Shooting experience of Nitraria tangutorum

Nitraria claimed to take "portrait photos". But first of all, he didn't shoot the face of people, but the face of the government. Every time he goes to Hohhot in the north, Shenzhen in the south, Shanghai in the east and Zhangye in the west, he will drive around the streets. If the driver says there is a new government building here, he will definitely try to photograph it.

Up to now, Bai Xiaoci has photographed more than 40 county-level government buildings, which can be called "collection of architectural styles of county-level governments in China in the sense of samples".

These photos look familiar: each building is horizontal, vertical and symmetrical, and always taken from the front 50 meters away from the building. White thorn deliberately makes the photos of these government buildings present a positive standard portrait.

In the lens, the architectural styles of most government buildings have several key words-Roman style, classical style, White House style, colonnade and the pursuit of massiness.

When Bai Xiaozhi's series of "portraits" of government buildings reached a certain number, his fame spread like wildfire. People commented on his photos online-"The motherland is strong and proud of you!" But some people say-"The government building is so grand and the cost is so high!"

In fact, for this photographer who has been paying attention to the urbanization process in China, this is just an expression that he reflects his thinking with his photographic lens. "In 2005 and 2006, the government buildings in China entered a prosperous period of construction, and those years were also a period of rapid expansion of China's land market. Counties merged to build new districts, and government buildings were often built in new urban areas, which played an economic driving role in the development of new districts." He said carefully.

Bai Xiaozhi did not give a biased name to his series of photos of government buildings. He thinks that building a government building is first of all an economic drive, followed by political aesthetics, which is a symbol of the government. "It's like opening a flagship store in a shopping mall."

"But the government building is not without individual beauty," he stressed. For example, in Kaili, Guizhou, the architecture of national style made him aftertaste for a long time. In Tianzhu, Gansu, the Tibetan-style government building made him feel refreshed. "When I went to Jinjiang, Fujian, I also saw the post-modern government building with a strong sense of design."

Although I enjoyed it, the shooting process was more sour and bitter. If you want to shoot the government building, the biggest difficulty is to enter the shooting scene. Once, he wanted to photograph a government building, but 50 meters away from it happened to be another government agency. The doorman asked him for proof or letter of introduction, but he couldn't get it out, so he couldn't shoot it properly.

Over time, Bai Xiaozhi learned how to deal with the doorman. "Generally, you should look straight and enter as a staff member." He even developed a skill. He looked at the doorman and knew how to get in and how to get in.

In addition to filming "county level", he occasionally "leapfrog" to prefecture-level cities. When filming "The White House" in Fuyang, Anhui, he walked around the building several times and never found the best shooting spot. Finally, he found that the top of a clothing city opposite was the most suitable. It was getting dark, and at the last minute, he met the security guard of the foot washing city downstairs, just having the key to the top of the clothing city, so he could make a smooth move.

Once in a county in the west, Bai Xiaoci arrived by bus for more than three hours. I didn't expect the power supply bureau building to be opposite the government building. Seeing that there was no fence, he ran to the roof in one breath. After shooting, he found that there was meat and chicken in the kitchen on the rooftop, and it was there, unattended.

Bai Xiaoci currently runs a company in Shenzhen. After shooting in all directions, he returned to Shenzhen to combine these massive "information fragments" and finally formed a work. For him, taking photos is only the first step to finish the work.

In Bai Xiaozhi's resume, as a photographer, he has never won any famous awards. "I used to fill out a form to declare the Dutch race with great interest, but I didn't send my work in the end." He said with a smile. He had the opportunity to work as a contract photographer in a multinational organization at the price of 10 thousand yuan for a single work, but he also refused. He seems to be more interested in focusing on free creation. For example, making documentaries, participating in art exhibitions, opening columns in newspapers and even working as social workers will all promote the healthy development of the city.