Evening Barber Shop: Haishan Chen Captures the Social Life of a Fishing Village
At the World Grand Prix Photography Awards 2026 Autumn Season, Haishan Chen received the Gold Award in Documentary & People Photography – Documentary Narratives for Evening Barber Shop. Photographed in a fishing village in Quanzhou, Fujian, the work observes the everyday intimacy of a local barber shop as a gathering place after dinner.
Part of a wider photographic series, the image explores the informal spaces in which community life unfolds, revealing how ordinary routines can become meaningful social rituals.
Interview
What is the story behind this award-winning photograph?
I took this photograph in a small fishing village in Quanzhou, Fujian, as part of a series. While walking there in the evening, I noticed villagers gathering in alleys and barber shops after dinner to talk, relax and spend time together. The barber shop was not merely a place for haircuts; it was also a distinctive social space in the village.
What creative or technical challenges did you encounter?
The main challenge was photographing a group of people in a crowded barber shop while keeping the spatial arrangement clear. I also wanted to preserve the subjects’ natural behaviour rather than interrupt the scene with my camera.
How do you balance technique with artistic expression?
I often work intuitively. Technical knowledge is important, but I use it as a tool to communicate what I sense in the moment.
What do you hope viewers take away from the photograph?
I hope viewers can feel what it was like to be there and gain a sense of an unfamiliar place through the atmosphere of this everyday encounter.
What role does photography play in today’s world?
For me, photography’s distinctive quality is its relationship with authenticity. Its ability to record the world with sincerity is what makes it valuable and sets it apart from other visual media.
Editor’s Note
Evening Barber Shop finds documentary significance in a modest social setting. Rather than pursuing spectacle, Haishan Chen observes the quiet rituals through which a community sustains its relationships.
The photograph’s strength lies in allowing the place and its inhabitants to speak for themselves. Its Gold Award recognises the value of attentive, unobtrusive observation and the human stories contained in ordinary life.
