People who play photography often hear a joke, "Photography is poor for three generations, and SLRs ruin your life." Photography enthusiasts keep fiddling with photography equipment, so they have to get rich by relying on photography. One word is "difficult". But 75-year-old Xu Weicheng is a bit different. His life has accumulated different "wealth" due to photography. On the day of the interview with Xu Weicheng, he came with six bags of photography equipment, each backpack weighing nearly 50 kilograms. As he orderly took out the SLRs, cameras, and card machines from different eras from each bag... His photography journey, which spans 60 years, gradually unfolded.
Partial collection display
origin "Scenery Photo Studio"
Xu Weicheng, born in 1948, participated in photography training at the Hongkou District Youth Palace at the age of 14, and since then, a seed of a "photographic dream" has been planted in his heart. At that time, everyone was not rich, and having a camera was a luxury. Coincidentally, his elementary school classmate’s uncle works in the Scenery Photo Studio in , Yangpu District, . Whenever he had time, he would spend time with his classmates in the photo studio and learn skills. In the past, when taking photos with an optical camera, dimming and taking photos were the first step. You also need to learn to print photos and repair photos. This experience helped Xu Weicheng gain the first "wealth" in his life.
Advanced "film era"
1969, Xu Weicheng, who studied radio, went to Bozhou, Anhui to settle down in a queue and worked in a local industrial and mining enterprise. It was also during this period that he began his life's "wild collection" and had the first "Shanghai brand" camera and the first "Phoenix brand" camera. In 1980, Xu Weicheng spent 720 yuan to buy a film machine "Minolda 700", and this camera has been with him for almost ten years. Generally, a roll of film can only take 36 photos, while Xu Weicheng relies on solid technology to measure the size in advance before starting shooting and manually adjust the gap in the film. A roll of film can take 40 photos in his hands. After more than 40 years, this "Minolta 700" camera is still as new as it is and can be used normally. The quality and beauty of early mechanical equipment are fully displayed in it.
The "digital age" transformed by
In the 1990s, diverse photography equipment such as digital cameras, tape camcorder began to appear on the market. Although old photography enthusiasts miss the era of filming technology, techniques, texture and other aspects, the convenience of digital and the continuous iteration of technology, Xu Weicheng began to transform into using digital cameras, and Canon 5D4 became the SLR he had used the longest time.
60 photography history, Xu Weicheng has collected more than 20 cameras of different models, more than 30 lenses of various types, and more than 100 memory cards... Now he is the vice president of the Elderly Association of Shanghai Photographers Association and the president of Xincheng Road Street Photographers Association. With his efforts, the member of Xincheng Road Street Photographers Association has grown from the earliest 6 people to 63 people. A group of old comrades with the same hobbies took advantage of their remaining energy after retirement and continued to record the changes in the city.
Xu Weicheng Photography Works
Old Xu said that everyone said that "photography is poor for three generations", but he achieved his career because of this hobby. In 1992, Xu Weicheng began his own entrepreneurial journey. During the process of starting a business, he made many friends with the hobby of photography, and in his business operations, he also obtained many orders because of his love of taking photos for others. Nowadays, enterprises are getting bigger and bigger, and their lives are getting richer. Usually, he loves to carry bags with his photographers and run around the mountains and rivers. While witnessing the changes of his motherland, he is also 75 years old and still has a tall figure and energetic spirit, and has gained the greatest wealth of life "health".
Correspondent: Fei Xiaoxiao
Editor: Lu Zebin
