f/4, 30 seconds, ISO 6400. Photo by Yang Zhitao
I'm a post-90s photographer.
Before becoming a photographer, I did a lot of work related to imagery. From post-processing images for photographers to printouts to photo mounting exhibitions, I've been immersed in the world of images. I really enjoyed interacting with the photographers, listening to the stories behind each photo from their narratives. I was like a bartender at a bar, quietly listening to stories of guests coming and going, fantasizing that one day the owners of those stories would become myself.
f/5.6, 1/3 sec., ISO 100. Photo by Yang Zhitao
Why not choose to become a photographer?
Because at that time, I thought that photographers were like a bunch of adventurers, taking pictures in search of their own treasures, and I was still a little timid, I didn't know if I could do it.
In 2020, a sudden epidemic made my small studio unsustainable, so I picked up the camera, went out to take pictures, improved my mood, recorded the good, and spread the good. I finally became a photographer.
What is photography?
For me, photography can be magnificent mountains and rivers, modern cities, or brilliant stars. The beauty of the picture is the basis of a good photo, and behind the picture is the memory of the shooting process.
Sunrise and sunset have been vividly depicted under the lens of countless photographers, and the little stars in the night have been attracting the attention of explorers, and more and more photographers have picked up their cameras to wait for the arrival of the late night, just to record the brilliant sea of stars.
f/8, 0.4 seconds, ISO 100. Photo by Yang Zhitao
To capture the romance and beauty of the starry sky, I chose the Fujifilm GFX100 with the GF23mm F4 R LM WR lens. In very low-light environments, medium format digital cameras have the best of the best: excellent tolerance provides great room for post-production, a 16-bit depth of color to naturally record the color levels and variations of the starry sky, and 102 million pixels make the texture of the earth incredibly clear.
Most of the scenes where I shoot starry skies are harsh, such as wilderness and desert, and the Fujifilm GFX100 provides all-weather protection, with a body of 95 sealing points, which can withstand harsh heat and sand erosion. GF23mm F4 R LM WR This lens is my weapon for shooting starry skies. Its 18mm-equivalent focal length of a 135-frame lens and its wide viewing angle can encompass more landscapes and starry skies, opening up more possibilities for my creations.
f/4, 30 seconds, ISO 2000. Photo by Yang Zhitao
From early spring to cold winter, my footsteps of chasing the stars and the sea have never stopped, and I have slowly gained some shooting experience.
Before each departure, I search for changes in the moon's phases in the mobile phone app PhotoPills, choosing as many new moons as possible to travel, paying attention to the time of the moon's rise and setting, so as to avoid the interference of the moonlight on the starlight. After arriving at the destination, I will pre-compose the picture with the camera during the day, confirm the location of the Milky Way through the mobile phone app, confirm the scene I want to shoot, and after confirming, I will start waiting for the night to fall.
As night fell, the Fujifilm GFX100 became my second eye. It's not easy to compose in a completely black environment, so I'll first set the camera's ISO to the highest gear, open the lens aperture to the maximum, manually focus to infinity, set the shutter speed to 20 seconds for test shooting, and modify and optimize the composition according to the picture taken. When I started shooting as a film, I would adjust the sensitivity to ISO6400, the shutter speed to 30 seconds, adjust the focus appropriately, and start shooting.
f/7.1, 5 seconds, ISO 400. Photo by Yang Zhitao
The Fujifilm GFX100 lets me not have to worry about the loss of image quality caused by high sensitivity, after all, this is a medium format digital camera, its excellent tolerance and excellent high sensitivity preserve dark landscapes, while 16-bit TIFF or RAW files let the color and detail of the starry sky be exhausted.
When the shimmer begins to shine, the earth will also take on a different look, capture, record, explore, I take the Fuji GFX100 to chase the footsteps of the sea of stars, never stopping.
f/8, 1/13 sec., ISO 1250. Photo by Yang Zhitao
f/11, 0.5 sec, ISO 100. Photo by Yang Zhitao
Yang Zhitao
Fuji China Cooperative Photographer, Instructor of Guizhou Young Photographers Association, Consultant of Qianxian Photographers Association, Honorary Chairman of QianxianZhou Young Photographers Association, Contracted Photographer of Visual China, Official Cooperative Photographer of NiSi.