In the West, especially in the media culture led by the American news media, documentary photography is the highest form of photojournalism. Because documentary photography is so difficult, photojournalists and photographers have to start at the very bottom of the photojournalism ladder, working their way up and gaining experience in presentation and depth. Even with great talent and interest, each photographer must accumulate logical and structural expertise in this highly difficult form of imagery reporting through hands-on experience of trivial topics.  
The value of a documentary photographer, whether an in-house reporter or a freelancer, lies in his or her ability to grasp the intensity or story of a certain subject, visual presentation, style, and depth in portraying the subject.  
The first and most important concern in documentary photography is visual presentation. The visual narrative in documentary photography must be clear.  Although each shot must tell its own story and in and of itself, each collection must also have a storyline, with each photograph playing an integral and irreplaceable part to the whole. Thus, each photograph in a collection can be viewed as an independent entity; together the photographs connect and form a complete structure to the story and subject.  
A documentary photographer must go through exhaustive field research to understand the content and intensity behind each story before he or she can decide whether the photo essay is worth putting the time and effort into. More importantly, each story and subject must resonate with and inspire the photographer; then can it continually engage the photographer’s passion throughout the arduous process of “waiting for the shot” with patience and persistence.  
The narrative structure of documentary photography is somewhat like Barbara Minto’s theory in “The Minto Pyramid Principle” on writing, thinking and problem solving. First, the author composes a story structure that reflects the “mainline of logic” and builds the context and conflict to engage readers’ participation. Then, the author can extend the mainline of logic or produce a “time order” with a series of deductive or inductive approaches. Our brains can then transform the piece into “structural order” by breaking down the data, or into “procedural order” by classifying similar objects together. The key to the classification is “mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive”; thus, a point-of-view on a more profound level is shaped.  
The more profound a project is, the better the work can be; the more an author is concerned about his subject, the more likely the work is to be his masterpiece.  For Shen Chao-Liang, documentary photography is not only his life’s passion and goal, but also his way of connecting with the common people. By connecting with them, he develops a deeper understanding of individual character. Difficult as it may be, this unique form of creativity suits Shen’s personality and commitment perfectly.  
Shen Chao-Liang’s narrative logic is apparent in each of his three recent collections: Taiwanese Cabaret, Happy Landing: A Family Photo Album, and YULAN Magnolia Flowers. Each collection has a structure that reflects the mainline of logic perfectly expressing the “mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive” characteristics of each individual photograph. Demonstrated with his unique style, Shen’s photography has entered the pantheon of photo essay.

Someone said that there were three types of authors: bad authors reveal their own ignorance; good authors show you ignorance; and great authors show you ignorance, make you recognize your true self, and incite your deepest compassion. To me, Reflections of Nan-fang-ao shows a delicate, lingering, and steady love for the land; Happy Landing: A Family Photo Album truthfully records eight years of a man and a woman’s life of supporting each other and raising their children. The warmth and love of everyday life revealed in this photo essay is utterly unforgettable. Similarly, the lives unveiled in YULAN Magnolia Flowers are realistic and sadly beautiful. The collection leaves me with a solemn melancholy that lingers long after viewing it.

No matter how many significant awards Taiwanese Cabaret achieved, Shen, out of respect for his subjects, still took pains and care to communicate and photograph his subjects, even if it meant to “sacrifice” many opportunities of taking visually stunning and high performance shots. Shen’s sincerity and dedication has earned high respect, especially from his peers.  

Shen is both thoughtful and optimistic. Reading into his photo essays is a joyous inspiration that leads us to feel his dedication and passion.  Below is a dialogue between Shen Chao-Liang and myself on documentary photography.  

Hsiao Jia-Ching: What does “documentary photography” mean to you?
Shen Chao-Liang: I’d like to respond to this question from a number of different aspects. First of all, it involves the issue of “belief”; meaning one must believe in the sense of time and the social significance and value of documentary photography. On many subjects, it is difficult to achieve an accumulated understanding if we are only superficially involved. So, for us to become deeply involved in telling a complete story over a long period of time, it is not easy to make it without “belief”.
Secondly, during the creative process, whether we are catching a shot, composing an image, or editing, we have to have hands-on experience to confirm our theory and strengthen our skills. I believe one can’t achieve much in any field without any practical experience. I take joy in constantly examining and learning through this experience. Furthermore, in the process of doing it, we get to know the content of our subjects and do our abstract thinking. This may include visual presentation, aesthetic transformation, narrative structure, image quality, editing strategy, etc. And it can stretch to the hardware process including printing, book-making, binding, and packaging. All these possibilities have to be tried out through practical experience.  On some level, you can say that it is a matter of fulfilling one’s will and wish. 
Thirdly, Taiwan has indeed put a lot of resources into documentary photography, but I feel that there is room for improvement in terms of the amount of people involved, structure or issues. Even though documentary photography has fallen to the wayside of the contemporary art, it is exactly for this reason that we need some people who are willing to work hard in a long run to continuously create new possibilities in this area.

