Wang Hanbing: Member of the Chinese Photographers Association, member of the China Folk Photographers Association, director of the Xinjiang Photographers Association, vice chairman of the Xinjiang Bazhou Photographers Association, and chairman of the Xinjiang Yuli County Photographers Association. Many of his works have been selected for international photography exhibitions and awards, and have been published in many professional newspapers and magazines.
Song of the poplar
Q: How did you get into poplar and become a long-term photographer?
A: My hometown is in Yuli County, lower reaches of the Tarim River in Xinjiang, not far from home is the Taklamakan Desert, and around the Tarim River and the Taklamakan Desert, there are large natural poplar forests, which are also the largest natural poplar forest reserves in China. I have lived here since I was a child, and the tree I see the most is Populus euphratica, so I have a sense of closeness.
The poplar in autumn, with its splendid golden walls, is very beautiful, and I always want to show it. By chance, I came into contact with photography and slowly fell in love with it. At that time, he didn't know how to use light, composition, and idea in photography, so as long as he felt that it was good-looking, he took pictures, so Populus euphratica became one of the subjects of his shooting, but the content was mostly golden Populus euphratica, and the shooting at that time was aimless.
When I returned to my hometown in 1997, I wondered why I didn't focus my camera on Populus euphratica because my hometown has the largest poplar forest reserve in China, and I had the unique advantage of photographing Populus euphratica?...... These questions have always bothered me. During the filming, I saw that many poplar forests in the lower reaches of the Tarim River and around the Taklamakan Desert have died in large areas, many of which have been buried by the desert, and the ecology has been seriously damaged...... These phenomena hit the depths of my heart all the time, making my purpose of photographing Populus euphratica gradually clear, that is, to use the combination of popular science and art to express Populus euphratica in an all-round, systematic and long-term way, and to reflect the living state and living environment of Populus euphratica with the camera in my hand, so that more people can know and love Populus euphratica, and then protect Populus euphratica and protect our living environment.
For more than 20 years, I have tried my best to use the lens as the medium, life as the theme, and the spiritual perception as the channel to dialogue with Populus euphratica, and have taken a large number of photographs of Populus euphratica in spring, autumn, winter and summer, recording the beauty of Populus euphratica, the living environment of Populus euphratica and the life process of Populus euphratica.
Q: Your poplar photographs are full of unique charm, how did you come up with the angles?
Answer: I have studied art, in the composition, light, color, etc., to grasp better, in the shooting I will calm down, first observe and then feel, I habitually like to use the conventional composition thinking to focus, capture and shoot Populus euphratica, and strive to explore the unique perspective in the eyes of the individual, from the combination of points, lines, planes, etc., from the coordination and foil between colors, from the penetration between light and shadow, Looking for the moments that move me in light and shade and contrast, I extract abstraction in concrete scenes, capture the connections between scenes, construct images in my mind, and express my understanding and perception of Populus euphratica.
Q: What are some of the most memorable experiences you have while creating?
A: The process of filming is hard and even dangerous, and in the years of filming, I have lost my way, overturned my car, fallen into a glacier, and been trapped in a sandstorm...... He often carried heavy photographic equipment through the poplar forests and deserts until he was exhausted and slept on the ground......
Fall into a river of ice
In order to reflect the beauty of winter poplar, in December 2002, on a snowy morning, I rode a motorcycle to the suburbs more than 10 kilometers away from the county seat to photograph the poplar rime, stepping on thin ice to reach the opposite bank, accidentally fell into the glacier, the first reaction of falling into the camera is first, subconsciously holding the camera high, after the body is stable, the camera is forcefully slid to the riverbank, and then endure the cold a little bit to find a way to go ashore, the ice is too thin, as soon as I try to break, it takes a lot of effort to come up. After going ashore, the cold was even more unbearable, but seeing the good light and scenery, the cold seemed to disappear suddenly, and after shooting on the river bank for more than two hours, the cold came from all over my body, and when I returned home on a motorcycle, my legs were numb and numb from freezing.
