Finding the extraordinary in the everyday.

Adam Tesdale is a lifelong educator and self-taught photographer whose work bridges the quiet charm of England’s Cotswolds and the pulsating energy of modern China. For over two decades, he has framed the world through dual lenses: one nurturing curiosity in the classroom, the other immortalizing fleeting moments of beauty and transformation.

In 2000, Adam traded the honey-stone villages and frost-tipped lanes of Castle Comb for the unknown—a teaching post in Nantong China, a second-tier city and a nation on the cusp of a massive metamorphosis. What began as a year-long adventure became a 20-year odyssey. Armed with a simple 35mm camera, he documented a country hurtling towards the future while clinging to its past.

Though Shanghai’s Art Deco towers and hypermodern sprawl are a world away from Cotswold stone cottages, Adam’s roots remain his compass. The deliberate craft of a dry stone wall, the soft glow of a sunrise over rolling hills—these principles infuse his work, even amid China’s relentless innovation.

Adam’s photography is a conversation between stillness and motion. Whether framing Abu Dhabi’s call to prayer echoing like a desert lullaby or the vibrant chaos of the souks, his images invite viewers to linger. His passion for drone photography enabled him to capture dizzying cityscapes and mist-shrouded valleys with equal artistry, revealing patterns and stories invisible from the ground.

Now firmly rooted in Shanghai Adam finds inspiration in the interplay of cultures. “The Cotswolds taught me to see stillness,” he reflects. “China taught me to chase light—the way it dances on a temple roof or fractures through a smoggy sky. Every photo is a lesson in observation, a bridge between worlds.”