On February 7, SCIS student Lisa Chen hosted a photography exhibition at Hongqiao Contemporary Art Museum centered around her recent travels across the globe . Here are her thoughts on two passions of hers; photography and travel.
How did you become interested in Photography?
My family started traveling around the world when I was 7 months old, which was the first time that I was on a plane. Whenever I saw interesting or beautiful views, I wanted to record them for some kind of collection. Also, another reason was my dad. He is crazy about photography, so he bought me my first camera when I was six years old. From that point, I started viewing the world as a photographer.
What inspired you to take this trip to the North and South Pole? Who went with you?
The South Pole is a mysterious place that I think everyone yearns to go to. On the trip to Africa, I met a Taiwanese that had traveled to Antarctica before, and he told me about a lot of fantastic experiences he had had there. I had traveled to more than 40 countries and to the other six continents before I went to Antarctica, so there was a motivation of reaching the seventh continent to have a nice ending before getting busy on college applications. So I made a decision that I must experience this exciting continent. I went to both Antarctica and the North Pole with my family.
Tell us a little bit about the trip, how long was it and when did you go?
It was a 9 days trip to the South Pole and 13 days trip to the North Pole. Since the poles are too cold during winter, they are only available for tourism during summer. So I went to Antarctica during the Chinese winter and to the North Pole during the summer, since they have opposite seasons.
Can you tell us about the Camera feature/accessories you took along with you in order to capture the amazing photos?
I have my common used camera and lens, which is Canon 6D with Ultrasonic 28-300mm lens. However, if I am traveling to places like Africa or the Poles, I bring Ultrasonic 200-400mm & 600m lens + Extender 2x, because there is a safety distance rule stating that humans have to keep the distance between themselves and animals (South Pole, 5 m between small animals like penguins, and 20 m between big animals like whales or seals). So bringing big range zoom-in lenses is useful. For shooting landscape, I use Ultrasonic 24-70mm & 16-35mm lenses.
Did you encounter any difficulties during the trip?
Not really, the tourism part of the North and South Pole are already fully developed, and everything is well arranged for travelers.
What was your most memorable part of the trip?
One of the strong messages that I learned from both trips is that we have to protect the environment and protect the animals! The habitat of penguins and polar bears are getting smaller and smaller due to some direct and indirect influences of the global warming.
From the trip to Antarctica, the most memorable moment was when I was sitting on a rock and all of a sudden, two penguins came closer and started to run around me. One of the penguins bumped into me by accident. I was totally freaked out! They must have thought I was a part of rock or something. I’m always really impressed by the relationship between animals and humans in the wild. From the trip to the North Pole, a moment to remember was definitely when we hit 90º N.
Now a gallery opening, how did this come about and who organized it?
I have been to Africa twice, and it’s a special place on the list of places I have been. I have so many memories from the trip to Africa. The photos I shot there are not like the photos that one would shoot in “regular” tourist attractions.
There were a lot of people asking me about my trip to Africa, and they were also interested in the photos I had taken there. I wanted to share them all since I only have one year left living in Shanghai. I also wanted to have an opportunity to meet my friends from my old school before I go to college outside of Shanghai.
My dad has attended many different exhibitions for his business, so he is very familiar with it. He managed the setup of my exhibition, and I was focusing on the design of the invitations, the logo, sign board and many other things.
Is there any one person who has inspired/encouraged your passion?
Yes, certainly, her name is Chenman (陈漫) and she is a fashion photographer. She had her personal photo exhibition in France, US, UK, Japan, and Hongkong and has worked for Vogue, Elle, Bazaar, Marie Claire and more.
So what are your future plans after you graduate? Do you plan on studying photography?
I’m planning to apply to a school of design/art illustration, and study photography for studio. For example fashion, portraiture, interior, and product photography are things I am interested in.
When is the next trip and where would you like to go?
Since I didn’t get to reach the 90º S, (only the Antarctica circle), I might want to challenge myself and go to the center of the South Pole if I will have the time.