Hsiao: You have obviously given a lot of thought to the structure of the creative process, and you have accomplished many projects. Your current collections include Reflections of Nan-fang-ao, YULAN Magnolia Flowers, Happy Landing: A Family Photo Album, Fish Market in Tsukiji, and Taiwanese Cabaret. Why were you, as a productive author, willing to put so much effort into these various photo essays? What are you trying to say to the world?
Shen: As I mentioned in my preface, I think the point is to move myself, and to conduct a dialogue with myself. I can’t really describe how others would feel about my photo essays. The space should be given to the viewer to make their own interpretations. In short, I’m highly interested in human issues; I like to make different connections of how people in various fields or occupations handle the circumstances that they produce or the fate that is forced upon them. At the same time, I love to explore the good qualities of ordinary people.

Hsiao: What kind of “good qualities”?
Shen: Down-to-earth, diligence, tenderness, and to some extent, courage without regret.  

Hsiao: When did you start working on your first documentary photography project?  In the process, did you have any doubts?
Shen: My first collection, Fish Market in Tsukiji, started in 1992, when I was still studying in Japan. It has been 15 years; and it is still an ongoing project. This may have something to do with my personality; once I start something, I won’t give up until it’s done. I’m currently in the midst of several ongoing projects, and during the process, indeed I continuously ask myself if my passion has disappeared; but so far so good. I do feel restless when I’m not out taking photos, so it looks like I can still be doing this for a few years.

Hsiao: How do you find something that moves you in your subjects?
Shen: Being moved is an aspect of inner reflection. In fact, each subject moves me in a different way with different intensity, especially when I’m observing and conversing with the people. It is very difficult for me to explain; but I am clearly aware that these subjects have stayed with me over the years.  

Hsiao: How did you learn the structure of documentary photography?
Shen: I’ve always studied and still study the works of various photographers from all over the world. I love to absorb and share others’ points of view and experiences through their works. The process of studying actually influences us gradually and imperceptibly; it is absolutely helpful to our sensibility and fundamental skills.  

Hsiao: Are there any photographers you admire?
Shen: Many. I can give you an endless list, including photographers from Taiwan, China, Japan, Korea, Europe and the U.S. Recently, I’ve been looking at Fukase Masahisa’s books.

Hsiao: What do you admire about him?
Shen: I think that Fukase Masahisa’s work fully reflects personal values and attitudes through his photo essays. He takes photography as an experiment and realization of visual perception, aesthetics and self-exploration; rather delicate and meaningful. For example, his The Solitude of Ravens is, on some level, quite similar to Chang Chien-Chi’s I do, I do, I do, in terms of self-expression.  His editing techniques of his serial collections are quite unique too.

Hsiao: Meaning you too think that it is critical to view documentary photography as aesthetic transformation?
Shen: That is one of the goals of my learning.  

Hsiao: Do you also wish to reflect your personal attitudes or values through your work?
Shen: I believe that any work reflects the author’s values and attitudes in some degree, whether it’s my work or the work of others. In truth, my work has always been responding to the values of the so-called common people.  

Hsiao: What kind of values? To whom do you answer?
Shen: The energy that comes from ordinary life and similar experiences. I always think that, in creating, if we cannot be inspired and moved by real-life people and subjects, then it is even harder to find inspiration elsewhere. Of course, this discussion is different if I choose to try other outlets of creativity in the future. As to whom I’m answering, probably to myself and to society in general. If it’s doable, this will make our efforts all the more meaningful.

Hsiao: In other words, you feel that documentary photography can contribute to social progress?
Shen: Yes.

Hsiao: With so much subject matter for documentary photographers to choose from, what are your standards for choosing?
Shen: My standards are very abstract. If it sparks my interest, then it is good subject matter to me. As well as my interest, visual and cultural considerations are also incorporated into my standards; but I don’t seek them out intentionally.  

Hsiao: How can your projects span for such a long time? Almost every one of your topics has broken the time record of other Taiwanese photographers.  
Shen: Really? Taking a long time isn’t necessarily a good thing (laughs). Some people think my documentary process takes too long. Considering the objective circumstances, I’m a self-supporting independent artist, so it is understandable that the process is extensive. On the other hand, taking your time is not a bad thing either; it allows you a chance to take a break and reevaluate things, gives you time to think for each departure; sometime to engage, sometime to detach. But once you start to do it, the entire process cannot be measured by quantity or efficiency.  

Hsiao: In other words, you live in the world of creating; do you think about the subjects all the time?
Shen: On some level, yes.

Hsiao: Tell me how you feel when you are on the scene taking photos.  
Shen: For a long time, I have put my creative work into the context of real life.  Thus, anytime I am on the scene as I hoped, I feel immensely satisfied and settled, as if I return to a world that I know well.  

