Sometimes the experience itself matters more than the photography. — Alec Soth

When I began writing this review, I happened to come across the sentence above in an interview video on Magnum Photos’ YouTube channel. Photos would bloom like flowers in a heavenly garden if meaning, roles, and thoughts were not buried behind the frame. To grasp this essence, I embarked on a journey that spanned the past decade.

THE TURN

February 28, 2025, marks my first decade in photography. This 10-year journey can be divided into two phases: the mundane years and the enlightened years, with the former spanning about seven years. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact factors that shifted my attitude toward photography from the first phase to the second. I believe it was a combination of experiences, the era I lived in, and a deeper exploration of photography that shaped my direction.

The most notable influences were: MoMA, Magnum Photos, COVID-19, family events, and relocating abroad.

Personal family events made me realize the profound importance of capturing moments with family and friends. Even technically imperfect photos carry deep meaning, particularly after those captured in them have passed away.

The havoc of the COVID pandemic, which claimed lives and inflicted mental and physical suffering for years, reshaped both individual thought patterns and the global perspective, marking an epic turning point, especially in China.

An unexpected encounter with MoMA’s online course, Seeing Through Photographs, systematically broadened my understanding of photography both aesthetically and conceptually.

Magnum Photos, the most well-known photographic cooperative founded in 1947 in Paris, has published images that profoundly affect the world and convey the meaning of life, social issues, and pure emotional twists.

In 2023, my first time abroad also be my first time living abroad. The change in environment and the abundance of personal time sparked reflections on the meaning of life and the world. For a long time, I was lost in pondering the three fundamental questions of philosophy. Seeking answers to these questions has become a way of observing and understanding the world, with the camera serving as a powerful tool.

WHEN IT COMES TO PHOTOGRAPHY, IT’S ALL ABOUT PHILOSOPHY

The paramount pursuit of humanity is understanding the fundamental questions about our world - this is philosophy. The methods used to approach this ultimate goal of knowledge include, but are not limited to, religion, science, and art. These domains often overlap; for instance, science can be viewed as a form of art, and the boundaries between them are not always distinct.

I used to be a person who sought the roots of the world through programming, inspired by the movie The Matrix, which intertwines elements such as hacking, computers, art, and philosophy. For a long time, I viewed the world as a complex machine governed by pre-programmed logic, functioning so seamlessly that I was convinced God must be an experienced programmer. In this context, science intrudes upon the realm of religion. Additionally, programming itself is an art form; composition is to painting as architecture is to software engineering. They are all ways to study the fundamentals of the world.

Photography began as a result of technology development and gradually evolved into a form of art. Its unique ability to freeze time makes it the first medium capable of recording events objectively. Before photography, neither painting nor text could offer such objectivity, as their content was often influenced by personal preferences.

This objectivity provides a means for those curious about philosophy to explore and demonstrate the essence of the world. Perceiving the environment around the photographer is a key approach to uncovering the ’logic’ that drives the world. Although this perception may initially be narrow and limiting, perseverance gradually expands it, gradually piecing together a map as long as one continues taking photos.

Photographs are the result of seeing, listening, feeling, and sentiment. The moment the shutter is pressed defines the time frame the photographer deems meaningful. While the content of the photograph is objective, the choice of that time frame is subjective, particularly when considering the differing religions, backgrounds, cultures, and life histories of photographers. Even the same photographer will capture different photographs of the same scene due to variations in temperament, weather, or age. As a result, choosing the right time slice, the one that contains the right people at the right moment, is important, as it reflects the photographer’s inner understanding of the world, which is philosophy.

Maintaining the perspective that taking photographs is a way of understanding philosophy is a significant element contributing to a good photograph. This is the conclusion I want to summarize in this section.

PEOPLE, AGENCIES, AND STORIES THAT HAVE INFLUENCED ME

I can’t recall whether I first came across Alex Webb or Justin Jin. However, I got to know them right after I started reading the PDF files that came with MoMA’s online course, Seeing Through Photographs.

I got to know Alex Webb through Qianli Zhang’s video, in which he shares his experience of taking street photographs. Qianli Zhang is a Chinese photographer who won the_ National Geographic Traveller Photography Awards_ in 2005 and is now living in Canada. In his video on Street Photography, Alex Webb was presented as an example of complex composition.

