We were up at 4am to meet with the fisherman at our arranged spot. The limestone karsts in the background along with the bamboo forest lining the banks of the river made for quite an impressive location to say the least. Cormorant fishing was once commonplace throughout China & Japan, especially here along the Lijiang river in Yangshuo. These days its use is limited, more often used to demonstrate ancient ways of life to visitors and tourists.

The technique involves tying cord around the cormorants’ necks, so that whilst they are able to catch fish they are unable to swallow the larger ones. The fisherman then scoop these fish from their beaks.

Here the fisherman prepares his fuel lantern by priming it, before hanging it on the bamboo raft and heading off downriver, casting a gentle golden light onto the water.

It was a hard photo to take (and process) as it was so dark; pushing the limits of my camera & lenses (wide open at f1.8, ISO 3200, hand-held at 1/15, manual focus). Also battling very foggy lenses due to the 96% humidity!