The Radavist

It’s been a while, but after a good amount of prep and construction, Shanghai’s Factory Five have just opened their new space. They converted a 150sqm shell into their new storefront and design offices, while leaving the perimeter open to bring in natural light.

Factory Five carries their own frames, PAUL, Restrap, Mission Workshop and others.

Head to their Flickr to see more photos!

When someone says the following words, in any order, I get chills: bike, China, race. Especially in Beijing! Big Dirty threw a rather intense race earlier this year: Tianjin to Beijing, 130km in 35C weather. Count. Me. Out!

I still have so much leftover film from China, with some of my favorites being the roll of 220 I shot in the bamboo forest on the Mamiya. The guys from Factory 5 rode up to the top of this mountain range on their track bikes and I was on my cross bike, getting shots along the way.

Photos by Sean Murphy

As one of the first people to test out the new cycling gear from Mission Workshop, I greeted it with as much apprehension as enthusiasm. Surely, there were already a lot of options for urban cycling gear out there but were these new pieces strictly for cycling?

Not at all. In fact, while I enjoyed riding in the clothes, I didn’t feel like there was anything in particular that made it cycling-specific and that’s a good thing. The side utility pocket has everyday applications and the cut certainly fits on the bike. In the end, this is made in the USA, high-tech, high-quality clothing from a company that is no stranger to those traits.

I’ve started to post some of the film photos from China that didn’t make it to the Ends book or photo show up on the Norse Photo. Most of which are riding shots, something I love taking but for whatever reason, didn’t make it into the Ends.

Mission Workshop still has a few copies of the books left and we’re working out international shipping rates as well… More on that this week.

Tools of the trade:
Shot from a moving bicycle
Mamiya 7ii / 65mm
Kodak Portra 400 / high res scan

Here’s a video trailer promoting a series of webisodes that Mission Workshop is working on with the Werehaus, showcasing our bike tour in China:

“Setting out from Shanghai, John Watson and Mission Workshop began their cycling tour of China’s Yangtze River Delta. Using both film and digital formats, Watson photographed the surroundings and encounters with the local community. Led by their friends from Factory Five, they headed into a frenetic network of massive residential complexes, large industrial parks, and super highways. At first glance, the route seemed straightforward, however, the reality of the 1,000km trip was far more intense than anyone expected.”

Keep on top of The Ends at Mission Workshop and please come to the opening party, let’s hang out!

I jokingly said the other day to a friend that the hardest thing about my trip to China with Mission Workshop wasn’t actually being in China, it was sorting through all my photos. Over 20 rolls of 220 film, 10 rolls of 35mm were accumulated in the three weeks I found myself in Asia. Imagine having to sort through all that and pull together a concept.

a short preview of the book

This is “The Ends”, a book of photographs that is being released at my photography show at Mission Workshop this Saturday, June 15th. You can Pre-Order the book now and it’ll ship Monday, June 17th. We’ve already got the copies and they look amazing. Each copy was printed in Oakland.

“75 page soft-cover book showcasing John’s photographs from the 1,000km bike tour.

Setting out from Shanghai, John Watson and Mission Workshop began their cycling tour of China’s Yangtze River Delta. Using both film and digital formats, Watson photographed the surroundings and encounters with the local community. Led by their friends from Factory Five, they headed into a frenetic network of massive residential complexes, large industrial parks, and super highways. At first glance, the route seemed straightforward, however, the reality of the 1,000km trip was far more intense than anyone expected.

The following photographs from their trip were taken by John Watson, depicting his impression of what is meant by “the ends justify the means.”

This is The Ends.

Available for sale online and at Mission Workshop San Francisco. Ships Monday 6/17.”

Please spread the word, buy a copy of the book for $35 and roll through the show this Saturday!

This is the sixth layout of the 2013 PiNP Calendar, entitled “Into the Void”. The camera, lens used and location are noted on the bottom left of the document.

During my tour in China with Factory 5 and Mission Workshop, we often found ourselves riding into the unknown. When visibility is low and you can’t see more than half a mile ahead of you, who knows what lies ahead. Part of that mystique is what made that trip so unique and photos like this barely scratch the surface of what it was like to ride through the countryside.

Right Click and Save Link As – 2013 PiNP Calendar: June

Here’s a photo of Jeff from Factory 5 riding down an open road somewhere west of Shanghai. After all the smog (which is still visible in the background), trash and shitty roads, sections like this were a gem… I’m ramping up to my book release and gallery show in SF on June 15th. More details to come.

Tools of the trade:
Yashica T4
Neopan 400

These past few weeks have been absolutely incredible. Our bike tour was easily one of the most exhilarating rides I’ve ever been on. To be concise, it was an eye-opening experience. I really thought that I knew what China was all about but almost immediately, I realized my preconceptions vastly polarized. My anxieties about some situations subsided, as the harsh reality of globalization’s effect on a ancient land settled in.

There’s nothing that can prepare you for the realities that hide on the outskirts of the city. As my film gets processed and scanned, I’ll begin think about how I’ll present my experience on paper. Right now, I feel like I’ve been nursing a two week long hangover. My body aches, my head is pounding and my lungs need some recovery time. So would I do it again? Of course.

When it’s all said and done, I’ve met some truly amazing people and had the opportunity to share all these experiences on bikes with them. I’ll say in confidence that we all will walk away from this trip with some great memories and for that, I’ll always be thankful to the communities that we rode with, the towns we stayed in and the guys at Factory 5.

Until next time, Shanghai, zài jiàn.

Photo by Hou Jue

Photos by Jeff Liu

In recent months, I’ve started to find myself in front of a lens almost as much as behind it, especially on this recent tour. Riding through China was overwhelming  from a photography standpoint. Everything was rich in texture and as a foreigner, the everyday was visually engaging. When I could, I’d stop and shoot, or ask one of the riders to pause for a portrait.

Just about everything was natural and that’s something James from Adventure Refugee tried to capture in his video pieces for Mission Workshop. We’d leave with no plans, or script and would point out shots, or spaces when we came across them. In a land like China, nothing is predictable, you’ve just got to go with your instincts.  That applies to the subject and the subjected.

Last night, we arrived in Shanghai, where we’ll stay until Monday night. Saturday night is the Mission Workshop party at Factory 5 where I’ll be displaying some of my favorite digital photos from the trip. There will be mountains of free beer, good music and great people. If you’re in Shanghai, roll through!

Unfortunately, Vimeo, Youtube, Facebook and even Gmail (sometimes I can load it up) is blocked in China, so regular blog posting won’t commence until I’m in Australia on Tuesday (your Monday). Thanks for understanding and if you sent an email, there’s no need to forward it again and again, I received it…

Expect some more Shanghai-related posts to go up periodically over the next few days, including bike portraits, so stay tuned.