Freedom of Exploration
If the origin of art is compared to a seed floating in the air,an artist grows like a tree: landing on the ground,finding the right soil,absorbing moisture and nutrients,germinating into a seedling,taking sun light,enduring the hot and cold conditions,eventually developing into a big tree,and flowering and setting fruits.Unquestionably the growth of an artist cannot be separated from the environment in which he lives.Besides innate talents,perhaps the most important factor for the work of an artist is a sense of freedom.Art is pure and free.True art should be created without constraints.Only in a free space can the creative spirit of an artist be nourished.An artist must cast away the noise and commotion of the chaotic world and completely immerse himself into the art.An artist must be true to his heart,rather than to gratify someone else’s taste or simply to follow the trend of contemporary fashion without discretion.The life of art is its originality,which can only be perceived and developed with the sense of freedom of the artist.
When I formally started photography in the spring of 1995,I still lived in the central part of North Carolina.In the western part of the state lies the southern end of the Appalachian mountain range,where the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge mountains are located.To the east is the long coastal line of the Atlantic Ocean.Therefore,I did not need to travel far to see diverse landscapes.During the beginning years of my photography,however,I was fascinated with the vibrant color and intricate details in close-up views of wild flowers and fruits,tree leaves,mushrooms,and small animals such as butterflies,spiders,frogs,turtles,bees,snakes and others.I took numerous photographs of these subjects at the Mason Farm Biological Preserve and other natural areas near where I lived.My vision gradually shifted to grand landscapes only as I traveled to more distant areas.
During 1997-2001,my photography was mostly concentrated in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park,Pisgah National Forest,Nantahala National Forest,Shenandoah National Park,Blue Ridge Mountains,as well as the coastal regions of the southeastern states.Among the places I have photographed the most is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.Besides the magnificent light at sunrise and sunset,the winding mountain ranges with dense forest constantly shrouded in fog and clouds are full of mythical quality.Countless creeks and waterfalls,big and small,with clear silky water add an elegant touch to the landscape.Every autumn the flamboyant fall colors of the foliage on the hills inspired me.In the eastern coastal region,I photographed frequently at Lake Mattamuskeet,Lake Phelps,Swanquarter National Wildlife Refuge,Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge,Cape Hatteras,Bodie Island and others.In 2012,after nearly two decades in photography,I took a trip to the Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida.The blue sky,white clouds,the vast swamps and the mysterious ancient forest of cypress trees are magnificent.
In the spring of 2002 I moved to Ohio.I found myself suddenly facing a drastically different landscape.I soon became fascinated by the pure form and tranquility of wintery landscapes in snow and ice.Every year when winter arrives I cannot help but exult: nature is going to repaint the landscape once again! Since moving to Ohio,I have photographed scenes in Clifton Gorge,John Bryan State Park,Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge,Lake Erie,Cuyahoga National Park,Tinkers Creek State Park,Maumee Bay State Park,Lake Catherine and other nature preserves.During the years,I have seen better than any time before that lighting can change a landscape dramatically.The harsh winter has allowed me to see dramatic landscapes in various parts of the state.
I took my first trip to the American West in early 2004.Over the next decade I made seven trips to various parts of this region.Until 2016 I had been in dozens of national parks and preserved natural areas,including Joshua Tree,Grand Canyon,Death Valley,Glen Canyon,Yosemite,Bryce Canyon,Yellowstone,Arches,Olympic,Mt.Rainier,Redwood,Saguaro,Capitol Reef,Canyonlands,Glacier,Petrified Forest,Zion,Sequoia,Rocky Mountain,Badlands,Great Sand Dunes,Lassen Volcanic and other national parks,as well as Dixie National Forest,Slot Canyons,Vermilion Cliffs,Bisti Wilderness,Chaco Culture Historical Park,White Mountain,Mono Lake,and Anza-Borrego State Park.In 2006 I took a long anticipated trip to Alaska and visited Denali,Gates of the Arctic,Kenai Fjords,Lake Clark and Wrangell-St.Elias national parks.I also saw the Brooks and Alaska Ranges.
The grandeur of the vast American West captivated me and expanded my vision as a landscape photographer.My newfound vision liberated me from the techniques that I had worked out under the soft light seen typically in the southern Appalachian Mountains with dense vegetation,fog and clouds as well as in the savannas of the coastal regions along the Atlantic.I started to appreciate the charm of the harsh lights and deep shadows.After dark,the pristine night sky and glimmering stars inspired me.While examining my work more critically than before,I began to question the role of colors in the composition of landscape photographs.Soon I realized that in my early work I had emphasized color more than anything else,and a large part of my effort was to make color stand out.I had also found that once I switched my focus to light and shade,and to shape and form,color became irrelevant.I then saw very different compositional elements in all landscapes.
