文 /袁 敏

1826攝影博物館外景。The 1826 Photography Museum seen from outside.

世界上第一張可以永久保存的照片誕生在1826年，照片是法國(guó)攝影先驅(qū)尼埃普斯拍攝的《窗外的風(fēng)景》，當(dāng)時(shí)尼埃普斯在布滿瀝青涂層的錫板上拍攝了他從自家窗戶上看到的景色，并保存了下來(lái)。這就是今天的人們所看到的最古老的照片。

而在富春江畔的富陽(yáng)龍門古鎮(zhèn)，就開著一家以此命名的私人博物館—1826攝影博物館。

博物館主人叫李長(zhǎng)江，博物館坐落在一座浸染著幾百年歷史煙云的明清老宅里。老宅門臉不大，古老斑駁的院落磚墻，層疊滄桑的屋檐瓦當(dāng)，卻透出一種沉甸甸的厚重，門楣上方“世德堂”三個(gè)字古樸蒼勁，昭示了房子曾經(jīng)的主人崇尚“世代重視道德”的高尚品性。

三代人108年收藏

穿過(guò)老梅生花的庭院，走過(guò)“華國(guó)儒宗”的廳堂，站在一方綠意點(diǎn)點(diǎn)的天井里，再看這座藏匿在老舊木板房子里的攝影博物館，突然間就有了一種走向歷史深處的蒼茫之感。

可是，就這樣一座面闊三間的老房子，能收藏多少東西呢？

善于觀相讀心的李長(zhǎng)江顯然捕捉到了我心中的疑惑，在一旁很淡然地對(duì)我說(shuō)：一個(gè)人假如有足夠多的錢，一夜之間或許就可以成為萬(wàn)臺(tái)相機(jī)的擁有者，但距離一位攝影收藏家還有漫漫長(zhǎng)路。從嚴(yán)格意義上說(shuō)，1826攝影博物館并非由我一個(gè)人創(chuàng)建，而是匯集了師徒三代 108年的收藏，還有一位正值盛年就溘然離世的攝影人走南闖北多年收集的寶貝。這里的館藏涉及照相機(jī)、攝影鏡頭、攝影附件、攝影作品、底片、相機(jī)設(shè)計(jì)文獻(xiàn)、攝影化學(xué)文獻(xiàn)、古董照相機(jī)修復(fù)與改制等八大門類，共計(jì)藏品兩千五百余件，周邊展覽資源三萬(wàn)余件。那是一代又一代攝影人留下來(lái)的心血，我只是一個(gè)保管者，當(dāng)然，我更希望自己能成為一個(gè)傳承人！這種傳承不僅僅是對(duì)藏品而言，更是傳承一種精神！

妙巖書院。The Miaoyan Academy.

李長(zhǎng)江的話讓我一下子對(duì)這座古樸的老宅肅然起敬。但真正讓我感到震撼的，還是看了部分藏品之后。

說(shuō)實(shí)話，這座博物館給人感覺(jué)十分簡(jiǎn)陋，但里面展示的珍貴收藏，卻令人嘆為觀止。這里有各個(gè)世紀(jì)不同類型的古典攝影器材，也有多枚極為罕見的19世紀(jì)60年代的鍍金鏡頭；有第二次世界大戰(zhàn)時(shí)戰(zhàn)地記者用過(guò)的新聞攝影器材，更有周恩來(lái)總理最愛的同款相機(jī)，等等。而最讓人眼睛發(fā)亮的，還是那些跨越各個(gè)朝代，尤其是民國(guó)時(shí)期的飽含時(shí)代人文氣息、藏匿著種種歷史故事的老照片、舊底片、書札、手稿……它們展現(xiàn)的攝影人文線路地圖，涵蓋中華大地的江河湖海、戈壁山川，杭州、南京、昆明、黃山、普陀、敦煌、嘉峪關(guān)、河西走廊……百年記憶，悠遠(yuǎn)綿長(zhǎng)。

