On the regret of portrait photography

He was once talked about because of an album with the poet's index finger as the cover.

He said that he had caught the best monster in China, and that was enough.

Bai Hua, his friend and poet, saw the photos he took of himself and said, "You shouldn't take photos of a person easily, because whoever you take must be the best photo I have taken of that person in my life."

He is called "the best portrait photographer in China"

His name is Xiao Quan.

He has photographed many famous people in the fields of literature, art, music and film in 1980s and 1990s, such as Beidao, Jia Pingwa, Chen Danqing, Shi Tiesheng, Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Jiang Wen, Dou Wei and Tan Dun. Every photo of him has a story told through his lens.

But in his eyes, there are no celebrities, only friends, only fate.

Xiao Quan and dancer Yang li Ping have been friends for many years. The peacock in his lens is quite different from what the world thinks of her.

He said that he had filmed Yang li Ping for more than ten years and would continue filming. Although she is an old lady, she is still Yang li Ping, sunbathing in Dali.

Some people say that when San Mao needed a photographer, God sent Xiao Quan to her side. San Mao in Xiao Quan's lens is careless, and there is a kind of free and easy in his bones between his gestures. He became friends with Sanmao because Sanmao took this set of photos, which became the last glory of Sanmao before his death.

After Sanmao committed suicide, Xiao Quan regretted not being able to attend her funeral. His wife comforted him: "Sanmao has no funeral, only a birthday."

In the early 1990s, Xiao Quan met Veronica, Cultural Counselor of the French Consulate in Guangzhou. She asked Xiao Quan, do you know Mark Rib? He will come to China soon and wants to find an English-speaking photographer as an assistant.

Photographers of that era should know about Mark Rib.

Marc riboud is a world-class photographer, former chairman of Magnum Photo Agency, and a national treasure war photographer in France. His photography career has lasted for 70 years. He has been to many countries all his life, photographing the corners of human society and the changes of local people's lives with the eyes of onlookers, and showing the most real life in his works.

This is his first masterpiece, which was shot on the Eiffel Tower. With this job, he got the qualification to enter the magnum photo.

During the 20 years from 1993 to 20 13, Xiao Quan and Mark recorded the changes of an era in China with their cameras.

1995, Mark was invited by the French investor of Zhang Yimou film "Shake, Shake, Shake to Waipoqiao" to take photos. Zhang Yimou has also become Mark's most important role model. He was very interested in this China man in a military coat and made many films for him. Gong Li, who was waiting on the sidelines, was obviously very curious about Mark's shooting.

In Shanghai, they will go to the alley when they have time. Every time I meet those children in the alley, Mark will become an "old kid" who loves to laugh. The canteen in the lane sells all kinds of drinks, and the children wear the most popular jackets at that time ... Yes, Shanghai was the most fashionable city in China at that time.

From 65438 to 0996, Mark Rib tirelessly walked through Tiananmen Square and Qianmen Street and took many photos. In the same year, Mark Rib held a large-scale solo exhibition "Forty Years of Mark Rib China" in China Art Museum. In this exhibition, Xiao Quan met Catherine, the woman who made Mark Rib "start over" for the first time.

On June 24th, 2003, Mark Rib spent his 80th birthday in Paris. He received a postcard from China, which read.

"Dedicated to an 80-year-old man who is still taking pictures. I personally experienced how a photographer with a sense of responsibility and full of hope for everything faces life. You make me awe-inspiring, but it's hard to follow suit. "

This postcard is from Xiao Quan.

20 10, Mark Rib, who came to Shanghai again, is an 87-year-old man, but he is still a happy "old child". He held a large retrospective exhibition in Shanghai Art Museum. There was a surprise at the exhibition. 197 1 year, Mark filmed a girl in Shanghai Ballet. On the opening day, Ms. Tang Xuejuan, a young girl in Mark's works, came to the exhibition site. This reunion after 39 years made Mark very happy. He pulled her to the front of his work and took this photo of time and space. Let us wonder what time has left. What did you take?

In the summer of 2009, Xiao Quan came to Paris and Mark Rib's home. Over the years, years have changed their looks, but they have never changed their enthusiasm for each other and their love for photography.

In 20 13, on the occasion of Mark Rib's 90th birthday, Xiao Quan went to Paris again to meet him at Mark's home, which was the last time Xiao Quan went to see Mark. Even at home, it is difficult to move Mark, who is about 90 years old. Xiao Quan told him that he climbed the Eiffel Tower and found the position of a painter. Mark listened thoughtfully, but said nothing.

Mark witnessed many great events in China. He has a special love for China. In the past 50 years, he observed, thought, expressed, intervened and presented the mysterious country in the eyes of westerners in his own way.

He once said, "I walked around China and took many photos. I also drank a lot of tea and listened to many lengthy official reports ... Everywhere I went, I saw and loved these beautiful faces, the old bronze rust on the tools, the vast expanse and some strange landscapes, and there was a dignity everywhere, which replaced the shame of almost the whole nation in the last century. "

We would like to thank this photographer from the West, who has spent half a century continuously reporting on China and showing China to the world.