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Unscripted Lives

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The City Street Below

Matthew Irving June 12, 2017

In a country that never sleeps, a man works through the night while his assistant stands idly by. I watched, mesmerized, as the slag rained down, rolling over the scaffolding onto the city street below, where cars raced by in a never ending train of chaos.

Tags chaos, china, city, endless, hands, metalwork, nighttime shift, slag, street, the city street below, unscripted lives, welding, work, working, xi'an

Changing Seasons

Matthew Irving December 26, 2016

Walking beside the wall that guards the old city of Xi’an, one notices a certain rhythm. Leaves litter the ground in anticipation for the cooler temperatures of fall. Coats and jackets are pulled from the closet. Young children scramble by, oblivious to their surroundings. The elderly, however, are veterans of the changing seasons. Years pass by unannounced. Fleeting moments turn to distant memories, and the cycle continues.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Tags ashes, breathe, change, china, city, cycle, distant, dust, earth, elderly, fall, fleeting, memories, moments, old, seasons, stone, street photography, travel photography, train station, unscripted lives, veterans, walk, wall, writing, xi'an, years

A Smoggy Feeling of Desperation

Matthew Irving September 5, 2016

Simferopol, Ukraine- After spending a couple weeks filming rock climbing in Ukraine, I was able to take a day or two for myself and wander around Simferopol, one of the larger cities on the Crimean peninsula. The lackadaisical people floating in the sea were replaced with anxious workers scurrying about, trying to find a means to an end. The cool breeze coming off the sea was replaced with a smoggy feeling of desperation, perpetrated by industry and the old Russian cars clogging the streets.

In a quiet square tucked away from the mayhem of the city, a few people walk by heading to work. As they pass, their long shadows extend toward a large statue built by the old empire. Continuing, they cross the square until reaching a massive building looming overhead. Quickly ascending the stairs, they disappear inside, away from the traffic and haze of a city desperate for change.

Tags ants, black and white, city, crimea, crimean peninsula, daily grind, desperation, filming, lackadaisical, life, looming, mayhem, means to an end, old empire, pass, people, photography, rock climbing, currying, shadows, simferopol, smog, smoggy, square, statue, travel, ukraine, unscripted lives, walk, work