而在所有展出的收藏中，最搶眼的龐然大物，居然是農(nóng)家常見的一臺(tái)揚(yáng)篩谷子的風(fēng)車。

最初，我以為它只是用來(lái)點(diǎn)綴博物館古樸氛圍的一個(gè)鄉(xiāng)村原始農(nóng)耕老家伙，等到李長(zhǎng)江撩開覆蓋在風(fēng)車上的紅布，讓我看到了風(fēng)車前端一個(gè)長(zhǎng)方形的木框里兩個(gè)像望遠(yuǎn)鏡一般的黑色鏡頭，我才知道，這原來(lái)是一臺(tái)用風(fēng)車改造的大幅相機(jī)。

這是李長(zhǎng)江創(chuàng)意研發(fā)，并帶領(lǐng)龍門的三位相機(jī)發(fā)燒友村民共同改造制作的，他們將這臺(tái)相機(jī)命名為“1826脫殼機(jī)1.0”大畫幅立體照相機(jī)。2019年，這臺(tái)“風(fēng)車相機(jī)”在麗水國(guó)際攝影節(jié)上展出后，一下子成了網(wǎng)紅，凡是來(lái)龍門古鎮(zhèn)的游客，都會(huì)來(lái)尋找1826攝影博物館，打卡“風(fēng)車相機(jī)”。

我問(wèn)李長(zhǎng)江，你怎么會(huì)想到用農(nóng)村最常見的揚(yáng)篩稻谷的風(fēng)車來(lái)制作相機(jī)？除了想還原和傳承古典攝影和手工制作相機(jī)的技藝，是不是也想讓這門小眾的專業(yè)走進(jìn)民間，讓更多的普羅大眾了解和欣賞攝影世界的魅力？這座明清木結(jié)構(gòu)的老房子雖然有厚重的古韻氣場(chǎng)，但其實(shí)并不適合收藏珍貴的文物，你卻選擇了在這里創(chuàng)建1826攝影博物館，而且一辦就是五年，聽說(shuō)其間也有能提供更好條件的合作者向你發(fā)出邀請(qǐng)，你卻拒絕了，為什么？是龍門的人文底蘊(yùn)對(duì)你的吸引，還是“世德堂”這座明清老宅能承載和弘揚(yáng)你想倡導(dǎo)的攝影傳統(tǒng)文化？

長(zhǎng)江說(shuō)，你去過(guò)龍門山下的妙巖寺嗎？清代時(shí)先人曾經(jīng)在那里辦過(guò)“妙巖書院”，讀書講學(xué)。其實(shí)我最想做的事情，就是傳播攝影古典工藝文化，搞藝術(shù)實(shí)驗(yàn)教育，做一個(gè)“中國(guó)當(dāng)代濕版攝影文化的播種者”。我想重新恢復(fù)“妙巖書院”，做攝影講學(xué)，把我的師公、師傅傳給我的東西，傳遞給更多的人！

緣起大幅相機(jī)

隨著李長(zhǎng)江的講述，我走進(jìn)了三代攝影人108年的攝影故事。

李長(zhǎng)江是新杭州人，老家在安徽馬鞍山，父母本是普通百姓，卻也沒(méi)有逃脫那個(gè)特殊年代被折騰擺布的命運(yùn)。只因?yàn)橥夤缒晖鶃?lái)上海做生意，在靈璧縣城置了土地和宅子，母親的家庭成分就有了問(wèn)題，由此便連累做電工的父親一起被下放到淮北農(nóng)村，一待就是十幾年。

小長(zhǎng)江在農(nóng)村的牛棚里出生長(zhǎng)大，從小他愛上了畫畫，素描、粉彩、水墨，他都涉獵過(guò)，萬(wàn)物在他筆下栩栩如生。他一心想考美院，但因?yàn)榧彝コ煞植缓枚痪苤T外，最后只能退而求其次，讀了淮北師范學(xué)院的工藝美術(shù)設(shè)計(jì)。畢業(yè)后，為了生存，他從南到北闖蕩過(guò)許多地方，北京、江蘇、浙江、福建……先后做過(guò)企劃、營(yíng)銷、管理，什么都干。一路漂泊，一路尋找機(jī)會(huì)，李長(zhǎng)江總想著有一天能重新?lián)炱甬嫻P。然而，命運(yùn)之神并沒(méi)有眷顧他，繪畫藝術(shù)的夢(mèng)想離他越來(lái)越遠(yuǎn)。

