Guiyang, 5 Feb (Xinhua) -- Accompanied by the shutter sound of "three, two, one," Shi Kaixing, vice president of the Farmers' Photographers Association of Jiefang Village, Honghun Town, Qianxi City, Guizhou Province, took a family portrait of Uncle Li's family. This peasant photographer has been volunteering to take family portraits for the masses during the Spring Festival for 10 consecutive years.
On January 19, members of the Farmers' Photographers Association of Jiefang Village, Honghun Town, Qianxi City, Guizhou Province, took photos of the poverty-alleviated farmers. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
Over the past 10 years, the Farmers' Photographers Association of Jiefang Village, Hongfang Town, where Shi Kaixing is located, has raised funds to print photos and buy photo frames, leaving a precious family portrait for many villagers. In particular, some elderly people who have passed away have left only a few photos of their lives.
"After the establishment of the Farmers Photographers Association in the village in 2013, we focused on two things, one is to shoot the beauty of the hometown and publicize the hometown; the other is to do photography public welfare activities and take family portraits for the masses." Talking about the development process of the association, Shi Happily said that the members of the association are farmers, and everyone comes together because of their common photography hobbies, and they learn while shooting.
Jiefang Village is a rare "Liu'an Water Town" in the Wumeng Mountains of Guizhou, and in recent years, the local government has focused on the development of rural tourism. Pictures of field scenery and farming stories taken by local farmers have been widely forwarded in the circle of friends and the media, becoming the beautiful "tourism business card" of Jiefang Village. "Many people did not expect that the documentary photos of the village taken with their hands could actually help the development of tourism in their hometowns, so that the outside world could recognize and enter the liberation village." Shi Said.
Today, the Farmers' Photographers Association has 70 or 80 members. In their spare time, the masses picked up cameras to record the changes in their hometown in the Wumeng Mountains. The association has held a peasant photography exhibition, and the works have also participated in provincial and municipal photography exhibitions, which has encouraged the members.
The 74-year-old Li Yongde was one of the first members to join, and the most expensive thing he ever bought for himself in his old age was a SLR camera. "I didn't learn photography, I just looked at the landscape photos taken by Teacher Shi and looked very good, and I wanted to follow suit." Li Yongde said that he didn't care whether the film was filmed well or not, but focused on being able to record the changes in his hometown and life.
"Without the party's good policy of poverty alleviation, where is today's happy life?" When flipping through the old photos, Shi Happily said with emotion that only continuous recording can witness the power of development.