自由的探索
如果把艺术的起点比作从空中落下的一粒种子的话，那么一位艺术家的成长经历就犹如一棵树的生长过程：从种子飘落到大地上，遇到了适宜的土壤，萌发出土，长成幼苗，历经风吹日晒和酷暑严寒，不断吸取水分和有益的养分，在阳光的哺育下逐渐长成一棵参天大树，以至开花结果。在水土肥沃、阳光葱郁的环境中，成长迅速而茁壮；而在土地贫瘠、阴暗寒冷的条件下，生长艰难而缓慢，易于枯萎。
一位摄影师的艺术创作是不可能与其所在的环境条件相脱节的。除了先天和内在的因素外，对摄影艺术最为难能可贵的恐怕是创作的自由度了。艺术是纯净的，也是自由的。艺术的生命在于其独创力。只有在没有禁锢的空间里，摄影师的创作思想才能得以孕育、产生和发展，艺术视野也才得以拓展。只有在一个自由的空间里，摄影师才能彻底摆脱外界的喧嚣和干扰，全心投入创作，充分挖掘和发挥自身的艺术才智，展现出个人的视界和风格。艺术创作永远不应为迎合别人的趣味，投他人之所好而行，而是要忠实地表达艺术家的内心所向。
在1995年春季正式步入摄影之路时，我依然居住在北卡罗来纳州的中部。该州的西部位于优美的阿帕拉契亚山脉南端，坐落着富有传奇色彩的大烟山和蓝脊山；东部则是广阔、漫长的大西洋沿岸地区。因此我无须远行即可拍摄到变化多样的风光景色。在刚刚起步的几年中，我热衷于微距摄影，痴迷于鲜花、野果、树叶、野蘑菇和蝴蝶、蜘蛛、青蛙、乌龟、蜜蜂、蛇等小动物的色彩和造型细节。我在离住所很近的马森农场生物保护区等地拍摄了许多有关这些题材的微距照片。继而当我的拍摄行程扩展到更加广阔的地域时，我才逐步将注意力转移到了宏观的风光摄影上来。
在1997—2001年期间，我的创作活动主要集中在大烟山国家公园、蓝脊山脉、毗斯迦山、南达哈拉国家森林公园、仙南度国家公园，以及美国东南部的沿海地区。其中我前往拍摄最多的要数大烟山了。除了绚烂的日出和辉煌的暮色外，最令我神往的是大烟山中那迷雾缭绕、飘飘若仙的幻境之感。缥缈的云雾是大烟山的一大特色，它不但为景色增添无比的气氛，还可以遮挡烈日，避免眩光的产生。我曾决意要拍摄出大烟山的神韵。大烟山中还有数不清的潺潺溪流和大大小小的瀑布。葱郁繁茂的草木衬托着白色的溪水，构成一幅幅美丽的画卷。连绵的群山每年一度的秋色也同样触发我的创作灵感和激情。大烟山无穷的魅力始终在不断地激励着我前往进行艺术创作。北卡罗来纳州广大的沿海和平川地区同样魅力无穷。我先后多次到访马特莫斯吉湖、菲尔普斯湖、斯旺阔特国家野生动物保护区、商人磨池自然保护区、荚形岛国家野生动物自然保护区、博迪岛和哈特拉斯海角等地。而此后的许多年间我将摄影创作活动转向了美国西部和中国各地。直到2012年春，我终于择机来到坐落在佛罗里达州南部的大柏树国家保护区和大沼泽国家公园，那里蓝天、白云下神秘的原始森林和无际的湿地沼泽令我陶醉。
我于2002年迁居至俄亥俄州，随即沉浸于寒冬里冰雪的迷人世界之中。每年在严冬到来之际，我总会情不自禁地感叹道：大自然要重新涂绘这块土地！在初到俄亥俄州的几年里，我先后前往克利夫顿峡谷、约翰布莱恩公园、奥塔瓦国家野生动物保护区、伊利湖畔、库雅荷加谷国家公园、婷克斯溪流、茅弥湾公园、凯瑟琳湖等地进行摄影创作。虽然一年的大部分时间里俄亥俄州的景色远不如美国东南地区那般秀丽如画，但也使我更加深刻地体会到风光摄影的精要在于捕捉一个瞬间的特殊光线的映照，景观随着光线的不同而变换。大地直接地影响着我的视觉意识。在该地区多年的创作使我的视野有了很大的扩展，艺术构思也得以进一步的深化和磨炼。
2004年初我开始了第一次美国西部之行。在其后的十几年中我先后7次前往美国西部进行摄影创作。截至2016年，我的足迹已贯穿了整个美国西部，先后到过数十个国家公园和景区，其中包括约书亚树、大峡谷、死亡谷、格伦峡谷、约塞米蒂、布莱斯峡谷、黄石、拱形门、奥林匹克、雷尼尔山、红杉树、巨型仙人掌、圆顶礁、峡谷地、冰川等国家公园，还有迪克西国家森林公园、安扎波里格沙漠公园、埃斯卡兰特岩梯国家天然胜地、峡缝谷、朱砂悬崖、比斯迪荒原、加州白山、莫诺湖等。我还于2006年前往阿拉斯加，到了德纳里、兰格尔圣伊莱亚斯、肯耐峡湾、北极之门等国家公园，纵观了布鲁克斯和阿拉斯加山脉的雄姿。
美国西部宏阔、壮观的景色令我脱离了早年在大烟山迷雾缥缈的气氛与柔和的光线条件下所养成的创作套路和积习，开始突出山川、荒野中光影的魅力，展现神奇的星空和夜色。同时也令我以更加批评的眼光来审视自己的作品，并进一步思考色彩在风光摄影中的作用。当我查阅自己在很久以前拍摄的作品时发现，在绝大多数情况下我主要着眼于绚烂的色彩。在不少作品中，对构图的设计和光线的运用也都是为了突出画面的色彩。而在之后的许多年中，我逐步走出了色彩的迷幻，将注意力更加自主地集中到了光线本身和画面的结构与造型上来。我还发现，随着时间的推移，我在故地拍摄创作中的视觉构思发生了潜移默化的改变，我已经开始在寻找非同以往的构图元素和画面结构了。在近年的拍摄中，虽然我依旧偏向于使用日出和日落前后时的光线，但不再是出于光线色彩的考虑，而是注重低角度的光线在瞬间映照景物时所产生的光影效果。另外，黎明和黄昏时刻的风力常常很小，景物能有短暂的平静，易于拍出清晰的画面。