Get lost in the poplar forest
In the autumn of 2003, two of my friends and I went to shoot in an unfamiliar pristine poplar forest, and when we arrived the evening of the first day, it was already dark and we didn't have time to take a closer look at the environment. I woke up early the next morning and was ready to take some morning shots. After entering the poplar forest, I filmed separately with my movie friends, and before I knew it, I walked into the depths of the poplar forest, and when I returned, I found that I was lost. I wanted to find the footprints when I came, but it was difficult to leave traces on the saline-alkali ground in the poplar forest, so I could only find the poplar trees that I had photographed based on my impressions, but I didn't get much gain, because there was no route to walk and shoot when I came in, and I walked at will regardless of east, west, north and south. After 5 hours, exhausted, the bag became heavier and heavier. Just when I was about to despair, I climbed up a high dirt bag, I took the camera and looked around, when I suddenly saw a white reflective spot in the distance from the lens, presumably it might be a car, so I walked in this direction excitedly. It was indeed a car, but it was not ours, but it gave me a lot of encouragement, so I searched around for our car and people along the car prints, and at about two o'clock in the afternoon, I finally found them, and two other movie friends were also anxiously looking for me. Although this time was a thrilling experience, it also taught me a deep lesson.
Shoot lightning in a poplar forest during a thunderstorm
In order to show the poplar in different weather, on a thunderstorm night in the summer of 2005, I risked being struck by lightning and squatted in a low-lying place in the poplar forest for nearly 2 hours. At that time, I was holding the shutter release in my hand and looking at the frequent lightning flashes in my heart, but the once-in-a-lifetime scene and the strong desire to shoot in my heart overcame the fear of being struck by lightning.
The reed fire caused the car to catch fire
In 2008, 6 of our film friends drove two off-road vehicles to the hinterland of the desert to shoot poplars, when passing by a large area of reeds, I drove the car because of a long time hanging four-wheel drive, and it was slow driving, when in a slightly higher place to stop to check the terrain, the extremely high temperature exhaust pipe baked the reeds under the car, and suddenly the car began to smoke, I and another movie friend immediately opened the car cover, took out mineral water to pour out the fire, but because the fire could not be extinguished, fortunately the car behind arrived in time, took out the fire extinguisher on their car, only to stop the fire, but the reeds in the ground were still burning, I hurriedly got into the car, in the case of the front car cover was too late to cover, poked my head out of the car, increase the throttle and drive to a place with few reeds dozens of meters away to park, which is considered to be difficult to escape. At that time, the fire ignited by the reeds had burned and melted the outer protective cover of the car line, but did not burn through the line inside, and did not cause a short circuit, otherwise, hundreds of thousands of cars and photographic equipment would be destroyed in one fell swoop......
Encountered a huge sandstorm
On April 26, 2014, I encountered a rare sandstorm. On that day, there was a rare sandstorm that changed from day to night, this sandstorm began to blow from around 8 o'clock in the morning, and the whole day turned black around 12 noon, and the weather conditions were extremely bad. But I would love to take a set of photos of poplars in a sandstorm. At around 9 a.m., I drove alone to the poplar forest, 50 kilometers away from my home, to shoot in the sandstorm, and I could clearly hear the loud sound of sand hitting the glass in the car. When I arrived at the poplar forest, I got out of the car against the wind and sand, wrapped the camera in a plastic bag, and couldn't open my eyes, so I could only squint and take a quick shot. At that time, the face, camera, and lens were full of sand, and the rotating lens was all the sound of gravel, but fortunately, some photos were taken, and the effect was not bad, making up for some regrets. The wind and sand continued until about 6 o'clock in the afternoon, and when it slowly cleared, the whole sky turned orange. At that time, I thought to myself, if it weren't for the poplar forest, maybe the wind and sand would be even greater......
