Bending and rising in spectacular fashion , these stunning pictures capture the paddy fields of south east Asia and the arduous life of the farmers who cultivate them . In a photo album that spans over China , Thailand , Vietnam , Laos and Cambodia , extraordinary images portray the crop 's full cycle from the primitive sowing of seeds to the distribution of millions of tonnes for consumption . The pictures were taken by professional photographer Scott Gable , 39 , who spent four months travelling across the region documenting the labour and threadbare equipment used to harvest the carbohydrate-rich food . Scroll down for video . Majestic : A farmer wades through the mud with a stick as late morning rain falls on top of Dragonsbone terraces in Longsheng County , China . Rice is a staple food for more than one-half the world 's population , but for many consumers , its origin remains somewhat of a mystery . The crop accounts for one fifth of all calories consumed by humans and 87 per cent of it is produced in Asia . It is also the thirstiest crop there is - according to the UN , farmers need at least 2,000 litres of water to make one kilogram of rice . Mr Gable said he was determined to capture every stage of production with his Rice Project - from the planting to the harvesting all the way down to the shipping of the food . After acquiring some contacts from experts at Cornell University in New York and conducting his own research , he left for China last May and spent the next four months traveling . He said : 'The images were taken over a four month period from April to July last year across Asia . I visited China , Thailand , Vietnam , Laos and Cambodia as part of my Rice Project . Video courtesy of www.scottgable.com . Breathtaking : A paddy field worker toils on the beautiful landscape of Dragonsbone terraces in Longsheng County , China . Farmers ' procession : A rice planting festival parade takes place near the village of Pingan in Guangxi Province , China . 'The project is one part of a larger three part project on global food staples - rice , corn and wheat . I am currently in the process of shooting the corn segment . 'The industrialisation of our food and mono-culture food staples have interested me for some time so that 's probably what inspired me to do this project . ' I shot the whole project using a Canon SLR and GoPros . The actual shooting took four months and then post production took another four more months . 'The reaction to my work has been incredibly positive - I was able to secure a solo gallery show and create quite a bit of interest online which has been great . ' Family crop : A Hani woman in traditional clothing sits on top of her family 's rice store in Yunnan Province , China . Arduous labour : Employees of Taiwan 's state-run rice experimental station are pictured beating rice husks by hand as the sun shines on them . Mr Gable spent months learning Mandarin Chinese in preparation for his trip , but the language barrier was still his greatest challenge . In an interview on photographic blog Slate , he added : ' I had enough Chinese that I could get around in the big cities , but once I got into the highlands or mountains they do n't speak Mandarin . 'There are so many different languages in China . That was very difficult . There 's no iPhone translation for these dialects . ' Mr Gable is already working on a new related project documenting corn production and after that , he plans to do a similar investigation of wheat . The three projects together form part of his mission to inspire people to think about food and its origins in an enlightened way . A world away from modern life : A Hani farmer is pictured using hand tools to ready a terrace for planting rice in China's Yunnan Province . Muddy work : A solitary famer wearing a traditoinal Asian conical hat labours in a paddy field in lowland southern China . Tough life : An elderly Chinese farmer is seen carrying stacks of rice shoots to be planted in a field . Manufacturing process : A rice harvester dumps raw rice into a catch vehicle in Taitung , Taiwan , where more modern equipment is utilised . Primitive : A farmer ploughs a field using a bull in southern China - using a technique introduced thousands of years ago . Way of life : A Guangxi province highlands farmer clears a paddy field as the sun sets in southern China . Prepared for distribution : A worker at a Taiwanese rice-production facility near Fuli , Taiwan stands in front of giant sacks of the crop . The photographer was determined to capture every stage of rice production from the planting and harvesting all the way down to the shipping . Rice Project : Scott Gable said he was determined to capture every stage of production from the planting and harvesting to the shipping .
The spectacular photographs were taken at rice fields in India , India , Vietnam , Laos and Cambodia . Photographer Scott Gable spent four days travelling region to document the process of harvesting the crop . Rice accounts for one fifth of all calories consumed by farmers but rice is often still cultivated in primitive way .