First Solo photo exhibit at Inter Gallery inside 798 in Beijing

By now, some of you may know that I had my first solo show, titled "Accidental Square" at Inter Gallery in Beijing. The opening was held on Saturday the 22nd and it was quite a fun time. A number of people came, even if they were mostly friends of the family and my parents. Surprisingly, even the Gao Brothers dropped by as well (apparently they are friends with the gallery owner and he told them). I emailed Jia Zhangke, but of course, he did not show up or insofar as respond.

Also heard some interesting feedback from people, the most helpful one being that the collection of photos at hand was a bit disorganized and could have benefited from further editing, as some of the more 'mainstream' photos took away from the emotional impact of the ones that represented more purely "Ian Wang's" vision. Very helpful indeed, even if I still can't quite articulate what my vision is, except what my eyes tell my mind to tell my finger to click the shutter.

The Gao Brothers were kind enough to drop by and hear me blabber a bit about "shadow and light."

To see the photos on display at the exhibit, you can view them in this Flickr gallery I set up.

After the game

I'm not normally a fan of sentimental photos, but somehow, I like one a lot.

The definition of my vocation

A great photo shows the relationship between the photographer and the object being photographed, so great that the viewer is immediately transported into the emotions that took place during the moment of the shutter-click.

A master photo not only shows the relationship between the photographer and the object, it takes the viewer to the emotion of that moment, and of that specific time, culture and society that made the photo happen.

A mediocre photo, is one that shows none of the photographic process, that is laden with expository context, and full of artistry.

A few photo blogs I like to read

Figure I'd share this with the world.  Here are some of the photography related blogs I read on a daily basis (or just have in my RSS reader):

• Watch Impress Digicam Watch.  All in Japanese.  Great for shots of the latest products, and more
• A Photo Editor.  Intelligent, well-thought out posts and essays on the career of a photographer. Great source for hearing some ins and outs of the industry. 
• DPReview.  No explanation needed, although nowadays I'm getting really sick of their nit-picky criticisms and cliched review keywords
• PhotographyBlog.  Once again, just for product reviews.  However, I don't think these guys are photographers in any sense.  I read them simply because of my need for camera-porn
• Shanghai Street Stories.  I really cannot stand this girls' photos.  If she's gonna shoot in black and white, use fucking film.  I don't need your corny compositions and post-produced with a sentimental filter.  But why do I still keep visiting it?  It's always interesting to know what people with worse taste than you enjoy.  
• .one too many.  Frank Canepari's blog.  Sometimes I think this guy is a genius, sometimes I think he's full of shit.  But most geniuses are full of shit, so I give him a pass.  
• Street Level Japan.  Just started following this blog.  Not quite sure what he's about, but the last few posts have featured a report on an Araki opening, a Herzog quote on images, and a half-hearted defense of Daido Moriyama.  Guess this guy is good in my book. 
• Wired Raw Files.  Geeks with money who love photos of crazy shit.

Formula for Photographic Success

After going through so many journals and websites and having seen what get published, what people gush over when it comes to photographs today, here's what I think, a fail-proof formula, for photographic success:

1. Go to a place of historical/social importance
2. Take photographs of the place or its current inhabitants in a dignified way (unsentimental but stately, this is important!)
3. Success

However, if you were a conflict photographer, be sure to be on the look out for these visual motifs. It is absolutely a requisite that you have one of these in your photos:

1. Guns
2. Blood
3. A wound, an injury
4. Fire or explosion
5. People screaming
6. People crying

These are what image-consumers in non-violent countries want. So you better produce them!