一直到2001年，李長(zhǎng)江來(lái)到杭州，看到西子湖之美麗，他想到了攝影，攝影的門檻似乎比繪畫要低多了，只要有一部相機(jī)，就可以便捷明快地拍下世間美景。

李長(zhǎng)江果斷地離開了供職七八年收入不菲的咨詢公司，并拿出自己的積蓄，買下了第一部相機(jī)，踏上了對(duì)他來(lái)說(shuō)還十分渺茫的攝影之路，他想向這個(gè)世界咨詢一下，他能否把握自己未來(lái)的人生？

一開始，辭去工作成為自由人的他，有了大把的時(shí)間，可以盡情地行走、拍照，將天地間的無(wú)窮美景一一攝入鏡頭，但時(shí)間一長(zhǎng)，沒(méi)有固定經(jīng)濟(jì)收入的他就體味到了生存的壓力。

2004年前后，淘寶網(wǎng)興起，腦袋瓜極其聰明的李長(zhǎng)江抓住機(jī)遇，在淘寶上做起了海淘攝影器材的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)交易。生意做得風(fēng)生水起時(shí)，他遇到了真正改變他人生走向的人—郭嘉平。

郭嘉平是新中國(guó)第一代國(guó)產(chǎn)相機(jī)設(shè)計(jì)制造者，上海照相機(jī)四廠技術(shù)科的首席工程師，曾參加過(guò)國(guó)家大幅相機(jī)“國(guó)家標(biāo)準(zhǔn)—GB標(biāo)準(zhǔn)”的修訂工作，設(shè)計(jì)制作過(guò)多種規(guī)格和型號(hào)的大幅相機(jī)。而郭嘉平最為人稱道也是流傳最廣的故事，則是他在20世紀(jì)70年代國(guó)門開放之初，為中國(guó)展開“乒乓球外交”作出過(guò)的貢獻(xiàn)。由他設(shè)計(jì)的“移動(dòng)式可折疊乒乓球臺(tái)”在世界賽事上驚艷亮相，受到世界各國(guó)運(yùn)動(dòng)員和嘉賓的高度稱贊。

正是這位郭嘉平先生，一直以來(lái)有一個(gè)宏大志向，他想制造出中國(guó)第一臺(tái)達(dá)到國(guó)際標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的4×5大幅相機(jī)。當(dāng)時(shí)這種相機(jī)在西方一些發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家早已出現(xiàn)并得到應(yīng)用，但在中國(guó)相機(jī)制造業(yè)內(nèi)卻似乎還被視為高不可攀的領(lǐng)域。郭嘉平覺(jué)得西方人可以做到的事情，中國(guó)人為什么不能做到？他不服這口氣，開始向廠領(lǐng)導(dǎo)提出要試驗(yàn)制造4×5大幅相機(jī)，卻遭到反對(duì)，甚至百般刁難。

倔強(qiáng)的郭嘉平?jīng)]有停止自己的研發(fā)腳步，廠里不讓搞，他索性辭職成立了郭氏相機(jī)公司。一直到20世紀(jì)90年代初，郭老先生設(shè)計(jì)的中國(guó)第一臺(tái)4×5大幅機(jī)才制作完成，并申請(qǐng)了專利。

李長(zhǎng)江是在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上的郭氏攝影俱樂(lè)部里知道這位攝影前輩的，他很想認(rèn)識(shí)這位相機(jī)制造大鱷，向他學(xué)習(xí)手工制作相機(jī)的傳統(tǒng)技藝。

突然有一天，李長(zhǎng)江在郭氏粉絲群里看到有人貼出了郭氏“招徒帖”，他非常激動(dòng)，很快輾轉(zhuǎn)打聽到郭嘉平在上海家里的住址，并立刻赴滬登門拜訪。

