Photographer Stefen Chow on Keeping Calm Amid Troubling Times and Canceled Assignments

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As a former mountaineer who summitted Everest, Stefen Chow is accustomed to challenge and hardship. The year 2020 started with nothing but promise for this Beijing-based photographer and director. But, as he set off with his wife and children to celebrate the Chinese New Year with extended family in Malaysia and Singapore, little did he know that both his planned assignments and scheduled itinerary would soon evaporate.

After following Chow’s recent social media posts, it seemed that his story would provide others with some sound advice and a means for hope amid troubling times. In the following Q&A, Chow offers insights for maintaining a positive attitude while juggling uncertainty and sudden change, keeping children calm when addressing serious concerns, surviving isolation with others in tight quarters, and coming through the other side to get life back on track.

Photographs © Stefen Chow

Jill Waterman: Let’s start at the beginning of 2020. What was on the horizon for you at that time, both personally and professionally?

Stefen Chow: It was meant to be a very busy year. I was just about to take a break and rest for two weeks during the Chinese New Year, and work would start when I returned from my holidays in early February. I had commercial assignments lined up in at least three different cities and was in talks for even more. My wife and I also had The Poverty Line book being published in two languages, plus a solo exhibition was planned for the Arles Photography Festival in France this summer.

In 2019, I took 100 flights to four continents for various projects, and I was on back-to-back travel eight months of the year. I expected 2020 to be the same or busier.

A New Year card featuring Chow and his family, which he sent out days before the seriousness of COVID-19 really hit.
A New Year card featuring Chow and his family, which he sent out days before the seriousness of COVID-19 really hit

What kind of plans and projects did your wife and children have in store at the beginning of 2020?

My children are usually busy at school and with curricular activities. My wife holds a job and the first half of the year is always busy. After the Chinese New Year, it is full steam ahead with work for everyone.

You and your family left Beijing in late January to spend the Lunar New Year holidays with your family in Malaysia. When you left China, did the thought ever cross your mind that you would be leaving on an extended trip?

No, I left Beijing on January 21, and, as I recall, we were aware of the coronavirus but didn’t think it was a big problem. I wore a mask on the plane out of caution, but only 10 percent of the other passengers were also wearing masks. When my wife and children left Beijing on January 23, a mere two days later, the news about the situation had escalated, and we knew it was serious by then. On her plane, everyone was wearing a mask.

Even then, we were secretly hoping that the virus situation would dissipate by the time our holidays were over. However, the situation in Beijing continued to escalate each day, and as we checked back on the news and our friends there, it seemed this situation was unprecedented.

Chow’s image from a campaign for China tech leader Alibaba.
Chow’s image from a campaign for China tech leader Alibaba

On February 12, you posted on Facebook that all of your commercial assignments were postponed or canceled for the next six months. How many projects did that represent?

I had about six projects that were quite confirmed. Based on my past experience, a lot more projects would also fall into place once everyone started work after the New Year break. All signs were pointing toward a very busy year.

When you first received news about these cancellations/postponements, what kind of correspondence did you have with your clients?

To be honest, we were all shell-shocked. My clients and I had never experienced anything like this, and we hardly spoke because we saw the writing on the wall. How can you talk about a production shoot when people are dying under mysterious circumstances in the very country you’re working in? Moreover, production shoots were banned and deemed illegal in China when the country started lockdown measures. It is all very scary and understandable.

An architectural view of the Shanghai Disney Resort, commissioned by the New York─based Grimshaw Architects.
An architectural view of the Shanghai Disney Resort, commissioned by the New York─based Grimshaw Architects

Was there much work required on your part to put a halt to pre-production arrangements that had already been made?

Not much. By the time matters started getting really serious, we were still one or two days from the start of the 10-day holidays. Clients usually hold their decisions until the last minute, and we were not expected to do pre-production up to that point, but just to line up our contacts and resources in time for when the confirmation would occur.

Were there any immediate financial consequences to this work stoppage?

When the virus situation became really serious, all our clients held back their confirmations because it suddenly seemed that things were going to be bad. Real bad. As such, no confirmations were signed so, from a financial standpoint, I could not retrieve any fees. I basically lost everything that I stood to make on every assignment.

Image from Chow’s 14-country campaign showing happy multi-generational families around the world, commissioned by the French firm Denis Group.
Image from Chow’s 14-country campaign showing happy multi-generational families around the world, commissioned by the French firm Denis Group

Did you take any proactive measures to work on contingency plans, or put other measures in place to ensure the projects would happen at some future date?

Yes, I am in constant communication with my clients, but to be honest, as the situation is so unexpected, the economic fallout from this is going to be larger than me. By the time this virus situation goes away, a lot of small and medium sized enterprises will have gone bust, large companies will require bailouts, and a lot of workers will be let go. At this moment, I need to just take one step at a time, keep the communication professional and amicable, and hope for the best. Being Zen isn’t a remedy, but it isn’t a bad attitude to have in the face of all this.