Q: Some time ago, when you toured the exhibition "Song of Populus euphratica", what was the audience's overall impression of the work?
A: Some time ago, my "Song of Populus euphratica" photography exhibition toured Shanghai, Changzhou, Wuxi, Korla and other places, and received very good results. Firstly, the audience had a deeper understanding of Populus euphratica and understood its tenacious vitality and "3,000 years" spirit, and secondly, they were surprised and shocked by the pictures in this exhibition, and gave high recognition and praise to my photographic skills and performance of Populus euphratica.
Guided by modern culture and taking the opportunity of cultural revitalization of Xinjiang, this exhibition reflects the beautiful Populus euphratica and the spirit of Populus euphratica in the form of special topics, vigorously promotes the "Silk Road Spirit" and the "Xinjiang Spirit", publicizes the magnificent scenery and rich tourism resources of Xinjiang, and allows the mainlanders to understand, enter and love Xinjiang, which has played a certain propaganda role.
Q: In your opinion, how do you do a good long-term shooting of an object?
A: First of all, it is love, and loving Populus euphratica is an emotion and a perception of life.
Secondly, it is the beauty of Populus euphratica that attracts me, the beauty of Populus euphratica, not only in the shape and color, but also in the wind and bones, the beauty in the spirit, the beauty in the connotation, but also in the beauty of its life, the beauty of vicissitudes and the beauty of the spirit.
Thirdly, it is Populus euphratica's selfless dedication, silent adherence to home, and tenacious and tenacious spirit that have always attracted and inspired me.
In the end, there seems to be a sense of responsibility and mission in my heart that has been spurring me, making me constantly shooting, thinking, and innovating......
Q: Briefly talk about your impressions on the creation of "Song of Populus euphratica" and your plans for the filming of Populus euphratica in the future.
A: Populus euphratica is a masterpiece of nature, a symbol of life, a great husband in the desert, and the patron saint of oases. It is no longer an arbor in the Gobi, nor is it a landscape in the desert, it is a banner of life, a witness of history, a carrier of culture, and a symbol of spirit. Its indomitable will, tenacious and tenacious life, and thousand-year-old unchanging belief bring people not only the inspiration of life, but also a symbol of spirit. Its spirit is a true portrayal of the atmosphere, tenacity, tenacity, and love for the homeland of the people in the west. Populus euphratica has written an epic of life with the tenacious quality of being alive and not dying for a thousand years, dying without falling for a thousand years, and immortal for a thousand years, which plays a hymn of life with the beauty of vicissitudes, tragedy, and life.
From the admiration of the beauty of life to the vigilance of the demise of beautiful life, this is the theme of my filming "Song of Poplar", and my enthusiasm and persistence over the years also stem from this original intention. The purpose of photographing Populus euphratica is not only to capture the beautiful scenery, but also to record the fragile living environment and difficult life course of Populus euphratica with the lens, and to reveal the inner spirit and immortal spirit of Populus euphratica with his works, so that people can be shocked, moved and inspired by it, and finally transform it into action to protect Populus euphratica.
I have been photographing Populus euphratica for more than 20 years, but I always feel that I have not photographed it well and have not fully expressed my feelings about it, so I have insisted on continuing to photograph Populus euphratica for so many years, and I have taken it as a project of my life to complete. People's lives are short and their energy is limited, so it is enough to do one thing well and well!
In the later stage, it is planned to make a video feature film of Populus euphratica, and publish three more photographic collections about the creativity of Populus euphratica (five books have been published so far, including "Populus euphratica", "Song of Populus euphratica", "Pictorial Populus euphratica", "Eternal Populus euphratica" and "Populus euphratica in heaven and earth"), to carry out the photography of Populus euphratica to the end, and strive to make a modest contribution to the promotion and protection of Populus euphratica.
Source: People's Photography Newspaper official WeChat service account (rmsyphoto) If there is anything wrong, please leave a message to delete it immediately