Rotary Club Hears Lecture on China, Photography

The Rotary Club heard about growth and change in China while viewing over 100 photographs taken there, during the club's weekly meeting Tuesday.

Dr. Chung Kun Shih, an engineer and gifted amateur photographer, had been travelling to China on business for the last dozen years and shared his insights on and pictures of this exotic land.

Shih was born in Taiwan and came to the United States for graduate studies in 1974. He worked for Infineum, a joint venture between Exxon and Shell, travelling to and from China from 1998 to 2010. During this time, he watched China develop from a rural, agrarian society to an urban-based culture, and saw it move from poverty towards wealth. China is now one of the world's fastest growing economies, with a 9-10% increase in gross domestic product each year, and it is the top car sales market in the world.

This economic growth mirrors cultural change, according to Shih. He says that it is still very difficult to for Western companies to do business in China, let alone make money, due to language and culture barriers, but the so-called Bamboo Curtain is gradually parting. People are more outspoken on matters such as Tianamen Square and the one child per family policy. They are even wearing brighter colors, as opposed to the grey "Mao suits" of times past. Still, China is "far behind the West," said Shih and still has plenty of problems to work out, such as the huge gap between the rich and the poor.

Shih strives to capture this juxtaposition of old and new in his photography. He describes his shooting style as "opportunistic," shooting whatever subjects he finds interesting. He shoots photographs people, landscapes, and has a whole series on lotus flowers. His three watchwords for good photography are simplicity, harmony and emotion.

"Many simple things are beautiful," said Shih. "We want to have subjects that show harmony, and if we don't add feelings and emotions to our photographs, the pictures don't mean much to the photographer or the viewers."

Shih retired earlier this year. Where most retirees are content to work on their golf swings, Shih now has more time for his other hobby: insect fossil research. He has published numerous papers on the subject and wrote a book about it called Silent Stories, published in Beijing.

Shih's work was shown in December of 2009 at the New Jersey Workshop for the Arts. He hopes to have another show there before 2010 is over.