第一次見到郭嘉平先生的情景，李長(zhǎng)江至今想起來(lái)還歷歷在目。石門二路上的兩間老房子，前店后坊，狹小局促的空間堆滿了凌亂的各種照相器材。郭先生和李長(zhǎng)江說(shuō)了兩句話，一句是：你要做相機(jī)，你必須會(huì)使用，你首先得是一個(gè)真正的攝影者；另一句是：相機(jī)是個(gè)黑匣子，但它能用黑暗收集光明。那一刻，李長(zhǎng)江在心中認(rèn)定了這個(gè)師傅。

之后，李長(zhǎng)江幾乎每周都會(huì)去一兩次上海，跟著郭嘉平干活，在這期間，李長(zhǎng)江在網(wǎng)上發(fā)起組建了一個(gè)“雙反俱樂(lè)部”，推介郭師傅的手工相機(jī)。短短的時(shí)間內(nèi)，居然吸引了全國(guó)包括臺(tái)灣、香港在內(nèi)的兩千多名攝影愛好者，甚至是世界各地的同好，他們紛紛前來(lái)訂購(gòu)郭師傅的手工相機(jī)。

情系濕版攝影

2005年前后，數(shù)碼相機(jī)興起，膠卷業(yè)萎縮，連“柯達(dá)”這樣占全球三分之二市場(chǎng)份額的膠卷大鱷都瀕臨破產(chǎn)。而郭師傅制作的手工大幅相機(jī)必須用膠卷，否則就像一把好槍卻沒(méi)有了子彈。郭師傅和李長(zhǎng)江探討，希望有一種工藝來(lái)替代膠卷，延續(xù)手工大幅相機(jī)的使用。

2017年在中國(guó)美術(shù)學(xué)院美術(shù)館與攝影教育家、評(píng)論家顧錚、林路交流郭錫麒收藏。Li was seen discussing with Gu Zhen and Lin Lu, photography educationists and critics, about Guo Xiqi’s collection at China Academy of Art in 2017.

2016年,李長(zhǎng)江受邀為中國(guó)美術(shù)學(xué)院、浙江傳媒學(xué)院、中國(guó)青瓷學(xué)院、上海師范大學(xué)攝影專業(yè)授課，圖為中國(guó)美術(shù)學(xué)院攝影系授課現(xiàn)場(chǎng)。In 2016, Li Changjiang was invited to teach photography students from China Academy of Art, Zhejiang University of Media and Communication, China Celadon College and Shanghai Normal University. The photo shows Li teaches at the Photography Department of China Academy of Art.

李長(zhǎng)江深信大幅機(jī)的許多優(yōu)勢(shì)是數(shù)碼相機(jī)無(wú)法取代的，這就像收藏這個(gè)行當(dāng)為什么能長(zhǎng)盛不衰，古老的文物為什么能穿越歲月風(fēng)沙卻歷久彌新。數(shù)碼相機(jī)拍出的相片放大到一定程度以后，就會(huì)出現(xiàn)粗糲的顆粒，而大幅機(jī)拍攝的圖像即使拉成巨幅，每個(gè)局部卻依然極為細(xì)膩。尤其是拍攝人物肖像，大幅機(jī)可以對(duì)人像做到最大程度的真實(shí)還原，細(xì)致到人物臉上的每一道皺紋，皮膚的每一寸肌理，甚至用肉眼幾乎看不見的毛孔里的每一根汗毛，都能呈現(xiàn)得一清二楚。

作為郭嘉平的關(guān)門傳承弟子，李長(zhǎng)江知道師傅心中的焦慮，他也一直在反復(fù)琢磨研究，希望找到一種可以自己動(dòng)手制作的感光材料，更好地發(fā)揮大幅機(jī)擅長(zhǎng)的攝影技術(shù)，既可以替代膠卷，同時(shí)又能延續(xù)郭師傅手工制作的大幅相機(jī)生命。

那段時(shí)間，李長(zhǎng)江整天趴在電腦前，廢寢忘食地查找和瀏覽世界各地最前沿的各種攝影信息和資料。終于有一天，他在網(wǎng)上查到一條讓自己興奮莫名的重要信息：有一對(duì)名叫奎因和杰克的英國(guó)夫婦，在歐洲傳播“火棉膠濕版攝影術(shù)”，這是遺落在時(shí)光中的一種古老而神奇的攝影法，1851年由英國(guó)雕塑家阿切爾發(fā)明。這種直接拍攝在玻璃上的照相術(shù)，可以自己制作底片，不用膠卷，該工藝最迷人之處，就是回歸攝影本身，讓攝影者真正關(guān)注攝影過(guò)程帶來(lái)的樂(lè)趣。李長(zhǎng)江在網(wǎng)上聯(lián)系上這對(duì)夫婦，不會(huì)英文的他，通過(guò)翻譯軟件與他們進(jìn)行深入的交流。

