this is an old image from an experiment in camera jiggle that became the decisive moment for my (nearly complete) conversion to digital. i was still a staunch silver halide hold out when i shot this with an 'expendable' sony point and shoot, however the thought of capturing endless images at zero cost proved to be too much of a temptation.
note: this isn't an instagram filter or photoshopped - this is straight out of the camera by shaking the body in front of a still subject whilst judiciously clicking the shutter.

'kitty blur' • qingdao, china

© MARC MONTEBELLO  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
[CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE]

Labels: 2012, asia, beauty, china, lifestyle, photographer, photography, photos, qingdao

from the 'good morning' series.

'pillow talk' • qingdao, china

© MARC MONTEBELLO  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
[CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE]

Labels: 2012, asia, children, china, lifestyle, photography, photos, qingdao

from a shoot for an upcoming catalog of environmentally-friendly fashion. 'bastine' is a new line of sustainable, labour-conscious, peace-loving, hemp and organic cotton clothing. made in china, designed in seattle, sold many many places, eventually.. hopefully.

'bastine, spring 2013' • qingdao, china

© MARC MONTEBELLO  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
[CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE]

Labels: 2012, asia, china, fashion, lifestyle, photographer, photography, photos, qingdao

whilst i can, i hope to post images almost daily so expect the finer quality views to be interspersed with the son and the food i cook..

'sunday-zed' • qingdao, china

'purple greens' • qingdao, china
[sweet potato with baby bok-choy and chicken]

© MARC MONTEBELLO  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
[CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE]

Labels: 2012, asia, china, lifestyle, photographer, photography, photos, qingdao

my how time flies. it's been over a month since my last entry, so to catch up with y'all i thought i'd post something old(er) yet apropos as the summer heat marches on and the infamous qingdao beer festival has come to an end.. finally. ironically this has been one of my most used photos (various lifestyle magazine covers in china and most recently at CNNGO.com) yet i've never uploaded it to my own domain. go figure.
UPDATE.. in other news, i'm happy to report, thanks to some backend tweaking, this blog is now mostly viewable in china. i'm still in the process of updating the code for older entries and the twitter feed won't show up but otherwise, welcome back china ;-)

'beach beer' • qingdao, china

© MARC MONTEBELLO  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
[CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE]

Labels: 2012, asia, editorial, lifestyle, photographer, photography, photos, qingdao

this is pan wen xing, master of an extremely rare school of taoist-inspired praying mantis gongfu which is related to the 'ba gua' (the eight symbols of taoism). i couldn't capture half of his moves for the speed and intensity of this otherwise unassuming little man.

'pan wen xing' • qingdao, china

© MARC MONTEBELLO  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

[click on image to enlarge]

Labels: 2011, china, editorial, lifestyle, photographer, photography, photos, qingdao

shot for some mates in beijing who probably shouldn't give up their day jobs just yet but in the meantime can definitely do the fab four proud. check out THE BEIJING BEATLES. still can't believe he walked barefoot on that street..

'abbey lu' • beijing, china

© MARC MONTEBELLO  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

[click on image to enlarge]

Labels: 2011, china, editorial, lifestyle, photographer, photography, photos, qingdao

been shooting stills that will be transmuted into a upcoming corporate BTS (behind the scenes) film. no hints allowed other than what you see here..

'hand jewels' • chengyang, china

© MARC MONTEBELLO  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

[click on any image to enlarge]

Labels: 2011, china, editorial, lifestyle, photographer, photography, photos, qingdao

'obama-man' • summer palace, beijing

© MARC MONTEBELLO  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

[click on image to enlarge]

Labels: 2011, china, editorial, lifestyle, photographer, photography, photos, qingdao

a sample of indigenous plant life spotted whilst on a hike near lao shan (mt. lao) yesterday.

'cannabis sativa' • lao shan, china

© MARC MONTEBELLO  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

[click on image to enlarge]

Labels: 2011, china, editorial, lifestyle, photographer, photography, photos, qingdao

'cherry season' • lao shan, china

© MARC MONTEBELLO  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

[click on image to enlarge]

Labels: 2011, china, editorial, lifestyle, photographer, photography, photos, qingdao

or history repeats itself? just when you think superficial decadence couldn't possibly get WORSE, no sooner do you stumble across a new level of the outrageous elitism that has become so prevalent in 'communist' china. i'm really unsure whether to laugh or weep at this billboard..

'social-liftism' • qingdao, china

© MARC MONTEBELLO  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

[click on image to enlarge]

Labels: 2011, china, editorial, lifestyle, photographer, photography, photos, qingdao

from a series of images on chinese traditional instruments and players. consider this a teaser for an upcoming issue of the redSTAR magazine :-)

'lü dong fang 吕东芳' • qingdao, china

© MARC MONTEBELLO  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

[click on image to enlarge]

Labels: 2011, china, editorial, lifestyle, photographer, photography, photos, qingdao

this is emma gao of the SILVER HEIGHTS vineyards, located in ningxia china. her wines have won praise and awards worldwide amongst the most finicky of sommelier noses - quite a feat from a few hectares of a 1200m high and dry plateau. emma, a winemaker prodigy cum successful wine-trepreneur, is also the GM of a foreign-owned vineyard in penglai (a four hour drive north of qingdao), in the heart of shandong's wine industry and where this portrait was taken. it's an outtake from a series shot for the may issue of dragonair's inflight magazine, SILK ROAD. as a neophyte connoisseur who's yet had a reason to spit out a gulp, i was nonetheless taken aback when i got to sample the 'summit' cabernet over an exquisite lunch prepared by emma's mom. it's a richly coloured ruby nectar with strong oak overtones (i'm a sucker for woody flavours in a wine) and its nose is of rich dark fruit - not your average carafe of great-wall-glory grape juice at the local supermarket. i brought home an extra bottle, compliments of the house ;-)

NOTE: THIS IS A REPOSTING OF AN ENTRY FROM APRIL WHICH HAD TO BE RETRACTED UNTIL PUBLICATION OF THE MAGAZINE. APOLOGIES FOR THE DOUBLE VISION.

'wine queen' • penglai, china

© MARC MONTEBELLO  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

[click on image to enlarge]

Labels: 2011, china, corporate, editorial, lifestyle, photographer, photography, photos, qingdao

i'm in beijing at the moment where the skies are blue and the streets are green.. in more ways than usually meets the eye. this poor soul was whisked away by six military types right under our noses whilst sipping cocktails in downtown sanlitun. no one dared to assist as he screamed "help me! free me!!". why this sober, decent-looking chap was dragged into the abyss is unknown but it is undeniably a stark reminder of who's in charge.

'blue and green' • beijing, china

© MARC MONTEBELLO  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

[click on image to enlarge]

Labels: 2011, china, editorial, lifestyle, photographer, photography, photos, qingdao