Nice Tries: Looking Through

The photos in Nice Tries represent new experiments in terms of emotion, technique, or form. I’ll try to explain my thought process and interpretation in detail.

Please note that these may not be listed in chronological order.

230117-173207

This photo was taken atop an abandoned house on a small hill in Sanya. At the time, I intended to climb high to capture the seascape, but unexpectedly found the hilltop surrounded by a circle of trees, so I took this shot instead. Later, I realized something interesting:

• This image is more compelling than I had imagined, yet its foreground and background have little meaning individually (one might even say the background lacks content), nonetheless, they remain connected.
• Since the foreground (the cluttered trees) holds little significance, my gaze did not linger there for long before shifting to the background (the blurred sea), where the "lack of content" then prompted me to begin searching for and imagining what lay further beyond.

However, I was unable to interpret more at that time, nor had I conceived the concept of "looking through." I simply made many subsequent attempts following that particular feeling.

240717-161944

This photo was taken a year later somewhere in Northern China, and it is another image that evoked a similar sensation in me. After some reflection, I discovered that this feeling actually stems from the perception of "depth" within a photograph. Supplementing this with the first image:

• Both images were captured at telephoto focal lengths. And while the foreground and background are separated, the foreground provides a certain sense of envelopment.
• Both images guide the viewer’s vision to narrow and lengthen through the aforementioned special combination of foreground and background, leading the gaze "through" the photograph.

Such reflections allowed me to broadly define this form of expression and led me to consider how to apply it. Consequently, I began conducting more explicit exercises and reviewing past photos to ensure there were no oversights I had previously failed to notice.

Furthermore, I gradually realized that under such a form, content is vital, as form is merely a means of presenting content. This is why I believe that no matter how the foreground and background are separated or how meaningless they may seem, they must ultimately be linked by some connection and strive to provide the viewer with a certain emotion. This is because "looking through" is itself an action imbued with emotion. If a form or technique fails to express appropriate content, it will likely not succeed.

230922-172649

This photo was taken at the Du Fu Thatched Cottage in Chengdu and is one of the photos I am very fond of, for it offers a texture that is deep, moist, and heavy. And it represents a more stylized attempt:

• Its composition allows the trees in the foreground to extend beyond the top and bottom of the frame, creating a sense of envelopment.
• Unlike the previous two images, this one features a (relatively more distinct) visual center.

In this image, the intent to create a "looking through" effect persists; however, much like the deep blacks, the strong contrast of light and shadow, and the specific arrangement of elements, it serves merely as one of many creative techniques.

Consequently, this photograph differs from the first two in that it is no longer driven by form; or rather, it no longer relies primarily on form to convey its content.