Impressionistic view of the Beijing office of German Agency Serviceplan.
Impressionistic view of the Beijing office of German Agency Serviceplan

When were you initially supposed to return to Beijing, and when did you make the decision to delay that return?

I was due to return to Beijing on February 4. I ended up returning on March 4, a full month later. I changed flights and plans four times due to the changing situation back in China.

How did you explain this change of plans to your children, and at what point did they become aware of the COVID-19 pandemic?

I explained things to them as plainly as I could. They are young (5 and 7 years old), but they also understand when the situation is serious. They knew that they wouldn’t go back to school for a while. They knew it quite early on, when they saw everyone wearing masks.

A selfie of Chow and his family in transit, the day they flew back to Beijing.
A selfie of Chow and his family in transit, the day they flew back to Beijing

What went into your plans to travel from Malaysia to Singapore, and to stay there for an extended period?

We had planned to go to Singapore anyway, as my wife’s family is there. Early on, we re-booked our flight and flew over.

How long did you stay in Singapore, and what kind of living situation(s) did you have there?

We stayed five weeks in Singapore. The first week, my wife and children stayed with her brother and I stayed in a capsule hostel, as I tend to arrange budget accommodations when I am on my personal expense. When we realized the situation was getting worse, I moved into a vacant apartment with my wife and children. It was comfortable yet minimal (we had little furniture). However, we were in a strange limbo as it didn’t feel like home, and we felt so helpless just waiting around Singapore. Although it was the place I grew up in, I have been living and working in Beijing for the past 12 years. Singapore felt strange and familiar at the same time.

Image from a campaign on the awareness of food safety standards in China, commissioned by Greenpeace International.
Image from a campaign on the awareness of food safety standards in China, commissioned by Greenpeace International

How did you explain/talk about COVID-19 and the circumstances that began unfolding across the world with your children?

I explained that everyone was tense about germs, and how it’s possible to contract an illness just by touching something that is dirty, or how someone can pass these germs to you. In Singapore, the leaders explained the situation clearly and emphasized there was no reason to be alarmed. My children understood the seriousness, but they were not afraid. They were aware they had to clean their hands more often and wear their face masks when needed, but they would otherwise lead life as normally as possible.

An image from Chow and Linn’s project, “The Poverty Line,” which depicts the daily food choices a poor person has in different countries around the world.
An image from Chow and Linn’s project, “The Poverty Line,” which depicts the daily food choices a poor person has in different countries around the world

You and your wife have a collaborative art practice called Chow and Lin. Did the cancelation of your assignments result in any new art projects or planning for future presentations or exhibits of your completed collaborations? If so, please elaborate on how, when, and how much time you spent working on this, either while in Singapore or after returning to Beijing.

Yes, in our lifetime, we have witnessed what happens when a global tipping point tips over. The ramifications are huge. During this time, we have spoken a lot about this subject, and we have also looked through our own research and the work we’ve compiled over the past 10 years. We have been working on many different artistic pieces that speak to this topic, and we are planning at least three different bodies/lines of work from this. We discussed a lot of these ideas in Singapore, but we have only started the production since moving back to Beijing.

It is a powerful realization that the work you have made yesterday and today can be relevant today, tomorrow, and for a much longer time.

Chow speaks at an advertising conference with images from Chow and Lin’s work, “Equivalence—The Ecological Footprint of Fish” projected behind.
Chow speaks at an advertising conference with images from Chow and Lin’s work, “Equivalence—The Ecological Footprint of Fish” projected behind.

What made you finally decide to return to Beijing? Did you have any difficulties in making travel arrangements, or did you encounter any issues in transit? Did your children display any hesitancy or concerns about making this trip?

We always wanted to return as soon as we could, but I have two young children and I wanted to make sure it was safe for them. At the first point when I felt confident it would be safe, we made our way back. It wasn’t difficult, but I had to juggle some flights, because we weren’t comfortable transiting through another city on return to Beijing, so we had to rebook ourselves on a direct flight. My children had no concerns. I find that children are a mirror of their parents’ emotions and behavior. If we are calm and confident, they are, too.

Little Chow, 6, displays a page of her math calculations. Chow and his wife have home schooled both of their children for nearly two months by giving them regular work assignments.
Little Chow, 6, displays a page of her math calculations. Chow and his wife have home-schooled both of their children for nearly two months by giving them regular work assignments.

Once you were back in Beijing, you and your family had to do a 14-day quarantine in your apartment. What is the size of your living space, and how did your children react to being cooped up inside for an extended period?

Our living space is small. It is about 800 square feet spread over two floors, and it comes with two relatively small bedrooms and no living room. We have a lovely courtyard, but since we have neighbors who share the common space, we were not allowed to use the courtyard during the 14-day quarantine.

My children adapted really well, and my wife did, too. This was not the case for me. I was bored, restless, and frustrated at regular time periods.

Family and friends gather in the Chows’ Beijing courtyard to celebrate his daughter, Little Chow’s, sixth birthday, before anyone had ever heard of the term “social distancing.”
Family and friends gather in the Chows’ Beijing courtyard to celebrate his daughter, Little Chow’s, sixth birthday, before anyone had ever heard of the term “social distancing.”

