Foreigners seek to capture the people's Beijing
- By Li Xiao
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China.org.cn, December 17, 2010
German photographer Frank P. Palmer aimed his camera on construction workers who spend much of their day several hundred meters above ground and won third prize for his photo titled "Soft power-Youth Team," which shows them working on the new CCTV headquarters.
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| German photographer Frank P. Palmer (L) presented his prize-winning photo to Wang Jian (R), deputy secretary-general of BPAFFC and organizer of the event. |
A veteran of this competition, Palmer won first prize last year with a photo of four smiling construction workers standing 300 meters in the air on the unfinished Tower 3 of the China World Trade Center, which at the time was the tallest building in Beijing.
Palmer said that the credit for creative architecture usually goes to designers, but it is the construction workers who actually transform the blueprint into reality.
"Their work is interesting as well as dangerous," Palmer said. "I cannot agree with the statement describing them as the bottom of society. These people are China's true heroes. They are doing very important work, and they represent the soft power of this fast-developing country."
Palmer views himself as a storyteller with camera rather than a photographer. Using his camera, he documented not only the landmark structures in Beijing, but also the construction process and the workers. He said that during the construction of the new CCTV headquarters, he went to take photos every second day, recording nearly the entire building process.
An experienced traveler, Palmer has been to many countries and traveled throughout China.
"Beijing is a great city moving fast in its modernization process. New buildings appear every day. By recording them with camera, I also become a part of history."
Ai Qin, director of Palmer Cultural Development Co., Ltd, and an assistant to Palmer, said Chinese tend to persuade others by words while Americans have more faith in the power of pictures.
"One picture is worth more than a thousand words," Ai said. "In the US, a picture may sell for 25 million yuan (US$3.75 million) at an auction."
She suggested the government and media use more expressive pictures to improve the international image of China.
For more prize-winning photos please visit:
http://www.china.org.cn/photos/photo_contest/node_7105174.htm
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