~ The Encouragement 一句鼓励 ~
Maybe you already know, I quit my life draining full-time job about two years ago to pursue a career in photography. It took me that long to take the leap, yea… But hey, it’s better late than never, no? I need to thank my good friend Angie’s (see her work here) encouragement from four years ago. She told me that she liked my pictures and I should become a photographer. I wasn’t sure about it back then but now I can announce that I’m chasing my dream at full speed (read: at my own full speed, not Gaotie full speed :p)!
你可能已经知道，大概两年前我辞去了一份让我身心麻木的全职工作，原因是为了追求自己的摄影梦。是呀，我也觉得怎么花了那么长时间才下定决心辞职的。但是，迟做总比没做好，不是么？我还得感谢好友 Angie（点 这里 看看她的作品）四年前的一句鼓励，当时她说我拍的照片挺不错的，可以考虑做个摄影师。当时我还不确定，那么现在呢，我终于可以宣布正在全速追求自己的摄影梦了（作者按：是我自己的全速，不是高铁全速哈 :p）！
~ Being Discreet 我要隐形 ~
Even though I don’t mind taking my work camera out to shoot or to test new lenses, I do find it heavy and cumbersome in most situations, especially when I need to be more discreet. That’s when I decided to get a smaller mirrorless to bring along with me every day, well almost every day. Someday, I think to myself, I’d like to show my street photography somewhere!
尽管我不介意带上工作用的相机出去拍拍照啊或者是试试新镜头之类的，但大多数情况就觉得比较笨重，特别是需要我比较“隐形”的时候。那时候我就决定要一个每天（几乎每天）都能随身携带且小巧玲珑的无反相机。在不久的将来呵，自己信誓旦旦地想，一定要在哪里展出自己街头摄影的作品！
~ The Invitation 受邀展出 ~
That day has come faster than I thought! Fast forward almost a year later after I got a second-hand Fuji x100, I got invited to display my photos at Egg, a very cute local café where I also bring my food tour guests to stop for some caffeine. Yes, I lead food tours as well. Photography gears aren’t cheap, you know! And thanks to the invitation, I’ve jumpstarted the process of printing my photos and curated my very first personal exhibition! Though small, it’s still quite challenging.
实际上这个不久的“将来”来的要比我想象中的快好多！时间快进到大概在我买了台二手的富士 x100 的一年后，我受邀在当地一家叫做 Egg 小巧玲珑的咖啡馆里展出自己的照片。其实这家咖啡馆也是自己常常带美食团的客人来打卡的地方。对的，我有时间也带带美食团。你懂的，搞摄影烧钱嘛！感恩这次邀请，让自己提前进入照片打印的范畴以及第一次个展的策展领域！尽管是小型展览，但还是比较有挑战性的。
~ The Selection 再三选片 ~
The most challenging part was to pick which photos to display and I could only pick six. I definitely wanted to show beautiful images, but I felt that if they didn’t connect well with each other, the message wasn’t going to be strong enough. So after some careful selecting, here are the final ones:
最具挑战的还是图片的挑选了，而且还只能展出六张照片。我当然想展出好看的图片啦，但是我觉得如果照片之间不能够很好的联系在一起，所要传达的信息就没有预想的那么明确了。经过再三考虑挑选，以下是我的最终选图：
~ PHOTOGRAPH 照片 1 ~
I chose this one as the very first one to display because I think it’s such a contrast between the cigarette in his mouth and the message he wrote – “Fulfill Our Chinese Dream, Raise the Next Generation with Virtue.” A nice opening for the exhibition. – Suzhou Creek, Shanghai
我选择这张作为展出的第一张是因为他嘴里叼着的烟和他所写的宣传语有着强烈的对比。作为开场白还是蛮适合的。– 上海，苏州河畔
~ PHOTOGRAPH 照片 2 ~