Were there any special activities that you planned for your children to keep them occupied and out of your hair during this time?

Yes, they were already out of school for more than a month by then, so we had to home-school them. We started a timetable for them, and got them to follow a routine, do their homework and their chores while also trying to adjust our lives to the new realities that surrounded us. It wasn’t easy. My children are rather manageable, but they did get on our nerves as well. We had to manage our patience and tolerance levels.

Working in Singapore without a fixed base meant that Chow and his family were everywhere. Pictured here, Chow’s wife concentrates on her laptop in an IKEA café with the children at her side.
Working in Singapore without a fixed base meant that Chow and his family were everywhere. Pictured here, Chow’s wife concentrates on her laptop in an IKEA café with the children at her side.

While it’s clear that you have very well behaved and well-socialized children, did their energy levels or childish behaviors ever become an issue during your quarantine period, or during your sojourn in Singapore? If so, how did you address this?

They are naughty at times, but at an acceptable level. They do not misbehave out of the blue. Any recent issues were more a matter of my wife or I becoming frustrated, since we were more aware of the seriousness of the situation. But, if anyone was stressed and irritable during this period, it was I more than them.

The Chow and Lin project “Homeless” on view at the National University of Singapore.
The Chow and Lin project “Homeless” on view at the National University of Singapore

Were there any new or surprising discoveries you made about your wife and/or children during this period of forced isolation and togetherness as a family unit?

My wife has always been amazing, and she is a very supportive partner. I have been grateful to have her by my side during this time. My children are smart, adaptable, and understanding kids. I am really proud of them, too. All in, I am very blessed to have my family to help as we manage this crisis together.

What was the first thing you did once your quarantine period ended? Did you find that your state of mind differed at all from when doing the same thing before the pandemic?

The day Chow was released from quarantine, he ran seven miles to his favorite pub for a beer.
The day Chow was released from quarantine, he ran seven miles to his favorite pub for a beer.

The morning we were released from quarantine, I brought my children out for a walk. It was such a magical feeling, being able to walk freely. You appreciate the freedom after it is taken from you, even though it was only for two weeks. That same evening I also took a long run and stopped for a beer at my favorite pub. I deserved it.

At this point in time, are any of your previously arranged assignments getting back on track, or have you received news of any new assignments?

Maybe. There is a lot of talk, but things are coming back very slowly. Returning to Beijing was probably the right decision since China is getting back on track faster than other countries at present. One of my assignments has been rescheduled for the end of April. We just signed the contract. Fingers crossed.

Chow’s portrait of one of the top plant genome scientists Gao Caixia, commissioned by Science Magazine.
Chow’s portrait of one of the top plant genome scientists Gao Caixia, commissioned by Science magazine

Do you have any insights for other independent photographers or creatives about dealing with the practical, emotional, and financial issues related to work disruptions or cancellations, and about how to be productive and positive in the face of these uncertain times?

Staying positive is key. It is also helpful to take the chance to sort through your website(s), redo your portfolio(s), and think of personal projects you can do during this period. We are creative people, so we should be able to come up with interesting ideas and concepts under restrictions. Again, staying positive is key.

This is not the end of the world, and there are people out there who have it much worse. With that in mind, it is a good time to reflect on our own lives, and our purpose during these monumental times.

Chow’s 4-year-old son, Littler Chow, loves food, especially when it’s a simple noodle recipe cooked by his mother.
Chow’s 4-year-old son, Littler Chow, loves food, especially when it’s a simple noodle recipe cooked by his mother.

Do you have any recommendations for parents about keeping their children occupied, and alleviating their concerns about all the unknowns associated with this global pandemic?

Follow the guidelines from trusted scientific sources such as the WHO, be informed, and don’t get too caught up in social media and fear mongering. Translate that knowledge and calm to your children. Give them clear instructions on what to do, and what not to do, and, above all, shower them with love during this difficult period. You will bond better, and your children will love you more for it.

When Chow climbed Mount Everest in 2005, photography was merely a hobby. Pictured here, Everest base camp at night.
When Chow climbed Mount Everest in 2005, photography was merely a hobby. Pictured here is the Everest base camp at night.

Has your past training and your experiences as a mountaineer been of any benefit in helping you deal with the uncertainty and stress of recent events?
I have been trained to handle crisis and uncertainty, and also to sit around for extended periods of time. So yes, the mentality of being a mountaineer does help in situations like this. Except that in the mountains, you choose to suffer, and to subject yourself to risks, since the peak and the journey is something you yearn for. The current global pandemic isn’t something we asked for, but I very much look forward to the day when it is truly over.

For details about Stefen Chow’s solo adventures with his children, read our feature story Stefen Chow Takes Fatherhood on the Road. To learn more about Chow and his work, visit his commercial website, the website for Chow and Lin, and follow him on Instagram and Facebook.

Do you have a survival story to share from the recent pandemic or other difficult life experiences? Tell us about it in the Comments below!

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