對(duì)濕版攝影有了一定的了解之后，李長(zhǎng)江覺(jué)得，這是一種可以替代膠卷，甚至比使用膠卷效果更令人滿意的攝影手段，他大膽地向郭師傅提出了嘗試做濕版大幅相機(jī)的設(shè)想。沒(méi)想到，一生都在相機(jī)制作道路上砥礪前行的郭師傅，這一次卻躊躇遲疑了。

2013年五月的最后一天，油盡燈枯的郭嘉平先生毫無(wú)征兆地走了。聞?dòng)嵹s去為郭師傅送行的李長(zhǎng)江，在那一刻倍感自己肩頭沉甸甸的重量。

2014年，已經(jīng)成功研制出濕版大幅相機(jī)，并拍攝出令人震撼的“士與土—100位抗戰(zhàn)老戰(zhàn)士”“全家?！钡纫幌盗袧癜嫒宋镄は竦睦铋L(zhǎng)江，聯(lián)手中國(guó)美院攝影系主任矯健，共同策劃和舉辦了“中國(guó)首屆濕版攝影邀請(qǐng)展”。這次在西子湖畔舉辦的攝影展，吸引了來(lái)自國(guó)內(nèi)外眾多的攝影愛好者?？蚝徒芸朔驄D也專程從美國(guó)趕來(lái)，出席了攝影展的開幕式，并參觀了展出的所有濕版攝影作品，認(rèn)為這個(gè)攝影展達(dá)到了一個(gè)令人興奮的學(xué)術(shù)高度，他們對(duì)傳承、實(shí)踐、推廣濕版攝影這門古老藝術(shù)的李長(zhǎng)江，給予了高度評(píng)價(jià)，彼此也結(jié)下了深厚的友誼。

而這一刻，李長(zhǎng)江最想告慰的，是已經(jīng)長(zhǎng)眠于地下的郭嘉平師傅。時(shí)隔不久，得知李長(zhǎng)江在濕版攝影領(lǐng)域已經(jīng)闖出一片天地的郭師傅家人告訴李長(zhǎng)江，郭嘉平臨終前留言，將自己一生重要的攝影積累全部移交給李長(zhǎng)江。更讓李長(zhǎng)江沒(méi)有想到的是，師傅留給他的畢生心血中，居然包括其父親、民國(guó)攝影大家郭錫麒最著名的那本出版于1947年的攝影集《西湖倩影》和與之相關(guān)的所有手稿。

滾滾長(zhǎng)江東流水，承載著一代又一代中國(guó)攝影人生生不息的夢(mèng)想，流淌在李長(zhǎng)江的心中，1826攝影博物館始建的初衷，恐怕也在于此吧？

Within His Chest Flows a River

By Yuan Min

The earliest photograph in the world,, was born in 1826 by French pioneer Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, who shot the scenery from his window on a tin plate of asphalt. This is the oldest permanent image that people see today. In an antique residence in Longmen Ancient Town along the Fuchun River, there is a private museum named after this photograph, the 1826 Photography Museum, whose curator is Li Changjiang. The facade is not large, with a tablet inscribed with a simple yet vigorous motto(roughly translated as the hall of morality passing on by every generation)held high above the lintel, showing the noble character of past house owners advocating moral integrity.

Passing through the courtyard of plum blossoms, across the Hall of Confucian Master, standing in the green patio, and beholding the museum hidden in the old wooden house, one might wonder: how many objects can such a small wooden house hold? Noticing my doubts, Li replied, “A person of enough wealth may become the owner of 10,000 cameras overnight, but there is still a long way to go before he turns a master photography collector. Strictly speaking, the museum was not founded by me alone, but it brought together collections of three generations of masters and apprentices with a time span of 108 years.” The collection here involves eight major categories including cameras, lens, attachments, photographs, negatives,camera design, photography chemistry documents, and repaired or restructured antique cameras, totaling over 2,500 pieces.

