A moment exultation in East Turkestan captured by David Degner (© IncendiaryImage.com, August 6, 2008)

“This Flash file doesn’t seem to be working.  :(  I miss Kashgar.”  So went the cryptic comment on a recent photopost by Ben depicting a cattle slaughter in East Turkestan.  Curious, I set about tracking down the person behind the comment, who only went by the name “Photojournalist.”  I soon discovered the remarkably talented David Degner.

I studied photojournalism and philosophy in college, had a few newspaper photographer internships, then I bought a plane ticket to China to check out the Uighurs. A few months later I ended up in Sudan, the visa ran out, and now I’m back in the US doing freelance editorial work and commercial work.

The photographs are incredible, not only because they demonstrate remarkable raw talent, but because of the manner in which Degner is able to candidly capture the poignancy and restlessness of the Uighurs.  You can follow his journey through the region last year in these seven short posts on his blog:

• 13/03/2008: Descartes invented geometry…
• 13/04/2008: Fear in Xinjiang
• 23/05/2008: Crazy Few Days and Mao from East to West (photos)
• 31/05/2008: Meaningless photo
• 12/07/2008: Old note that is now safe to post
• 06/08/2008: Quick edit from China (photos)