Alex Webb’s work opened a gate to the lobby of what a notable photographer’s work might be like. That was around 2020, five years after I picked up a camera, and I began to rethink what makes a photo a good photo.

The first time I had the chance to listen to a professional photographer face-to-face was in the winter of 2020. It was Justin Jin, a photographer who contributes to Reuters and National Geographic, invited by Chunzhen Era Book Bar to share his experiences about photography and the stories behind them. I can still remember the words he spoke: “When you’re traveling, stop and think about the value of the photos you are taking.” I was wondering about the value he spoke of here, and then he demonstrated some of the most recent work he had taken during his entry into China at the peak of the pandemic period.

These photos have low image quality, with noticeable noise, because they were taken with an iPhone. However, these photos have their own value. They document the insane and chaotic time when the world was overwhelmed by the catastrophe caused by the Covid-19 virus.

In 2020, the first year of the Covid pandemic, China was a safe island where daily life was only slightly affected by frequent PCR tests. But the situation was getting worse as the virus evolved, and more and more people were locked down in their homes with a shortage of supplies. I started to record my life at that time, and looking back today, there still aren’t enough of them.

It can be vague to interpret photographs produced by notable photographers without an introduction text. One might instinctively feel that a particular photograph is better than another, but articulating the key point can be challenging. Additionally, the deeper context behind some images that profoundly changed the world may be missing.

One example is Migrant Mother, photographed by Dorothea Lange, who worked for the Farm Security Administration (FSA). Either the composition or the emotional storytelling of the mother manifests that this photograph is a masterpiece. But beyond that? It was 1936, during the Great Depression, a time when people were starving to death, suffering from drought, and trapped in an economic crisis. The displaced had to wait for days to find a job to feed their children. The mother is one of these migrants, deeply worried about her livelihood as she waited for a job opportunity. The photographer captured a series of photos as he moved closer to her, and Migrant Mother is one of those shots. The power of this image is reflected in the actions taken by the government, which carried out aid programs to improve the conditions of rural poor Americans.

That is what I’ve learned from MoMA’s online course. The attributes of photography are not limited to the technical aspects; they also encompass its implicit implications, meaning, influence, and, of course, the philosophy.

I stumbled across an imaginary portrait taken by Alec Soth early on Instagram. I found myself pausing for almost a minute, simply looking at the photo without zooming in or out, just scanning, scanning each inch of the photo.

How does a man remain untouched by the complexities of adulthood? What dreams does a boy hold onto as he grows into a man? Have I forgotten the promises I made when I was a boy? I was pulled into a vortex of questions rooted in the growth of a boy.

This photo is collected in Alec Soth’s famous book Sleeping by the Mississippi, in which he looks back at his career-defining project.

Alec Soth and Alex Webb are both Magnum Photos members. As the one topped photo agency, Magnum Photos features itself as “a community of thought, a shared human quality, a curiosity about what is going on in the world, a respect for what is going on and a desire to transcribe it visually”.

For normal people, Magnum Photos is an unfamiliar name that one cannot find them on advertisement or fashion magazines. But the photos taken by Magnum photographers must be seen by you now and then, such as the Shaolin martial arts school, taken by Steve McCurry in 2004.

Prior to becoming acquainted with Magnum Photos, the photographs published by National Geographic established the standards that I consider essential for a good photograph. Yamashita, a photographer of National Geographic, came into my sight due to the topics he picked for his award-winning book: Marco Polo: A Photographer’s Journey. In this book, Yamashita traced the routes which legendary Italy explore Marco Polo used for his adventure to the east of the world, China. This book covers plenty of cities and places in China, and mostly worth mentioning, the Tibet, my hometown, Hangzhou, my most loved city. The photographs taken by Yamashita during the assignment of the book approximative covers the years before 2004, the days for west part of china, it was still significantly undeveloped. I followed his photos and saw a lot of familiar cities and counties at that time in the days cameras and photographing are luxurious activies resulting almost no visual records.

All of the aforementioned individuals, photo agencies, and reading materials collectively led me to the realm of photography.

The photographers

The photographers listed below are presented in chronological order of my discovery of their work.

Daido Moriyama(森山 大道)

When discussing street photography in China, particularly around 2010, Daido Moriyama is a pivotal figure who cannot be easily overlooked or ignored. Moriyama’s genre is striking, gritty, bold and urban attribute to his application of extreme high contrast black and white style. Of course, Moriyama has produced photographs in colour, but the featured ones are still black and white. The Ricoh GR series camera, chosen as the primary weapon by Moriyama, has abundant users nowadays.