Li’s words left me in awe of this simple wooden house, but only after seeing the collection in person was I utterly amazed.Despite the humble looks of the house, the precious collection inside is impressive. Not only is there a variety of classical photography equipment from past centuries, there are also many extremely rare gold-plated lenses from the 1860s, journalistic photography equipment used by war reporters during World War II, and Premier Zhou Enlai’s favorite camera type. The most dazzling are the old photos, negatives, letters and manuscripts that came a long way from previous dynasties to tell historical stories and bring a century of memory. The humanistic maps of photography here cover the entire territory of China, extending to rivers, lakes, seas, and even the Gobi Desert, covering major cities and geographical landmarks such as Hangzhou, Nanjing,Kunming, Huangshan, Putuo, Dunhuang, Jiayuguan Pass and the Hexi Corridor.

Among all the exhibits, a giant winnower common in old farmhouses is the most eye-catching. Initially I thought that it was merely an ornament to the museum for some rural and idyllic atmosphere. Yet when the red cloth over it was unveiled and two black lenses in a rectangular wooden frame revealed, I learned that the colossus was a large-format camera. Designed and developed by Li himself, it was a joint masterpiece with three other camera enthusiasts of Longmen Ancient Town. They named the 3D large-format camera “1826 Winnower 1.0” .When exhibited at the Lishui International Photography Festival in 2019, this camera instantly became an internet hit, now attracting throngs of visitors at Longmen.

Despite its classic flavor, the place is actually not ideal for keeping such rare cultural relics. However, Li insisted on building the museum there five years ago. There once came people who offered him better exhibition conditions elsewhere, but Li declined. I couldn’t help wondering why. Mr. Li answered, “At the foot of Longmen Mountain in the Qing dynasty (1616-1911), there once stood the Miaoyan Academy where lectures were given and knowledge spread. I want my museum to be like it, promoting the classical craft culture of photography, where I’d engage in experimental education of art, deliver photography lectures as a disseminator of Chinese contemporary wet-plate processing, passing on what I learnt from my master and master’s master!”

1826攝影博物館是中國(guó)美術(shù)學(xué)院電影學(xué)院攝影系研究研習(xí)基地，每年都會(huì)有藝術(shù)院校攝影專業(yè)的學(xué)生慕名而來(lái)。The 1826 Photography Museum is the research base of the Photography Department of the School of Film at China Academy of Art. Every year, students majoring in photography from art schools come here.

There, I learnt the story of the three generations of photographers. Born in northern Anhui, Li has loved painting since childhood. After graduating from college, he traveled extensively for work, doing planning, marketing, and management.Along the way, he always wanted to pick up the dream of painting one day, on which, however, the Goddess of Destiny showed no mercy. In 2001, Li came to Hangzhou. Astonished by the beautiful West Lake, he thought of photography, whose threshold seemed much lower than painting — with a camera in hand, a person can easily take pictures of the whole world. As a result, Li Changjiang decided to quit his well-paid job, bought the first camera, and embarked on his seemingly unpromising road of photography.

After resignation, with much time to spare, Li could take photos to his heart’s content, capturing the in finite beauty between heaven and earth with his cameras. But before long, with no steady income, he had to struggle to make ends meet. Around 2004, with the rise of Taobao.com, China’s leading e-commerce platform, Li seized the opportunity and started dealing imported photographic equipment online. His business booming, he met the person who changed his life — Mr. Guo Jiaping.

Mr. Guo was a first-generation domestic camera designer at a Shanghai camera manufacturer after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, who designed and produced large-format cameras of various specifications and models. He had always been ambitious to produce China’s very first 4×5 large-format camera up to international standards. Applied widely in developed Western countries, this type of camera was still regarded unattainable in Chinese camera manufacturing industry. Believing that the Chinese could do what the Westerners did, Guo proposed a trial manufacturing of 4×5 large-format cameras, only to be rejected by his leaders. Persistent as Guo was, he didn’t stop his research and development, and simply resigned and established Guo’s Camera Company. It was not until the early 1990s that the first 4×5 largescale camera designed by Mr. Guo was produced and patented.

