Elias, an award-winning photographer for Reuters, has been documenting China since 2005 and many of his China works can be seen in an exhibition, "Opening Act," hosted by ArtSea gallery.It's his "next big story," covering the two years from when he left Israel to document the vast cultural and economic changes in China."As opposed to Israel's stressful environment, where you are forced to stay alert to the rapidly changing and impossible-to-ignore events, in China I found myself perplexed by the question: how to capture daily news that is gradual, silent, multi-dimensional, both under and above the surface," the 36-year-old photographer says."Here, I am confronting the need to cover a diversified mix of new and old, rich and poor, traditionalist attitudes and the rush towards Western lifestyle and any other vibe of change in this very unique time in Chinese history," he says.Born in Jerusalem, Elias' fascination for photography began early on. "I started with a very simple Canon camera my father bought for me for my 14th birthday, and since then I have been engaged with photography, on that level or another, until today," he recalls.Elias pursued photography/art studies in Jerusalem for three years, then assisted a fashion photographer in Tel Aviv for a few months. "Then I decided I wanted to document the world outside and not to create my own world in the studio."This prompted him to join the Flash 90 agency in Jerusalem, work for a major newspaper and then for Reuters international news agency.Before moving to China, Elias worked predominantly on "the conflict," the Middle East Israeli-Arab conflict. Working in Israel, he covered numerous conflict situations, including suicide bombings (way too many, he says), army operations, funerals, anything related to the conflict.For his coverage and insightful point of view, Elias received first place in the 2003 US National Press Photographer's Association competition for spot news - one of the world's most prestigious awards. It shows police examining the blown-off head - with a surreally calm expression - of a Palestinian suicide bomber. Another photo, titled "Street War," was honored as well that year.In 2005 Elias' work documenting the evacuation of the Gaza Strip took first place in the Photo Essay of the British Press Photographers competition.His last assignment before leaving for China was the Israeli disengagement from Gaza at the end of 2005. He stayed for the final week in a tent "in the most hard-core settlement. I got closer to the people and documented their last moments before they were evacuated by Special Forces from the roof top of the synagogue."Working in a war zone that is your homeland creates a very difficult state of mind, he continues."At that point I felt I had enough and that I could not do it anymore without getting too much involved emotionally, so I started looking for a different place to move. "I was looking for a new big story, with a different level of stress, a different peaceful story," he says.The option of moving to China came up and after a while "I decided to go for it as a new adventure with the idea that I will have a new fresh challenge."Indeed, the China story and challenge did not disappoint, "though I have been facing a great difficulties at the beginning with language and cultural differences (that I still have sometimes). I guess that this is part of the beauty and attraction I have for this place," Elias says.Now, his main interest is China's economic and social development and how it affects daily life."I try to give individual pictures new fresh meaning by hanging them together in one space, taking them out of the original context and creating a new one as they are displayed together."My professional future, as my past, has no hard plans, but for sure, I will be around for the 2008 Olympics, after that, only God knows," he says.The exhibition opens on September 8-October 14 at 2/F, Bldg 9, 50 Moganshan Rd.