Daido Moriyama spends most of his time on the streets of Tokyo, particularly in Shinjuku, capturing the diverse lives of people in this vast international metropolis. The gritty back alleys and corners of the city often serve as the stage for Moriyama’s work, revealing a messy and hidden side of this vibrant capital city.

The first photography book I purchased, Rojou Snap no Susume (路上スナップのすすめ), was by Moriyama. At the time, the book offered little to me due to my limited knowledge of him and the language of photography. However, one sentence inspired me at that moment: ‘Without quantity, there will be no quality,’ and it motivated me to take more photos, rather than being conflicted about Photoshop skills.

Nick Page & Thomas Heaton

Nick Page and Thomas Heaton are both celebrity photographers specializing in pure landscape photography. I was deeply drawn to their work for its breathtaking depictions of nature, scenes I may never have the chance to witness myself. Landscape photography is one of the most universally accessible genres, appreciated by people of all ages and backgrounds. Through their videos, I have gained insights into camera techniques, adventure storytelling, and Photoshop skills.

Michael Yamashita

Yamashita is a Japanese-American photographer who has been working with National Geographic for over 40 years. I first discovered his work on Instagram, where he shared numerous photographs capturing the landscapes and lifestyles of Tibet. These images felt deeply familiar to me, as the scenes within the frames closely matched my childhood memories.

Specializing in photographing East Asia, particularly China and Japan, Yamashita masterfully balances landscape and documentary styles. His work presents ordinary, unembellished views that stand in stark contrast to heavily post-processed images. His tranquil, narrative-driven compositions rely solely on the power of storytelling through imagery, untouched by the magic of Photoshop skills.

Yamashita’s photography reshaped my perception of landscape photography, shifting my appreciation from mere visual spectacle to a deeper engagement with its narrative essence.

Alfred Stieglitz

When talking about photography history, Alfred Stieglitz is the key figure that cannot be bypassed anyway. He is believed to be the founder of modern photography, who elevated photography to the status of fine art in the early 20th century. Before him, camera and photographing was an activity resulted from technology, because taking photos by camera is a process of manipulating a sophisticated hand-held machine and photo development is a result of magic of chemical reactions.

But what touches me deeply is his biography, that of an ambitious photographer who devoted himself to revolutionizing modern photography, evolving into a more life-oriented photographer who captures clouds, poplars, and the people who visit him. From that moment, I understand what photography is.

Justin Justin

Justin Jin is a Hong Kong-born Belgian photojournalist, and he is the first photojournalist I met face to face. Jin’s photography strongly emphasizes the journalistic aspect, as he documents events closely related to political, social, and environmental issues. If Yamashita provided me with the foundation for documenting landscapes and people during travel, Jin enhanced this understanding by speaking directly to me when we sat in the same room. From his coverage of quarantine during the pandemic, I learned that it is not the camera or mobile phone that matters, but the content, the moment, and the statement you make.

Alex Webb

My recognition to Alex Webb came through a street photography video published by Qianli Zhang, a Chinese photographer who now lives in Canada. I won’t elaborate too much about Qianli Zhang, as he is well known in China, and many of his videos and photos can be found on the Internet.

Alex Webb’s photos create emotional, exotic, dreamy and balanced scenes that include many components without appearing cluttered. The objects in his compositions are well-placed, and these elements together create unique, integrated masterpieces. Most of the time, I was fascinated by the compositions, wondering if they were artificial or carefully orchestrated according to a planned script. However, they are not staged - they are perpetual moments that exist in the world with coincidences and drama.

People often hear the assertion that photography is about subtraction rather than addition. But with Alex Webb’s work, this rule of thumb doesn’t apply.

Alec Soth

No other photographer has influenced me as much as Alec Soth, not just in terms of taking photos but in understanding what photography can convey about life and its meaning. Soth’s work combines documentary style with poetic sensibility, where he skillfully balances storytelling and aesthetics. But the most essential lesson I learned from Soth is about reading and literature. Sophistication in camera manipulation and post-processing skills won’t sustain a photographer for long. Actually, understanding the world is the foundation that determines how high one can build. This understanding, which I regard as philosophy, is constructed from many sources, including literature, music, painting, photography, science, programming, religion, beliefs, warfare, politics, and love. One cannot read the world profoundly through a camera without engaging with literature and music, because they share a common element: they are thought-provoking.

