JAY Miao could have become a typical Shanghai white-collar employee in the advertising industry.

　　But an assignment in Australia changed his attitude towards life and work. He decided to take a long vacation down there, quitting his job as a cameraman, work for which he had no passion.

　　He took part in a system called WWOOF (Willing Workers on Organic Farms), which enables poor travellers to stay in locals' homes and earn their living by working on the farm.

　　Miao enjoyed the programme and he met a man of his age named Jonah while working for a hippie family. Jonah was a painter's model and Miao at the time was working on a project to turn a former cheese factorysintosa home.

　　Jonah invited Miao to his home and told him stories about the sea, the winds, the tides and the lonely beach.

　　There was not much work and Miao was there to share Jonah's sadness over a broken relationship - Jonah's girlfriend Josie was about to move out with her two children.

　　Miao also helped Josie to paint the walls and fix the floor of her new home, 10 minutes away from Jonah's.

　　They never stopped talking - about reality, relationships and sex - while sitting under the star-covered skies above the Australian state of Victoria.

　　Miao took pictures of Jonah and the family in a casual mode, without artifical lighting, presenting a tranquil and sentimental atmosphere. Miao named the series, "On the Road to Jonah's", which now goes on exhibition in the Origin Gallery.

　　Another series from the WWOOF programme will also be shown, all shot from car windows. The viewpoint is novel, but limited.

　　Miao started out in photography as a college sophomore. He also took pictures of Shanghai but only displayed them in college.

　　"I hope to show my pictures about Shanghai someday, maybe also in this gallery," he said.