English teacher's snapshots on display at museum

Growing up in Wales in the United Kingdom, Matt Neale came to Wuhan to teach English at the Pengliuyang High School two years ago.

Newport, his hometown, is a quiet place. Inspired by the contrast between the hustle and bustle of Wuhan and his slow-paced life at home, he moved to Wuhan.

This experience has given him the inspiration for capturing unique images of the city he is living in, and photography has become his second career.

As a foreign photographer in a Chinese city, Matt earned opportunities to demonstrate his skills as his works are on exhibit at the Wuchang Art Museum in December. This is his second solo exhibition in 2018.

People can easily recognize Neale's works by the unique angles he chooses. Most of his works deliver an atmosphere reminiscent of a science fiction movie, with the great bridges and flyovers turning into "time tunnels".

The modern touches of his work owe to proper composition: Neale tends to look for natural frames, such as an arch or the crossing of roads, to present beautiful, geometric forms of architecture.

He then adds foreground and background elements in order to create more layers to highlight the main subject. In addition to the way he arranges elements in the photo, he mostly shoots at night to make them look more fashionable.

He likes to use cool tones and high color saturation light to illuminate his photos, in order to heighten their impact.

Among Neale's favorite subjects are metro stations, which he regards as a symbol of the city's ongoing progress.

"I want to take photos around every metro station in Wuhan," Neale said.

At present, Wuhan Metro boasts an operating distance of 237 kilometers, with an average daily volume of more than 3 million passengers. The nine completed and operating metro lines have formed a subway network that helps to make commuting more convenient throughout Wuhan. By 2021, Wuhan will complete an additional seven metro transit projects.

Although Neale is fascinated with Wuhan's metro stations, he usually travels by bus, as he can constantly be on the lookout for new photo opportunities and locations.

If he spots an interesting photo location from the bus, he gets off and walks back to take pictures. Carrying a camera and capturing unique images of Wuhan has become a daily routine. So far, he has shot more than 5,000 photos.

Many netizens are enthralled by the photos that he has posted in his portfolio on the Weibo platform. Images of magnificent neon lights, tranquil lakes, old houses by the river and people's cozy lives in old towns capture the diverse elements of life in Wuhan.

"I am a documentary film graduate. The most important part of my creativeness is storytelling. So, recently I decided that all the images I create must tell a story."

Neale moved on to document the daily lives of ordinary people and old thriving communities near his accommodation because these subjects retain their Chinese roots. His flat is located near the city's landmark Yellow Crane Tower. There, he can grab authentic hot-and-dry noodles for breakfast, and every day stroll along laneways, feel the pulse of the lives of local people and explore something new.

(China Daily 12/26/2018 page6)