Steve McCurry

It is interesing that I actually followed Steve McCurry on Instagram many years ago but finally get to know that is Steve McCurry recently. A friend of mine suggested his Instagram without mentioning any thing about the photographer years ago, and I followed him. Until recent, when I prepare this article, browsing in my Instagram’s Following list, I suddenly realized the fact.

Steve McCurry is the first photographer to make me pay for his exhibition. That was June, 2023, the solo exhibition named Steve McCurry Icons was hold in the Rocks, Sydney. I don’t know too much about Steve McCurry at that time until I saw the iconic produce of Afghan Girl. I think many people has seen this photograph in different scenarios, either in books or on televisions. This exhibition is great, in which a lot of his representatives works are exhibited.

Lee Friedlander

Lee Friedlander is an American photographer known for his innovative and complex compositions that explore the urban landscape, social environments, and self-reflection. A key figure in the New Documentary movement of the 1960s and ’70s, Friedlander embraced a snapshot aesthetic, using a handheld 35mm camera to capture spontaneous, everyday moments with a sense of irony and visual wit. Friedlander’s photograph maps 3 dimension world to its 2 dimension image surface, in which process the original distinct objects are inter-connected and built a fancy layered effect.

Stephen Shore

I saw the name Stephen Shore in the reading material of MoMA’s online course, which briefs his works as an example of documentary photography. I didn’t get his style too much at that time, only his name left an impression on me. The second time I’ve noticed by his name was a related to a news, that Stephen Shore left a Beijing lecture mid-way expressing disappointment over the large number of audience members engrossed in their smartphones. Then fiercely discussion permeated in the Chinese social media about if Stephen Shore is a deserved photographer because its works looks like that even a person without any knowledge of art and photography can produce on the way home. Unfortunately, I don’t want to be involved in this meaningless discussion here. Instead, I want to say that Shore’s work features of this normal, ordinary sense in which composition and arrangement of objects are deliberated. Frankly, I am a kind of fond his photographs due to such a on-the-way-home style.

How do I judge Photos

The first photography book I read is 美国纽约摄影学院摄影教材 (literally translation is: Photography textbooks of New York Institute of Photography), and I don’t know if there is really such a institute and its book. This is a very introductory book in which a lot of basic photography concepts, such as aperture, lens speed, iso and film darkroom technique, are illustrated, but for film cameras only. The first chapter or second, iterates the importance of reasoning why take this photo. I didn’t know why this book emphasizes again and again on the resoning the purpose of taking a photo at that time, but after years of learning, I get to know the reason.

The reason of taking a photo can be as simple as the girl is beautiful and can be as complex as a reflection of political conflicts. It all depends on the photographer and the thoughts of making the image. This could be some mysticism that the meaning of a photo is constructed from the storytelling ability of the photographer. Yes or no. Telling a story is simple, but mapping the story to the depth of understanding world is hard. Everyone knows gravity today, but only Newton found it.

By the way, I want to give some comments on composition. Composition is a very common and basic topic to photographers, and almost every photographer during their entrance period to photography learns composition. A lot of guidelines, skills, formations and rules are given to photographer for them to composite the frame. But I think the composition is not about compositing things, it is about selecting objects. For painting, composition is really compositing its elements to a paint. But photographers has not ability to add objects to a blank canvas, they need to select the frame to framing things inside with such a kind of harmony and balance. There is no gold rule following which the photograph will be made extraordinary; instead, it is a feeling happens when your rangefinder frames a part of the worlds that is satisfying humans eyes and brain. That is my definition of composition. Following this, when taking photos, I could feel one moment in that the people, building, lines and shapes, light and shadow are well balanced, that’s it.

Need to clear that I don’t want to say that composition is trivial, instead, I highly emphasis composition. But the composition comes after the scene, you have the sense first, then composition, not reverse.

Slogans such as “Photography is about subtraction, not addition” are prevalent in the photography community. While convergence of concentration can indeed be achieved through subtraction, this represents only part of the truth. Selecting a pink wall adorned with yellow flowers exemplifies subtraction, where minimal elements contribute to the composition. Similarly, framing a bird diving into the ocean to catch fish through a telephoto lens demonstrates how focused composition can captivate an audience. However, the world is not always so simple, and convergence of concentration need not be achieved solely through subtraction.