No matter what one believes or whether one has a belief at all,there is one notion that no one can evade: every living being on the planet ultimately came from a handful of dust,including mankind.No matter where we go in our lives,no one can forget one’s birth place.Since 2003 I have been taking numerous photo trips to various places in China,including Guilin Yangshuo,Suzhou Gardens,West Lake,Jiuzhai Valley,Huanglong Nature Preserve,Shangri-La,Meili Mountains,Yongming Glacier,Dunhuang Pagoda,and many scenic areas in Xizang,Xinjiang,Inner Mongolia,and other provinces.Photography has not only allowed me to see many places of my birth country,but it also has given me opportunities to experience the diverse folk cultures and the vitality of the people.
Between 1995 and 2008,I used primarily the 135 system,namely a few Nikon film cameras and lenses of various focal lengths ranging from 18mm to 400mm.In 2006 I purchased a Fujifilm S3PRO digital SLR with the question of whether I should switch gears to digital photography.However,the digital camera never passed the testing phase to my standard,and I never used it formally in my landscape photography.As a result,I never purchased another digital camera,even though the advanced features of the current digital technology may have well surpassed the traditional film photography.While the digital technology has profoundly changed photography in every way,it has also made visualization a very shallow process.Photographers now rely on the viewing screen for composition,rather than directly seeing the landscape with one’s own eyes and composing the images in one’s mind.In addition,the computer screen is not an ideal medium for viewing the images.In 2008 as film photography seemingly came to an inevitable end,I purchased a brand new 4X5 system,including a Toyo View 45AII metal field camera and six Schneider lenses with focal length ranging from 58mm to 400mm.In 2012 I added a Pentax 67 medium-format camera and seven manual lenses of 45mm to 300mm in focal length.
Art is timeless.Works of art should be made to endure the test of time.Therefore,the craft of producing photographs does matter a great deal in their preservation.My purpose of using traditional film technology is to ensure the lasting quality of the enlarged prints for centuries and longer.Another advantage of the traditional chemical process is that it allows me to visualize and interpret every print individually from the original image.I firmly believe that art should not be the product of duplication.Each print should be envisioned uniquely with a new visual conception,rather than produced uniformly using a common protocol.In selecting my own images,I have adopted the standards used by many American master photographers: only the images that can make great prints are considered good photographs.
