Pushing the Envelope

My career in photography began with shooting still life. Many photographers do not care about this kind of subject matter. They consider it child's play, not part of the grand scheme of things. For them, photography is about shooting models, landscapes, and other subjects.

In reality, still life photography contains a great deal of photographic knowledge, as well as the principles of the craft.

It begins with observation: how to apply light, the art of composition, the use of colour and contrast, light and shadow, and even how to set up and arrange the subjects. All these require the photographer's technical and aesthetic skills. Mastering still life photography means understanding many of the principles of photography and fine art.

What is still life photography? As the name implies, it is the photographing of objects that do not move. Still. Some examples are the posters or advertisements you see, which are typical of still life photography.

After being immersed in still life photography for some time, a friend challenged me. He said, "I'd like to see how you can put two subjects that are at the extremes of the world into one frame."

What he meant was that I should merge the ideas of "dynamic" and "static".

It was a bit mysterious, but I understood what he meant. After contemplating it for a long time, I still could not think outside the box. Then one day, when I saw foam and boiling water, I had an idea.

I have always been enthralled by the delicate, ephemeral beauty of soap bubbles. However, their graceful, carefree buoyancy hides a surprising tenacity.

Photography

When I explained the idea to the kids in the neighbourhood, they listened with great interest. Everyone was eager to take part.

“I'd like to see how you can put two subjects that are at the extremes of the world into one frame.”

The equipment used was very simple: a strobe light, a ring hanging from the roof, and a black flannel background.

Initially, I worried that the bubbles would fly around. The interesting thing was that the bubbles actually flew in a straight line. Passing them through the searing circle of fire was a test of their delicate tenacity. And voila, they literally passed with flying colours and emerged none the worse for wear after being licked by the flames. It was a wonderful moment that turned into eternity.

I felt that the child in my heart was released when I was shooting.

After shooting the whole morning, we finally finished.

This work was later displayed at Photokina, the world's largest camera exhibition. It received the attention of a manufacturer, which led to a deal with the camera manufacturer and changed my photography career from then on.

It all started with shooting still life.