Notable Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki(荒木 経惟) once said, “The problem with photography is that people have been trying to eliminate excess things to make it look neat and tidy.” The real world is filled with various kinds of noise, and photographers cannot neglect it. Instead, they need to utilize it to create harmonious photographs where noise becomes valuable and contributes to the composition, emphasizing the subject.

So, back to the topic. How do I judge a photo? The answer if simple, will this photo resonate with me. That is more metaphysics than a formal definition, and art, if photography is a type of art, always be metaphysic. But the common basic criteria of judging a photo is still usable, the accuracy of exposure, the in-focus or out-of-focus, the composition.

A PERIOD AS A CONFORMIST PHOTOGRAPHER

For beginner photographers in China, the most common subjects are photographing young girls and ladies, or landscapes, and I fall into the latter category. For a long time that I was so landscaped that always carrying 20kg equipments traveling from ocean to the summit. I watched over the sky until it darkens and the Milky Way rises, I hang myself tight to isolate the chilly air blowing my soul out of my body. I was prond of declaring that I am a landscape photographer.

But one moment, without any signs, I lost interest to landscape photography. Maybe, it is due aging, maybe it is due to events happened on me or the reunion and separation. I need to record the world I met, not the world everyone has chance to visit.

Landscape photography is awesome, and sometimes it is a type of extreme sports. Most important, landscape is one of the most acceptable photography topic that almost everyone enjoys, no matter their backgrounds and classes, jobs and genders. Also, I think, landscape photography is the hotspot of artificing and farbraic, for example, for a photography shot in the north semisphere in winter, but the Center of the Milky Way shine in the night sky.

Now, when travelling to tourist attraction, I prefer to use my phone to capture the hashtags places just for making a marker that I’ve been here.

THE ORIGIN OF THE JOURNEY

On the last day of February 2015, I acquired my first professional camera — a Canon 70D DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflex camera). It was a tough decision, constrained by the financial situation of my student years. I spent a great deal of time comparing camera brands and models, as well as learning how to inspect the camera after unboxing to detect potential flaws — though the likelihood of this occurring with new cameras is minimal.

In fact, the Canon 70D was not the first camera or photo-capable device I ever owned. Before that, I had a Nokia mobile phone and a Canon IXUS 120 compact camera, both of which were capable of taking photos, albeit with low image quality.

The initial purpose of owning a camera, the Canon IXUS 120, was simply to freeze the final days of my last semester as an undergraduate. The classmates, funny moments, and of course, the Graduation Ceremony, were packed into my camera and are still be active on my hard drive. At that time, I began to recognize myself as someone capable of observing the world through the lens.

It wasn’t until my first opportunity to visit the Qinghai-Tibet Highway in the summer of 2013 that I strongly felt the requirement of a professional camera. I had been to the beginning part of the road in 2010 and was astonished by its grandeur.

THE EQUIPMENT

Finally, the least important factor and the most debated topic: photographic equipment.

Many photographers, if they call themselves photographers, get caught up in choosing, comparing, and arguing about camera brands, lens focal lengths, tripod brands, and even backpacks.

I’d like to say that I don’t care too much about this as long as the camera I’m using isn’t antiquated and its performance is well balanced with its weight.

Like the photograph above, taken by my father with a Canon IXUS 120, I did not pay much attention to it at the time. However, I now find it meaningful, regardless of the quality of the image or the equipment used.

CLOSING REMARKS

Reviewing the past 10 years, I’ve spent considerable time catching up with the essence of photography. I’ve just entered the gate, stepped over the barrier, and glimpsed one corner of a magnum opus. I can’t know what will happen in the next ten years - maybe I will quit, maybe I will become great, or most likely, remain a mundane camera holder.

I’d like to use the last two sentences from a book about Alfred Stieglitz’s biography to finish this article:

He photographed only subjects that were part of his quotidian life: the great new skyscrapers from his windows in the city, the buildings of the farm on the hill, the sky over his head, his family and servants and the friends and sweet nubile young women who came to visit, and the dying poplars: subjects that were important because he knew them well and wanted to know them better. The best of these pictures are important because they achieve the high goal of art: simply and grace-fully they describe experience-knowledge of the world—that we had not known before.