Between 2015 and 2016，I renovated my home-based darkroom and started converting all of my selected color transparency images into 4X5 black and white negatives.Since I began landscape photography over twenty years ago，I can now finish the entire process of photograph production with my own hands.Looking at the first set of silver gelatin prints coming out of my darkroom is a moment of epiphany.I asked myself： why did not I do this at the very beginning？ My answer is simple： there was no need for doing so.I had been taking color transparency film images since the first day of my photography.I could see all the vivid details in film images under a loupe on top of a light box.These images were adequate enough to take me into another world.I did not need to see the prints.But over time my way of “seeing”has changed fundamentally.I have begun seeing light and compositional elements in a very different way than any time in the past.This is the natural result of my personal growth.I have no regret or blame but gratitude for the path I have taken.Art has no short cut.There is no crash course for becoming an artist.Personal growth takes time.I am delighted about my development as a landscape photographer.My trajectory of becoming a landscape photographer seems to confirm what László Moholy-Nagy once said many decades ago： “Art cannot be taught，only the way to it.”Every photographer must approach art in his or her own way.艺术规范。我喜欢以手工的化学冲洗程序来完成银盐照片的扩印制作，因为我可以在一张白纸上目睹影像从无到完成显像的整个过程，这也给予我一个重新诠释影像的机会。而且我坚信每一幅扩印版都应是独特的，应凝聚着摄影师一份单独的构思和设想，艺术绝对不应是复写的产物。在挑选和评判自己拍摄的作品时，我采纳美国摄影大师的一贯标准：只有能用来制作出精美的扩印版的影像才算是一幅好的作品。
一个人无论有没有信仰，也无论有着怎样的信仰，总是难以回避这样的人间共识：最初人来自大地的一把尘土。这也就决定了这样的一个必然，一个人无论到了何方，也无论其历经了怎样的人生，都不会停止对故土的怀恋。自2003年以来，我多次到生身祖国的各地进行摄影创作，先后去过桂林阳朔、苏州园林、杭州西湖，以及四川九寨沟、黄龙，西藏拉孜、绒布寺、珠峰大本营，云南香格里拉、梅里雪山、明永冰川，新疆塔里木胡杨林、卡拉库里湖、哈密魔鬼城、乌尔禾魔鬼城、甘肃敦煌雅丹、鸣沙山，内蒙古坝上草原，深圳大鹏半岛等景区、国家公园和自然保护区。摄影不但让我饱览了祖国辉煌壮阔的大好河山，还让我体验到各地区丰富多彩的民俗文化，让我亲眼看到广大人民勤劳智慧和生生不息的民族活力。
从1995年至2008年，我使用的摄影器材是135系统，包括数台尼康胶卷相机和焦距在18毫米至400毫米之间的多只变焦和定焦镜头。随着数码技术的迅速发展，我在2006年购置了富士S3PRO型数码单反相机，但我只是将之置于试用阶段，从未用于正式的艺术创作。原因是数码相机的即刻显示器虽然为摄影提供了极大的便利，却使得创作中的预视构思成为一个非常肤浅的过程。摄影师容易依赖相机进行构图，而不是面对实际景物精雕细琢、深思熟虑。另外，计算机屏幕也不是一个理想的介质用来观看影像。到了2008年，就在胶片摄影似乎到了日暮途穷之际，我购置了全新的4X5系统，包括星座45AII金属折盒式相机和焦距为58毫米至400毫米不等的6只施耐特镜头。在2012年，我还添置了宾得120系统，其中有一台老式的宾得67型相机和焦距在45毫米至300毫米之间的7只定焦镜头。
我于2015—2016年间扩建了家中的暗室，在拿起相机二十年之余我终于首次能够独立地完成从拍摄至影像扩印制作的全部过程。由此我也可以精心地将艺术创作的思虑注入到每一个细微的操作步骤之中。在暗室中凝视着自己亲手制作出的第一幅影像之际是个水落石出、茅塞顿开的时刻。我在欣喜之余不禁自问：为什么没有在起步时就这样做？我的自答很简单：在摄影之初我无须这样做。从拿起相机之日起至此的20年里，我只热衷于彩色摄影。在灯箱上使用放大镜看到的反转片影像栩栩如生，让我能够身临其境般地看清画面中的每一个细节，也足以将我带到另一个世界。可是在艺术成长过程中，我的视觉意识发生了根本的变化，对光线和其他构图元素的观看方式也与以往有了很大的不同。就这样一路身经了漫长的自由探索，如今行将所至是艺术历练的自然结果，我没有任何惭愧与自责，而只为自己能够在艺术道路上摸索至此感到欣喜。艺术没有速成，也不存在捷径，个人的成长需要时间。我自己的摄影成长历程似乎也验证了拉兹洛·莫霍利-纳吉（László Moholy-Nagy）的一句格言：“艺术是不可教的，只有通往它的道路。”每个有志于追求摄影艺术的人都必须沿着自行的发展道路一步一步地走向它。
艺术是永恒的，影像作品也应是历久不衰的。制作工艺对艺术的品质和作品的寿命有着举足轻重的影响。我坚持胶片摄影的一个主要目的是要以久经验证的传统工艺制作出大幅的扩印影像。虽然目前可以通过数码扩印机来从数码文件制作出银盐版，但在制作过程中，摄影师难以彻底施展出艺术创作的全部潜能。另外，能从同一个数码文件制作出完全等同的照片并不符合我所信奉的