Australian Photography — January 2018

APS GALLERY

WITH SIMON LI

WITH

MY OWN

HANDS

Technicality can be learnt, but the

ability to capture beauty requires

many years of training and an

experimental mindset.

P

hotography is an expressive and eloquent
form of art that not only requires high
technical skill, but also a cultivated and
unique aesthetic vision.
I began studying photography in 1986 and
then came to Sydney in 1989 from Nanning
City, Guangxi in China. In 2003, I complet-
ed my Master’s degree in Multimedia Design
(Honours) at the University of Sydney and cur-
rently I am an Australian Photography Society
Member, and the Executive President and Gen-
eral Secretary of the Australian Digital Photo-
graphic Association. I am also a senior graphic
artist at Ainsworth Game Technology Ltd.
I have quite an interest in capturing the
theme of motion such as birds f lying, people
dancing, surfers riding waves and bulls at ro-
deo shows. I believe that there is immense
power in framing a moving object into a pic-
ture, to be able to feel its presence preserved.
However, the theme of humanity still remains
at the core of most of my photography. Behind
every picture, there is always a meaningful
and touching side to the story.
Over the past two years, I have participated in
international photography competitions and have
won 25 gold medals from around the world and
over 1000 acceptance awards. The winning pho-
tos were all taken in Sydney, which surely demon-
strates that beauty can be found anywhere.
In previous decades, the camera was simply
used to capture what we could see but in this day
and age, photography has greatly transcended this
concept. With a passion to imagine and a motiva-
tion to recreate, I believe that beauty in photogra-
phy can be born from your own hands. ❂

In the autonomous region of Guangxi

Zhuang in southern China live an

isolated community called the “black-

clothed minorities”.

Their name originates from their

traditional main attire which is

entirely black from head to toe. The

minority’s black clothing dates back

hundreds of years when the head of

the village was injured in battle and

hid in the mountains. A special kind

of grass was found that could heal his

wound and his recovery ultimately

led to his soldiers winning back their

hometown. Along with its healing

properties the grass could also dye

clothing black and the minorities have

been wearing the colour ever since.

However with the urban landscape

growing, many young people seek

work in China’s cities. Women,

children and elders left at home can

only depend on each other. In this

image, a grandmother is bringing

pumpkin leaves to her family. Canon

EOS-1D X Mark II, 16-35mm f/4 lens.

1/250s @ f4.5, ISO 200.