Ju Shen Lee takes‘Real . Life . Photos’ of resourceful people doing remarkable things in remote regions. She comprehensively chronicles the vigour and vitality of their readily seen and rarely seen daily lives in the arc of a day. Her international life experiences, earth sciences studies, and global environmental and sustainability management career, give her an empathetic eye for the synergy and symbiosis of nature, life, and culture. Her photographs open hearts and minds to how these people work closely together to balance their economic priorities in an environmentally sustainable, socially responsible, and ecologically regenerative manner. With her beautiful ‘Real . Life . Photos’ of people, nature, and landscapes, she crafts gorgeous photo stories with creative composition, compelling content, and cultural context.
Her photography is more than a visual bridge between the subject and the viewer. It is also a cultural bridge to different worlds. By going beyond the visual feast of enigmatic people in exotic regions, her photographs immerse the other senses in the underlying sounds, aromas, flavours, and textures. Her photography is also a historical bridge for future generations to savour and study the past real life at these locations before the inevitable and irreversible changes due to technology and time. Consequently, her photography connects people from different cultures living in different worlds in different times.
Ju Shen has undertaken photo expeditions to Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Preparations for these 1-2 month expeditions include detailed research on all aspects of the geography, nature, and architecture at these locations, and the history, culture, and livelihoods of the people there. She also consults local experts for their extensive expertise and experience. This knowledge, access, and time enable her to uniquely photograph and holistically chronicle both the readily seen and rarely seen daily lives of the people and communities there.
Her‘Real . Life . Photos’ support her vision to motivate individuals and organizations to actively participate in the development, growth, and prosperity of these people, as they strive to survive, despite the constraints and challenges of climate and geography. In line with this, her mission is to document, showcase and promote the positive, constructive, synergistic, and symbiotic interactions between people and nature, geography and occupations, and enterprise and communities. Her goal is to achieve this with her photographs, presentations, and publications.
Many of Ju Shen’s photographs and photo-documentaries have been shortlisted for, and a number have won, international awards sponsored by prestigious institutions, including the Asia-Europe Foundation (2016), Beau Monde Traveler (2020), Royal Geographical Society (2021 and 2023), the International Photography Awards (2023), the Food Photography Awards (2023), and the Sony World Photography Awards (2024). She has delivered lectures to international audiences at the Royal Geographical Society (Hong Kong and Singapore Branches), and the United World Colleges worldwide. Ju Shen has published several photo books, including Luang Prabang - Life & Prayer (2018), Luang Prabang - The Monks (2019), Inle Lake - Ingenious Lives (2020), Annapurna - Challenging Lives (2023), Chitwan - Mahouts & Elephants (2024), and Gal Oya - Life & Water (2025).
Ultimately, Ju Shen’s‘Real . Life . Photos’ open the aperture and provide exposure to rarely seen people, cultures, and worlds!
