Jord Hammond's photo shows farmers crossing a bridge with their animals in the Xiandu scenic area of Jinyun county, East China's Zhejiang province. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Perfect composition, organized chaos and bright, vibrant colors are what make viewers decide to follow British travel photographer Jord Hammond's Instagram account (@jordhammond) in the first few seconds.
Scrolling through the potpourri of appealing scenes he's captured from around the globe, with Asian countries in his cross-hairs, one can't help but gleefully get glued to his page.
Amazingly, the 25-year-old travel influencer is quite a novice in photography, as marketing and advertising was his major at university.
Despite that, the gifted photographer has already distinguished himself from others in the industry with his unique voice; meanwhile, his visually stimulating feed has kept sparking wanderlust in his viewers, who'd follow his steps to places where his shots were taken.
Grandpa Huang, the oldest of the cormorant fishermen living in Xingping village of Yangsuo county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, is the focus of this Jord Hammond photo. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
China, where his passion for photography blossomed
With 449,000 fans and counting, Hammond's ascent to prominence surprisingly traces back to his one-year stint in Southwest China's Chongqing back in 2015.
In Chongqing, a city the Dover-born man calls his second home, Hammond worked as an English teacher, and on his days off and holidays, he explored China with his significant other, Sophia Pope.
To capture the diverse and beautiful landscapes in China that he fell in love with, the Briton was soon bitten by the photography bug and began instagramming his fine shots.
With a passion for scouting the gems in China's landscapes, the duo has visited vast swaths of the country, with their footsteps left in as many as 23 provinces to date.
Since realizing there was a huge interest in China photography on social media, the Briton decided to finish working at his school until his year contract was up and started to develop his photography skills, Hammond told China Daily Website in an exclusive interview.
A screenshot of a Jord Hammond Instagram post features a photo and a short story written beside it(Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
China's beauty through his lens
Through his lens, China's landscapes, a mix of the modern and the traditional, are captured at their finest for the world to marvel at.
From the meandering Great Wall in Beijing, to the solitary temple atop the mist-enveloped Mount Fanjingshan in Southwest China's Guizhou and the spectacular Hani rice terraces in Yunnan, every time the young photographer presses the shutter, those sights are creatively captured and turned into visual works that take viewers' breaths away.
With a good eye for the magical palette in nature, Hammond is essentially a painter armed with a camera, which is reflected in most of his China photographs.
Tinged with a sense of antiquity and surrealism, his pictures of East China's Yangjiaxi old town and the Xiandu scenic area bear strong resemblance to ancient Chinese ink and wash paintings, creating a touch of mystery and otherworldliness.
Jord Hammond's photo shows a man rowing a boat on the Tuojiang River against a backdrop of buildings in Fenghuang county, Central China's Hunan province. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
A style of his own
Apart from being commended for his masterful use of the rule of thirds and creative angles, the visual artist's ingenious choice of color has attracted many discerning Youtubers to study his exceptional editing skills.
Hammond has gradually mastered his distinctive color palette. For one thing, he wants his work to be instantly recognized through his choice of color; for another, by sharing a colorful world through photography, he wants to inspire people to travel or to grab what they are truly passionate about with both hands.
While his marvelous works keep pulling in huge traffic to his Instagram page, the short stories he posts beside each of his pictures are another key element to keep his viewers hooked.
"I think it's so important not just to be a photographer but a storyteller, particularly in the travel photography realm. Beautiful photos are great, but if you can convey a story behind the photo to make the viewer feel something when looking at the photo, I think this is much more valuable," Hammond said.
Story content varies from picture to picture. Be it an episode of the shooting process, or sometimes a description ending with a question that sparks interaction, each story aims to create some closeness between the viewer and the remote scene, as well as stick in viewers' minds along with the image itself.
A Miao lady in Fenghuang county, Central China's Hunan province is the subject of this Jord Hammond photo. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
The other side of his glamour
Talent is the key to Hammond's marvelous photos, but there is much more to it than meets the eye; hard work is another major ingredient that makes him stand out in the arena of travel photography.
Before visiting most of the places he shoots, Hammond has to research intensively to get an idea of the location, the angles of the photos, the weather and other aspects. If visiting a place for the first time, he often gets up early to scout the location and figure out what or how he wants to shoot, he said.
The rising Instagram star also reveals in his FAQ page that he works 365 days a year and sometimes up to 16 hours a day. When traveling, he has to stay in cheap hotels to minimize spending.
In addition, he warns those who want to pursue a fruitful career in photography that they need to have the ability to function on four hours of sleep to make the most of the sunrise and sunset, as these times have the best light to shoot in.
Jord Hammond's photo shows farmers crossing a bridge with their animals in the Xiandu scenic area of Jinyun county, East China's Zhejiang province. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
On his way to make it bigger
Committed to growing his Instagram page with quality content, Hammond has made a name for himself in the industry since creating photos for the marketing campaigns of several big-name brands in the past few years.
Particularly fond of seeking off-the-beaten-path adventures, he and Sophia have visited 41 countries so far and keep heading to new places while revisiting some of their favorite countries.
Hammond said in the past year or two, they've focused on setting up their company but really hope to spend more time in China in the coming years.
"My goal over the next few years is to release a China photography book as I truly believe more people should visit China, as there is so much more to the country than the megacities and smog that a lot of Western media outlets portray," he answered when asked about his upcoming projects.
In this Jord Hammond photo, a mountain path and its many stairs meander up to a solitary temple atop mist-enveloped Mount Fanjingshan in Tongren city, Southwest China's Guizhou province. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Cuiping Hill, or Wuzhi Hill in Yangshuo county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, and the surrounding area is portrayed in this Jord Hammond photo. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
This Jord Hammond photo shows a tulou, or an earthen house, in East China's Fujian province. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
A road snakes across the mountain landscape in this aerial view of Tianmen Mountain in Zhnagjiajie, Central China's Hunan province, by Jord Hammond. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
In a photograph taken from above by Jord Hammond, the Yuanyang Rice Terraces in Yuanyang county of Honghe prefecture, Southwest China's Yunnan province seem to be part of a colorful mosaic.(Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Skillful use of light and shadow creates this stunning photo by Jord Hammond of the Yuanyang Rice Terraces in Yuanyang county of Honghe prefecture, Southwest China's Yunnan province.(Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Two farmers lead an ox in Jord Hammond's photo of the Yangjiaxi scenic area of Puxia county, East China's Fujian province.(Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
In this Jord Hammond photograph, his significant other, Sophia, stands at the threshold of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
In this Jord Hammond photo, his significant other, Sophia, stands on the Great Wall in Beijing. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Rows of books on the shelves help illustrate the enormity of the Binhai Library in North China's Tianjin city in this photo taken by Jord Hammond. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Rows of books on the shelves help illustrate the enormity of the Binhai Library in North China's Tianjin city in this photo taken by Jord Hammond. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
