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Creative Work

Du Li Chao - Photographing Rich and Complex Colors

Du Li Chao is a commercial photographer who lives in Hangzhou, China and has more than ten years of experience in lifestyle media with a unique perspective on color. We had the opportunity to speak with him about his works and the equipment he uses.

Du Li Chao

Du Li Chao
 

Tell us about some of your favorite works.

Although I work primarily in commercial photography, I also like to try my hand at various different themes. The COVID-19 pandemic gave me something of an opportunity to spend more time in the last two years focusing on where I live.

Colors are one of more purely natural things out there. However, nowadays the demand for color is largely relegated to black, white, and gray among urban lifestyles to pursue minimalism - it often lacks the gorgeous nature of the past and future. When people are feeling bogged down in life, they try to find solace in color amongst all the concrete. Color can not only lighten up the mood in their eyes, but also stimulate a sense of exploration. Colors can reach out to us from a painting, bringing with it a sense of "life".
Du Li Chao

It is thanks to light that the various objects we can see have such a variety of color to them. Whether the colors are recorded by our eyes or a camera, the reflection of the light is preserved. The instantaneous affirmation of various colors through personal observance is permanently a part of our perception. The camera is able to capture this to bring a new experience to the viewer. I enjoy breaking down and reconstructing natural color around me to produce a new kind of memory that I haven't encountered before. As light increases, white overlaps with red, and green with purple. Black gradually fades or deepens, and the calm blue expresses immeasurable melancholy. The Sigma FP camera I carry with me and use everyday witnesses these occurrences.

My series called "Flowers" abstractly expresses the color of flowers across four seasons in Hangzhou and integrates a dreamy-like feel and comes from the heart. When you see clusters of flowers blooming, you can feel the non-stop motion of nature. When you aren't looking at them, the flowers stay silent with you. When you turn to look, they are so bright in that moment. When I press the shutter on my camera to capture beautiful scenery, things, and people in this world, they also shine in my heart forever.
Du Li Chao
 

What is indispensable for your work?

Continuing to think and learn new things, especially when shooting a lot of the same subject matter. It's easy to get into a mechanical way of thinking and get stuck in a bottleneck. When you feel you are reaching a threshold when pressing the shutter, it's time to stop and think about your work. I often take the time to imagine how my photos might look if I were to change the shooting timing, composition, or colors. As far as I am concerned, I always have some regrets after a shooting. So, I record and review any issues I had during the shooting and work on improving it for next time. I also believe thinking and learning are done in tandem. A lot of learning of technology, others' experiences, or even knowledge of art and other disciplines can help you find a new point of interest or breakthrough and find a new perspective or concept to approach your shooting.
Du Li Chao

Why did you choose EIZO?

Photography is a process. After shooting, we need to consider presentation. We can compare how the same photo looks on different monitors. Especially nowadays, we use mobile devices so often and find that there is such a huge difference in the how the screen displays between various manufacturers. Which one should we trust? I would guess that many would say Apple when it comes to mobile phones. For a desktop monitor, I believe most professional users have only one answer: EIZO.

A good monitor affects the quality of photos produced by the photographer. There is no question as to EIZO's position in this area. I chose to work on a 4K EIZO ColorEdge monitor. The themes of photography in recent years involve rich and complex colors. With its coverage and reproduction of a wide color gamut, the EIZO monitor presents more authentic and reliable color in photos. It perfectly supports hardware calibration and comes with its own color calibration sensor built in, which can maintain color consistency over long-term use. The large, high-resolution screen makes me feel very immersed when processing photos, allowing me to focus on every detail without zooming in and out. What's amazing is that even if I'm staring at the monitor for a long time every day, my eyes don't feel tired, which could be attributed to the gentle, naturally transitioning colors and anti-glare screen.
Du Li Chao

How does the EIZO monitor support your workflow?

When I'm doing a commercial shooting, the EIZO lets me show my clients and models the results directly and clearly. Being able to show my photos like this in real time greatly improves the efficiency of my entire workflow. In any artistic creation, whether you are making color or black-and-white photos, EIZO delivers stable and accurate color performance to an exceptional level. I can control the subtle color changes and the contrast between light and dark in the images more precisely. When I'm outputting an image, I use my EIZO as the benchmark. EIZO is a reliable and trustworthy partner who will always accompany me and continue to help me throughout my photographic journey.
Du Li Chao

 

Deployed Products

  • ColorEdge CG318-4K
     
ColorEdge
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