Upon learning about this senior photographer from Guo’s online photography club, Li Changjiang sincerely wanted to befriend this camera maker and learn the traditional skills of hand-made cameras. One day, Li saw someone posted a notice in Guo’s fan group online, recruiting an apprentice for Guo. Elated,he soon searched out Guo’s address in Shanghai and set forth to visit him. Li still remembers the scene when he first saw Mr. Guo.The old, cramped house on Shimen 2nd Road was a two-room layout, with one as the shopfront and the other in the back as the workshop, and it was filled with messy equipment. Mr. Guo told Li, “If you want to make a camera, you must first be a true photographer” , and “A camera is a dark box, but it can collect light from darkness” . At that very moment, Li adored this master in his heart. Since then, Li Changjiang went to Shanghai once or twice a week to work under Guo Jiaping. Meanwhile, Li launched an online club to promote Mr. Guo’s handmade cameras, which before long attracted more than 2,000 photographers from all over China. Camera enthusiasts from all over the world also came to place orders for Mr. Guo’s handmade cameras.

Around 2005, with the rise of digital cameras, even film giants like Kodak were on the verge of bankruptcy. Yet for manual largeformat cameras, film was a must, or it would be like a gun without bullets. Mr. Guo and Li went through lengthy discussions, hoping to find a substitute for film so as to continue the life of manual large-format cameras. The advantages of large-format cameras are irreplaceable by digital cameras. When a photo taken with a digital camera is enlarged to a certain extent, coarse grains will appear.But it’s not the case for those from large-format cameras. Even if stretched into an extremely large size, every detail remains delicate and vivid. Especially in figure photography, large-format cameras can restore the portraits to the greatest extent, with every hair in the pore of the subject clearly presented.

As Guo’s last disciple, Li understood the anxiety in his master’s heart. He deliberated persistently, hoping to find a photosensitive material that he could make on his own, thus substituting film in making better use of large-format cameras.Stationed in front of the computer all day long, Li searched and browsed the cutting-edge photographic information all over the world. One day, he found a British couple, the Jacobsons,promoting the “wet-plate collodion process” in Europe. This ancient method of photography, invented by British sculptor Frederick S. Archer in 1851, records directly on glass, with which photographers can make their own negatives instead of film.The most fascinating thing about this craft is that it goes back to photography itself, allowing photographers to really focus on the joy of the photographing process. Li contacted the couple on the internet through a translation software.

After gaining a certain understanding of the wet-plate processing, Li felt that this would be a more satisfactory method than exposing on film. He boldly proposed to Mr. Guo the idea of dedicated large-format cameras for wet-plate processing.Unexpectedly, Guo, who had been forging ahead on the road of camera production all his life, hesitated this time. On May 31,2013, Mr. Guo passed away suddenly. At his funeral, Li felt a heavy burden on his shoulders.

In 2014, Li Changjiang successfully developed a wet-plate large-format camera, and shot a series of striking portraits such asr andLi cooperated with Jiao Jian, chairman of the Photography Department of the China Academy of Art, as curators of the First China Wet-plate Photography Invitational Exhibition by the West Lake, attracting many international photographers. Mr. and Mrs. Quinn Jacobson made a special trip from the United States to attend the opening ceremony. The couple spoke highly of Li, who, as they said, inherited, practiced and promoted the ancient art of wet-plate photography. The three of them became bosom friends.

Yet at this moment, the person whom Li most wanted to pay respect to was Master Guo. Soon after, informed of Li’s huge achievements in wet-plate photography, Guo’s family told him that Guo left a message on his deathbed to hand over the photographic collection of his life to Li. To Li’s sheer astonishment, the life-long collection included the most famous photo bookpublished in 1947 by Guo’s father, Guo Xiqi, a celebrated photographer, and all the manuscripts related to it.

The rolling water of the Yangtze River carries endless dreams of Chinese photographers from generation to generation, and flows also in Li Changjiang’s heart. Doesn’t the original intention of the 1826 Photography Museum lie here too?