Lead
From the foothills of the Tianshan Mountains to the Gobi Desert, Ding Wei has always paid attention to China's energy development, taking the oil industry as the main subject of photography, enriching the documentary images of photojournalism and making industrial photography resonate with the times.
Photography/Filming/Division/Interview
Born in 1958, Ding Wei was the news director of China Petroleum News, the 7th and 8th vice president of the China Press Photography Society (now an advisor), the 9th director of the China Photographers Association and a member of the Documentary Photography Committee. In 2023, he won the China Photography Awards, and his works have won the gold, silver and bronze awards of the China News Photography Year, and the second and third prizes of the China News Awards. In 1996, he was named "The Second National Top 100 Journalists". He has participated in the 98 flood fight, the National People's Congress and the National People's Congress, the Wenchuan earthquake, the Beijing Olympic Games and other major event reports, and has been to Central Asia, South America, the Middle East to cover overseas oil cooperation. Title of the exhibited work: "I Dedicate Oil to the Motherland"
问:
Hello Mr. Ding! Can you please share the opportunity to create the "I Dedicate Oil to the Motherland" series and the mental process behind the creation?
Ding Wei: From an ordinary oil worker to a reporter on the oil front, I have never left the oil industry, so most of my subjects are industrial subjects. This Hailongtun International Image Culture Week can plan and launch a photography exhibition that shows industrial themes in an all-round way, which is rare in the country. In particular, Guizhou is an old industrial base built by the third line and has a good industrial tradition, so I think it is an honor for these works to be exhibited here.
Industrial photography is a very difficult thing, especially involving the petroleum industry, are shot in the wilderness, in the desert, in the grassland, in the ice and snow, the environment is more difficult, if you want to shoot industrial images with temperature, the creator must go deep into the field, integrate into the scene to become a "laborer", willing to endure hardships, not afraid of hardships, so as to make industrial photography better.
问:
Knowing that you have participated in the coverage of major events such as the 98 flood and the Wenchuan earthquake, how have these experiences influenced your photographic creation?
Ding Wei: I think as a journalist, you have to stand at the forefront of the times. Participating in the coverage of major events such as the 98 flood and the Wenchuan earthquake is my mission as a journalist, and there were many excellent and dedicated photographers who took a large number of precious pictures, and our idea should be the same, that is, to be ready to rush to the front line at any time, and record important historical moments with the camera in hand.
问:
As a veteran photojournalist, what do you think is the social responsibility of photography in documenting major events? What advice or advice do you have for the new generation of photographers and journalists?
Ding Wei: Documenting the times and real life is a very important responsibility and mission of photojournalists. Don't be ambitious, and record the big and small things that happen around you realistically. You may think that many small things that happen around us are insignificant, but they are likely to become important historical witnesses in the future, so as a photographer, you should cherish every event and lens that happens around you.
问:
What are your opinions and prospects for Hailongtun International Image Culture Week?
Ding Wei: I was very surprised that the Photography Culture Week was held in a small town like Hailongtun in Zunyi, Guizhou Province for two consecutive years. I have seen all the works in this exhibition, which are of typical significance, including local works in Guizhou, as well as works with industrial themes, with rich types and wide coverage, and the quality of the works is still relatively high.
In fact, there are many excellent photographers in Guizhou, such as Lu Xianyi, I just saw his works, and I was very inspired. I have a soft spot for industrial photography, Guizhou's third-line construction has far-reaching historical significance for China's industrial development, industry is the lifeblood of the national economy, and a strong industry is a strong country. But the subject of industrial photography itself is very good, and I hope that more young photographers will rekindle their passion for industrial photography and take some time to find the beauty of industry not only in famous mountains and rivers.
I also hope that Hailongtun International Image Culture Week will have its own personality and make its own characteristics, now there are a lot of photography weeks in the country, if you only consider comprehensiveness and ignore individuality, the meaning of its existence will be greatly reduced, this is some of my personal opinions.
Exhibition view
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Roll
2024.7.20—2024.7.26
place
Digital Museum of Hailongtun Tusi Town, Huichuan District, Zunyi City, Guizhou Province
Editor/Yan Wenxu, Shao Yue, proofreader/Yang Lei
First Instance/Liao Xun Second Instance/Xia JinThird Trial/Wu Qian