Hsiao: Documentary photography is deeply spiritual for you; but there is huge discrepancy, in content and essence, between yours and that practiced in the current journalism industry. What do you make of this?
Shen: It’s a question of reality and idealism, and it is also an issue of choice and adjustment. Although I am interested in different subjects, my work certainly has provided me a lot of interview training and hands-on experience. So-called adjustment between work and creativity is still within the area of correcting and controlling.  

Hsiao: Do you wish for more like-minded photographers to work in this field, develop a trend, create more works, and wield more influence?
Shen: My heart does, but my mind is reluctant to say so. Because there are many unpredictable obstacles and frustrations in the creative process, too many people simply drop out. Of course my heart hopes that more people will devote themselves to this work and generate more dialogue. But, realistically, it is not that easy. Of course, it also has to do with a photographer’s own will power.  

Hsiao: What are the obstacles or frustrations?
Shen: I think the greatest difficulty lies in maintaining our passion. If the passion is still there, any problem can be solved. In terms of frustrations, the area is broad; it can be physical, ideological, technical, the actual process and so on.

Hsiao: Do you care about visual tension in the image?
Shen: It is impossible not to.  

Hsiao: Examples of contemporary presentation of visual tension include filling up the frame with the image, using wide-angle lens for artificial tension, exploiting the subject to emphasize visual intensity, or employing the main picture to magnify the story’s dramatic effect. However, your work seems relatively serene, and tends not to emphasize these effects.  
Shen: In each of my topics, I have applied these elements as I see fit which is not a lot.  It is because I don’t wish for the same so-called deliberate visual tension to appear too much and too frequently in my work.  

Hsiao: Why?
Shen: Mainly, I don’t wish to create tension for tension’s sake. I think that it is enough when used in moderation. Images that are profound and moving come from unassuming and long-time observation, not entirely from visual techniques. To me, overusing visual techniques makes the images less interesting or enduring. I would consider the meanings behind such tension in the context of my collections.  
I appreciate the sense of theater or cinema that springs from the real life in some photographic works. This may have something to do with the fact that I studied filmmaking in my early years. Therefore, I naturally take notice of this kind of perspective and composition.  

Hsiao: What do you mean by “the sense of theater or cinema”?
Shen: The sense of theater in a photo is the emotion and ambience from the environment, people, or relationships between the environment and people, or between people. In terms of the sense of cinema, it has to do with the thought behind the editing of a collection. I have explained this in detail in my preface.  

Hsiao: Why do you emphasize the structure and presentation of a book more and more?
Shen: When books are viewed as an independent exhibition platform, then they become as important as the exhibition itself. However, the final result is a delicate balance between the ideal, the reality, and the budget.  

Hsiao: But there is a big difference between books and an exhibition in terms of the flow of space and ideologies.  
Shen: When I say we should think about books as an exhibition platform, we have to look back at the book’s specifications, material, printing quality, binding, and artistic design and so on. With so many intricate combinations, it’s hard not to see books as exhibition; an exhibition through book format. Although real exhibitions have a much larger presence than books, a well-planned and designed photography collection book is much more accessible than a large-scale exhibition to the viewers.  

Hsiao: Why did you choose to print YULAN Magnolia Flowers in line screen(S):600 tritone?
Shen: I tried to achieve a higher precision printing for a photography collection; also it’s my response to what I mentioned about treating a book as an exhibition.  This technique is already very mature in Taiwan’s printing presses; the use of this technique and high-quality ink and paper in this process also became a very important learning experience to me.  

Hsiao: Documentary photography to you is a way of facing yourself, a process of self-discussion, and self-realization. Does that mean that your subjects and their reactions become unimportant? 
Shen: Of course they are important.  Inevitably, I often face the questions of choices and judgments. Because I choose to document common people’s lives, I cannot, nor should I, ignore the feelings of those being documented. But I try to make our feelings similar to each other’s, because I will never give up on subjects that move me.  From another perspective, if we look at things from another elevated point or into deeper social meanings, it may become a different choice and judgment.  

Hsiao: The international audience seems to be more receptive to Taiwanese Cabaret than YULAN Magnolia Flowers. Do you think about the international reception when considering subject matter?
Shen: Whether it’s Taiwanese Cabaret, YULAN Magnolia Flowers, or any of my collections, they all carry the same importance to me. They represent my different stages of observation and concern. I don’t put in more effort simply for international reception. Besides, true understanding is not entirely the responsibility of the author.  Some feel that YULAN Magnolia Flowers still portrays the melancholy tone of the lower classes. I feel that I was trying to understand and observe them in a context of a larger structure, and not simply capture the sadness and helplessness of the “little people”.  

Hsiao: What do you do when you reach a bottleneck?
Shen: Through work, reading, or travel, I take myself away from the issue at hand, and then come back and look at it with fresh eyes.  

Hsiao: Photographs represent the photographer; one can clearly see the author through his work. Your work reveals a deep caring for humanity, contributing to both society and other photographers.  
Shen: If that is true, I am truly blessed.  

Hsiao Jia-Ching is an Assistant Professor at Journalism Dept. of Shih Hsin University, Taipei, Taiwan.

回上一層