The Beauty in Everything | Ryan Pyle | TEDxNantong
The photographer argues that the core purpose of photography and storytelling is to find and document beauty in every aspect of life, illustrating this by showing diverse images from various Chinese locations—from factory workers in Dongguan to monks in Shaanxi—to prove that beauty is visible even amidst hardship. This journey over 16 years across every Chinese province demonstrates a commitment to capturing the human element over documenting just the sights. The overarching message is that finding beauty transforms the experience of life into a story worth sharing with a wider audience. ## Speakers & Context - Photographer, originally from Canada, who moved to China in 2002. - Discusses his life and career as a photographer and television producer documenting China. - Shares his passion for finding and documenting beauty in everything, citing Confucius. ## Theses & Positions - The most important aspect of taking pictures is telling the story. - Telling the story requires taking beautiful pictures, which necessitates finding beauty in everything. - The ability to find, document, and share beauty is the core function of a storyteller/photographer. - Beauty can be found in difficult moments, such as factory work during the 2008 financial crisis. - It is necessary to find and document beauty even in destructive situations, such as after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. ## Concepts & Definitions - **Storytelling/Photography:** The process of capturing and sharing experiences to convey a narrative. - **Finding Beauty:** The active process of identifying inherent beauty in any situation, regardless of external hardship (e.g., finding beauty in misery, destruction, or routine). ## Mechanisms & Processes - **Documentation Process:** Travel to diverse locations across China $\rightarrow$ Meet people/observe scenes $\rightarrow$ Find a story/moment $\rightarrow$ Photograph $\rightarrow$ Share the story and images with a wider audience. - **Storytelling through Contrast:** Juxtaposing scenes of hardship (factory life, earthquake aftermath) with moments of resilience or quiet beauty. ## Named Entities - **Washoe Jana Darrin:** Mentioned as a place associated with the speaker's journey from Canada. - **Hunan Province:** Location of a photographed woman losing her job due to the 2008 financial crisis. - **Dongguan:** Location of the factory worker photo. - **Shanghai:** City where the speaker lives and photographed scenes, including the World Financial Center. - **Pudong:** District of Shanghai where the World Financial Center is located. - **Hangzhou:** Location for tea stories and visits to a tea house. - **Yunnan Province:** Region featuring photos of a river and mountains. - **Guo Yan:** Location of a photo showing farming activity near a new government bridge. - **Changsha:** City in Hunan province where a vendor makes kebabs. - **Shaanxi Province:** Location of photos depicting a vineyard and a monk in a courtyard. - **Taiyuan:** Town near the Shaanxi vineyard visited. - **Sichuan Province:** Province featuring photos from an earthquake site, a young monk, and another family farming scene. - **Xiamen:** City where a photo of a woman with a purple umbrella against the cityscape was taken. - **Gulong:** Location of a photo featuring a woman and umbrella. - **Beijing:** City where a photo of a man feeding a bird was taken. - **Gansu Province:** Location of the Mon Lam festival in Shahe. - **Fujian Province:** Area featuring a home with tulips and a woman locking up. - **Hainan Island:** Island visited for a story about golf, yielding images of fishing. - **Kashgar:** City in Xinjiang province featuring a man drinking tea and looking at the street. - **Qingxi Province:** Province where infrastructure documentation was done, featuring a golf course under development. - **Lhasa:** City featuring the Potala Palace. - **Wuhan:** City where photos of men swimming in the Yangtze River were taken. - **Chongqing:** City featuring a photo of a man cleaning hotel windows. ## Numbers & Data - Time in China: Since **2002**. - Duration of documentation: Over **16 years**. - Financial crisis year: **2008**. - Photograph location details: On the **90th floor** of the Shanghai World Financial Center. ## Examples & Cases - **Dongguan factory worker:** Photograph capturing her beauty amidst job loss due to the 2008 financial crisis. - **Shanghai World Financial Center:** Photograph taken on the **90th floor**, showing Jack Ma when Alibaba was a small company in Hangzhou. - **Yunnan River:** Trekked over mountains to see a river "twisting and winding" at a beautiful time of day in northern Yunnan. - **Hangzhou Tea House:** Documenting young men pouring tea in creative ways. - **Rural Farming Scene:** An older woman scattering corn on her rooftop, with a new government-built bridge visible behind her. - **Street Vendor:** Photo of a man in Changsha making kebabs at night, noted for the perfect light. - **Shaanxi Vineyard:** Documenting the annual wine harvesting for *Fortune* magazine, showing China developing a taste for wine. - **Sichuan Earthquake:** Attempting to capture a beautiful picture in a horrible moment of natural disaster. - **Internet Cafe:** Photograph showing a time when people still frequented internet cafes 10–15 years ago. - **Beijing Bird Feeder:** Lovely moment of a man caring for his bird for about **40 years**. - **Tibetan Mon Lam festival:** Attempting to find beauty during the festival in Shahe, Gansu. - **Hainan Fishing:** Photo of men transporting fish by motorcycle across a dangerous bridge. - **Hunan Pork Factory:** Photograph of a young worker in a pork factory. ## Tools, Tech & Products - **Camera/Photography Equipment:** General tool used throughout the journey. - **Mobile Phone/Internet:** Mentioned as a modern replacement for internet cafes. ## References Cited - **Confucius:** Cited as someone who believed everything has beauty. - **Newsweek:** Publication the speaker worked with. - **Fortune magazine:** Publication for which the speaker documented wine production. ## Trade-offs & Alternatives - Documenting scenes of beauty vs. documenting scenes of suffering (e.g., factory workers vs. peaceful monks). - Using an internet café setting as a time marker against the modern reality of pocket internet access. ## Counterarguments & Caveats - The physical act of finding beauty can be "very challenging." - The speaker notes that the difficulty of finding beauty in a crisis (like the earthquake) is very challenging. ## Conclusions & Recommendations - The ultimate goal is documenting the people and the beauty in their lives across China's diverse provinces. - The speaker emphasizes the rewarding nature of photographing people and finding beauty in their daily routines. ## Implications & Consequences - The speaker's work implies that cultural and social history in China is best understood through the lived experiences of its people, not just large infrastructure projects. ## Verbatim Moments - *"the most important thing about taking pictures is to tell the story"* - *"even Confucius also thinks so everything has Beauty"* - *"finding the beauty documenting the beauty and then having a chance to share that story"* - *"trying to find the beauty in her in her difficult moment or in her misery"* - *"Jack Ma when he was very small"* - *"find the beauty in his smile"* - *"this is a beautiful river in Yunnan Province and we actually walked and trekked over the mountains in order to get to this river"* - *"his hat his hat did not fall off his mouth"* - *"I found the beauty in his craft I found the beauty in him working"* - *"I need to find the beauty in a horrible moment"* - *"finding the beauty in this routine of everyday life"* - *"It's been an absolute dream"*