I feel sorry that with that, such little beautiful life will dissapear.

Nicolas Marino Indeed Reggy, he is such a wonderful man. He lives next door from my building and I visit him very often. The shacks are surviving, squeezed in between the unstoppable growth. Some of them are given better places or good money, but the problem is that the whole procedure is terribly corrupt, with lots of middle-men and crooked officials. Thank you very much for your comment as always! :)

Les Forrester 9 months ago

Liked it in viewing, pleased its here, super shot

Nicolas Marino Thanks a lot les! I'm glad you liked it!

Jef Van den Houte 9 months ago

Good documentary capture

Nicolas Marino Thank you very much Jef! :)

Jacob Tuinenga 9 months ago

Wonderful image and harrowing story of the man.
Well captured, thanks.

Nicolas Marino thanks a lot Jacob!

Marei 9 months ago

He is great! Wonderful work, Nic.
Glückwunsch!
Ich grüße Dich herzlich,
Marei

Nicolas Marino vielen Dank Marie =) aber Ich warte an deine Fotos von Türkei !

Marei Da habe ich nur ein paar Bilder gemacht. Ich habe lange bei 1x nichts hochgeladen. Mache ich bald wieder... :-)
Danke lieber Nic :-)

Qin 9 months ago

Very nice!excellent shot.............!!

Nicolas Marino duoxie le Qin!

Christoph Hessel 9 months ago

great Nic, a wonderful capture
Christoph

Nicolas Marino Thanks a lot Chris!

dorothée rapp 9 months ago

wonderful one, I feel I am standing right there... (I wish I could one day travel to this region!)

Nicolas Marino Vielen Dank Dorothée! Du solltest auf jeden Fall kommen! :)

Robert 9 months ago

Very good work!

Nicolas Marino Thanks Robert! :)

George Doupas 9 months ago

Very nice Nicolas. Thank you for the text. Sad and True!! Congrats!!

Nicolas Marino Yes, I'm sure you see this in Beijing everyday too. Painful! Thanks a lot George! I'll let you know when I'm in Beijing, maybe we can meet up for shooting.

George Doupas Of course Nicolas! Hope when you come to Beijing I will not be on the road! :)) Hasta Luego!