I travelled with my camera across the North American continent, the Caribbean islands, the Continental Europe, and the British Isles. I used to capture the well preserved cultures as a curious kid. My next explorations will be in Asia and Africa, capturing what I identify or predict would be the soon-to-be-lost cultures there as a photojournalist.

Despite the fact that I get inspirations from the work of Edward Burtynsky and Sally Mann, I am a small format advocate, an analogue devotee, and a 2.39:1 aficionado. Some of my photos on this website were published in National Geographic Traveler. Cameras that I used to take these photos include a Rollei 35S (w/ Rollei 40mm f2.8 HFT Sonnar), a Hasselblad 503CW (w/ Carl Zeiss 80mm f2.8 CFE Planar), and a Sony RX1R (w/ Carl Zeiss 35mm f2.0 Sonnar). I have a soft spot for the classic Sonnar lenses. I mainly use a Carl Zeiss 50mm f1.5 C Sonnar on my Leica M3.

One of my favourite quotes is by Marcel Proust, "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.", which also inspires me in my research at UToronto, Stanford and Caltech.

Currently I live in Pasadena, California.

The name of this photo blog was renamed lux umbre since late 2022, as an ode to all the light and shadows that inspired me and fellow photographers.

Contact: i AT chenxiqian.com