I remember I went to Michigan Ave when I just moved to Chicago about 23 years ago. I stood at the corner of Michigan Ave & Chicago Street and watched so many people were walking around me. I was wandering at that time. I had no idea what I got to do here. I felt lost and I had no confidence. You may not believe this, just one year later my work was exhibited right here where 23 years ago I stood at Michigan Ave at the Water Tower-City Gallery and Chicago Cultural Center. My work was also published on Chicago Tribune that year. (All my photographs were taken in Chicago at the same year).
I had no any connections with the officials and arts organizations here. I had my camera only. This is my American dream. I believe this is a land where you can dream and your dream can come true. Like Maya Lin said, "To me, the American Dream is being able to follow your own personal calling. To be able to do what you want to do is incredible freedom." Since then my photography has totally changed my life. I was lucky my photography has been accepted here and this also encouraged me to do my photography instead of professional engineering.
Today I have the same kind of feelings as when I just came to Chicago 23 years ago. Everything is still fresh to me and I am still able to see the picture everywhere. Chicago is so big and it’s not easy to document all of the stories in a short time. Chicago is changing. People are changing. What I want to do is to continue to capture this great city’s stories. To me, photography is a journey which has no destination.
None of my images is staged, photoshopped, or created using artificial intelligence (AI). I believe that the fleeting moments are captured, not posted. That's the essence of street photography.
Comments