Hey, I am SUSAN. In fact, I have another name, Yeeezh, which is my photographic nickname. I want to tell you about the story of me and photography, because it occupies most of my life and has a deep influence on me.
I grew up in a family full of artistic atmosphere. My grandfather likes photography very much. He bought a seagull film camera for 87 yuan in the age when the rich people did not fill their stomachs. At that time, the family’s monthly salary was only 30 yuan. That camera recorded lots of happy family time. Although they are black and white photo, it was very precious. Later in a summer vacation of elementary school, I went to Wuhan Botanical Garden with my parents. I took two lotus photos taken with my family’s card camera and won the first prize in the school’s photography competition. My mother joked that I was very talented in photography. While as the high school life was very nervous, I rarely had the opportunity to pick up the camera to record life, so I did not deliberately cultivate this hobby.
It was until the university that I really started to get in touch with professional photography, it also opened a door in my life. Before the sophomore class, I have never studied photography systematically. Every time I turned on the camera’s fully automatic button to press the shutter until teacher explained it carefully. I started to consciously learn what is the aperture, what is the shutter. Photography sucked me in with a powerful magic. When I found out that under my manual adjustment, the camera finder frame can appear different, once I arbitrarily adjust one of the parameters, the photos will be different, I think it is incredible, marveling at this fascinating film technology.
So I began to bring photography into my life, which greatly changed my lifestyle. I like traveling with my lovely camera. I used to go to a place to travel just remembered the beautiful moments with my eyes, but with the camera, every trip I took can be recorded. I appreciate the beautiful scenery of nature, climbing mountains to watch the sunrise, admiring the sunset by the sea which I feel very romantic! Last month, I went to a mountain in Zhuhai with my friends. We put a tent under the windmill to see the Milky Way and shoot the stars. The light pollution in the city is too serious, so it’s difficult to see the stars. Only in the inaccessible villages and the top of the mountain can we have a chance to admire the beautiful night sky. We drove to the top with a large pack of photographic equipment, chose the best location to watch the stars, supported the tents, prepared the equipment, and waited for the galaxy to rise from the skyline. At that time, the night sky was already starry. I have never seen so many stars. But suddenly, a large cloud floated from a distance. My heart began tight, because the galaxy will only appear when the weather is good. The sky has gradually been shrouded in fog. We had konwn that we will not see the galaxy, but I still have a glimmer of hope. After waiting for two hours, when everyone was ready to go back to the tent to sleep, suddenly a meteor crossed the sky. Everyone exclaimed! People made a wish against the pop. Although the galaxy was not appeared this time, it is enough to see the stars and the meteors that have been quietly crossed.
I also like to record humanities and capture the moments on the street. Street photography doesn’t require heavy lenses and tripods, just a mobile phone or a card camera is enough. Every time I go out, I will always carry a pocket-sized camera in my bag. As soon as I find an interesting moment, I can quickly pull out the shutter. This makes me pay more attention to the beauty of life. Walking on the streets in old Guangzhou city, shuttle between the cart and the water truck, smell the dry goods came from the alley. The lazy people are in a variety of ways, some of them chatted together, and some slept on the loungers on the street leisurely.
I like to visit the market as well, which is full of market atmosphere. The grandmother bargained along the meat case. The fish hawker stunned the fish with a stick. The old man who sold the tofu pulled a plastic bag and carefully put the tofu into it. These are all in my shot and I think this is life.
Last week I went to Guangzhou and Hong Kong and filmed two sets of black and white themes photo. One is behind the red carpet for the awards ceremony, and the other is the crowd on the Guangzhou subway. I want to share it with you, because I think black and white photos can mostly express moods, and they are the silent languages. This is a group of awards ceremony, the movie stars walked over the red carpet, and the photographers captured their beauty records. In fact, the protagonist is a photographer. I want to tell you that behind a beautiful photo, it is actually a group of people with long guns and short guns who are shooting in the competition. Another group of subway photos, profoundly recorded the daily life of people who are now tied up by the mobile phones. On the subway, everyone looked at the mobile phone which formed a beautiful landscape.
I don’t know how to walk my way in the future, but I know that photography will always accompany me. She brings me strength and let me learn to be grateful.
Yeeezh 