財團法人新光三越文教基金會
曾經...(消逝的存在) / Once... (Pictures of Things Past) 「1」
2011年首獎 2011 First Prize
蔡昌吉 / 台中大安
拍攝動機：
當年過半百之後，人的身心靈總是處於衰退老化狀態。焦慮、不安、空虛、膽怯...隨著時間一一迎面而來，自2010年起興起了參加新光三越國際攝影大賽的念頭。目的：一來活化自我的身心靈，二來考驗攝影技能是否退化。從上網、填表、送件、等待、失落、驚喜...，過程中一切的酸、甜、苦、辣...點滴在心頭，相當慶幸這兩年來的收穫頗豐，讓自己有了「老而不休」的真實體現。
攝影心得：
存在哲學指出“生命是一種不斷被拋入某種現實情境的歷程，而生命一開始即為面向死亡的存在”。因此，海德格爾指出，人必須正視死亡，從恐懼中明白自己活著的重要性。
我以“貼近土地，面對死亡，體現存在”作為攝影表現中影像的核心，藉由影像展現對死亡與生命存在意義的描述。並以時間化為「此在之存有」的寓圖，讓生命中憂心、虛浮、陷落與醒覺...在自我中開顯「存在」的真實。
Tsai Chang-chi / Ta’an Township, Taichung
Why I Took These Pictures :
Once you’ve passed the half-century mark, you tend to go downhill, both physically and mentally. Slowly, feelings of anxiety, restlessness, emptiness or timidity start cropping up. So when in 2010 I heard about the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi International Photo-Taking Contest, the idea of participating soon took hold of my mind. I saw it as a way of revitalizing my body and mind, and also a chance to find out how rusty my photographing skills had become. I downloaded the form online, filled it out and sent it in. The period of waiting and uncertainty was followed by a very pleasant surprise—basically the whole process was an emotional roller coaster for me, but I’m glad I went ahead with it, because the last two years were filled with interesting experiences and have made me realize that in spite of my age, I’m still capable of doing something positive and meaningful.
What I Learned :
Existentialism tells us that to live is to be thrown into the world, and having to deal with reality. From its very beginning, all existence must face its own death. Or, as Heidegger puts it, we all need to look death in the eye, because confronting our worst fears helps us to realize the importance and value of being alive.
At the heart of all my photographs, then, lies the basic principle of staying rooted in my native soil while maintaining a constant awareness of my own mortality. In this way, I can achieve a truthful expression of my own existence, and, through my motifs, offer a personal account of life and death and what they mean to me. Time is distilled into the present moment. The photograph serves as an allegory for all the doubts and uncertainties, the vanity and insubstantiality, the dissipation but also the awakening, the process of becoming aware: I become the medium through which reality manifests itself.
曾經...(消逝的存在) / Once... (Pictures of Things Past) 「1」
2011年首獎 2011 First Prize
蔡昌吉 / 台中大安
拍攝動機：
當年過半百之後，人的身心靈總是處於衰退老化狀態。焦慮、不安、空虛、膽怯...隨著時間一一迎面而來，自2010年起興起了參加新光三越國際攝影大賽的念頭。目的：一來活化自我的身心靈，二來考驗攝影技能是否退化。從上網、填表、送件、等待、失落、驚喜...，過程中一切的酸、甜、苦、辣...點滴在心頭，相當慶幸這兩年來的收穫頗豐，讓自己有了「老而不休」的真實體現。
攝影心得：
存在哲學指出“生命是一種不斷被拋入某種現實情境的歷程，而生命一開始即為面向死亡的存在”。因此，海德格爾指出，人必須正視死亡，從恐懼中明白自己活著的重要性。
我以“貼近土地，面對死亡，體現存在”作為攝影表現中影像的核心，藉由影像展現對死亡與生命存在意義的描述。並以時間化為「此在之存有」的寓圖，讓生命中憂心、虛浮、陷落與醒覺...在自我中開顯「存在」的真實。
Tsai Chang-chi / Ta’an Township, Taichung
Why I Took These Pictures :
Once you’ve passed the half-century mark, you tend to go downhill, both physically and mentally. Slowly, feelings of anxiety, restlessness, emptiness or timidity start cropping up. So when in 2010 I heard about the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi International Photo-Taking Contest, the idea of participating soon took hold of my mind. I saw it as a way of revitalizing my body and mind, and also a chance to find out how rusty my photographing skills had become. I downloaded the form online, filled it out and sent it in. The period of waiting and uncertainty was followed by a very pleasant surprise—basically the whole process was an emotional roller coaster for me, but I’m glad I went ahead with it, because the last two years were filled with interesting experiences and have made me realize that in spite of my age, I’m still capable of doing something positive and meaningful.
What I Learned :
Existentialism tells us that to live is to be thrown into the world, and having to deal with reality. From its very beginning, all existence must face its own death. Or, as Heidegger puts it, we all need to look death in the eye, because confronting our worst fears helps us to realize the importance and value of being alive.
At the heart of all my photographs, then, lies the basic principle of staying rooted in my native soil while maintaining a constant awareness of my own mortality. In this way, I can achieve a truthful expression of my own existence, and, through my motifs, offer a personal account of life and death and what they mean to me. Time is distilled into the present moment. The photograph serves as an allegory for all the doubts and uncertainties, the vanity and insubstantiality, the dissipation but also the awakening, the process of becoming aware: I become the medium through which reality manifests itself.