If you grew up in East Asia (China, Japan, Korea) and studied in local schools, this is the exact feeling you’d constantly have. How well you do in school pretty much “dictates” the rest of your lives. At least that’s the message you get constantly and the weapon a lot of people around you will threaten you with. When scores are all that matter, where does virtue fit in? – Shandong
我相信在东亚（中、日、韩）当地学校长大的小孩都能深刻体会到这张图片中小女孩所表现出来的感受。在学校的成绩几乎能够“决定”自己的将来。至少这是大多数人经常被灌输的观念，而且身边的人大多以这一武器来威胁你。如果成绩那么重要，美德的位置又在哪？– 山东
~ PHOTOGRAPH 照片 3 ~
To change the depressing mood, there are many moments similar to this one in our lives. This is just one of the many and the one I did capture. Taken in Suzhou old town around four or five in the afternoon, there are also two other similar shots, but this one is just perfect – a lovely bonding moment of the two generations. We should share more time connecting with people around us in person and not just through phone, shouldn’t we? – Old Town, Suzhou
换换沉重的气氛，我们身边其实有很多与此相似的瞬间。这只是我抓拍到的其中一瞬，拍摄于苏州相门古城墙门，时间是大概下午四、五点钟的样子。其实还拍了类似的两张，但这张近乎完美，祖孙两代牵手跨过门槛回家的景象尤其温馨。我们难道不应该和身边的人多分享一点面对面而非仅仅是一通电话的时间么？– 苏州，相门古城墙
~ PHOTOGRAPH 照片 4 ~
For only 15RMB a pair, you'll receive loads of love from this grandma. What a bargain! Again and again, moments like this just make my day. The little booties she knits may be affordable, but her smile is priceless! Perhaps passing along with the forgiving love to that little girl and she will be less stressed and much happier? – Zhujiajiao, Shanghai
才十五块就可以享受到奶奶满溢的爱，物超所值了！像这样的生活瞬间一次又一次地让我感到生活的美好。奶奶编织的小毛鞋虽便宜，但她和蔼可亲的笑容却不是金钱能够衡量的！那是否可以把这包容的爱传递给那个小姑娘，让她觉得少些压力，多些欢乐呢？– 上海，朱家角
~ PHOTOGRAPH 照片 5 ~
When social connection moves online. Stay connected = stay isolated? – The Metro, Shanghai
当人与人之间的关系转移到线上。上网 = 殇罔？– 上海，地铁上
~ PHOTOGRAPH 照片 6 ~
Sharing is loving, they say. Well, not in this case. The brilliant shared bikes were discarded like garbage, piled up on top of each other. They’re probably taken off the street from illegal parking on the sidewalk somewhere. But the view was just devastating as in the background, lay the lane houses, which were being demolished one after another. I can’t help but ask myself, “shouldn't we stop and reflect for a second? Perhaps with the same indifference we’ll continue to write the same propaganda?” The cycle will only continue on and on… – Laoximen, Shanghai
人们都说，分享是爱。只是这次是例外。共享单车创意可喜可贺，但像这样一堆堆如垃圾般的弃置堆放，我无语了。有可能是因为在街边非法停靠收缴而来的，但看看这景观，再看看背景即将被一一拆除的里弄。我自问，“我们是否应该停下来反省一下呢？漠然依旧的我们是否还会继续在墙上写着同样的标语？”这样的循环只会重复不断… – 上海，老西门
~ OPENING PARTY 开幕派对 ~
I did have a small opening party for the exhibition. And thanks to the support of Egg, it’s excellent with many people came and showed their love! But I forgot one of the most important things – to document my own opening party. Well, lesson learned…
开幕的时候我还搞了一小派对。要感谢 Egg 的鼎力支持，派对非常成功，来参观的人很多！但我忘了一件比较重要的事情，就是拍照记录了。哎，下次下次…
A big Aloha again to Egg for hosting my exhibition and a warm embrace to those who came to the opening party as well as who came to see the photos! Until next time, a hui hou!
再次感谢 Egg 的盛情邀请和支持，还要感谢来参加派对和展览的各位！我们下次见，a hui hou！
