The Sky, the Sea, the Earth

The sky, the sea, and the earth. These are some of the fundamental and commonly recurring visual elements that can be found in the work of the native Hong Kong photographer Rraay Lai. He is typically drawn to using nature and the wilderness as the setting of his photos, particularly by the sea, in forests, on rocky cliffs, or in open fields. Rraay is convinced that the perfect kind of photographic light to shoot in is the natural daylight of the great outdoors. With this kind of lighting, he likes to convey the feeling that every day is a new day, bringing a new beginning.

天空，海洋，與大地。這些都是香港本土攝影師Rraay Lai作品中基礎普遍的視覺元素。他偏好將大自然和荒野作為作品布景，諸如在大海邊，在樹林中，在石崖上，在大地間。Rraay堅信，在攝影中，戶外自然光才是最完美的攝影光線。通過捕捉這種光線，他向世人展示每天都是新的一天，新的開始。

Professionally, he shoots portraits, fashion and commercial photography. In his personal work, he tends to shoot more nature photography, which will often take him to the far outskirts of Hong Kong. From time to time, Rraay also likes to shoot street photography in the city itself. Just walking through the streets and the small back streets of his native Hong Kong can give him creative inspiration.

他的職業是人像、時裝，以及商業攝影。而個人創作中，他更傾向於去香港偏遠郊區捕捉自然風光。也有些時候，Rraay喜歡在城市中進行街頭攝影。單是在香港的大街小巷間穿行便能給他帶來創意靈感。

One of the greatest challenges he says he faces as an artist is being able to keep the balance between the work he does commercially with the kind of personal work that he most enjoys doing – and trying to reconcile the two. He believes that it is important for him to stay faithful to his artistic vision even when he is working on client projects. To stay inspired, he tries to make creative work and shoot on a continuous basis.

他說，作為藝術家，他所面對的最大挑戰之一，便是在商業工作和他最樂於其中的這種個人創作中保持平衡，並試圖達成兩者的協調。他認為，在客戶項目中對自己的藝術眼光保持信心相當重要。為了靈感不枯竭，他會盡力做創意的作品，並不停地拍攝。

Rraay often uses different cameras when shooting, but normally, depending on the project and its specific needs, he will shoot with a Canon 5D Mark II, a Fuji GF670, or a Nikon 35Ti. He doesn’t have a great preference between analog and digital. For him, it is important simply to shoot and to be able to shoot in any given situation. The content and subject matter that is being shot takes precedence over everything else.

Rraay在拍攝時常用不同鏡頭，但通常來說，他會根據不同的項目和具體的需求選擇使用佳能5D Mark II，或者富士GF670，或者尼康35Ti。在菲林攝影或數碼攝影方面，他並沒有特別的偏好傾向。對他來說，能夠在任何現有的條件下進行拍攝和拍攝本身才是重要的。拍攝內容和對象是高於其他任何因素的。

These days, he has been following the work of the Japanese photographers Sanai Masafumi and Okada Atsushi, with whom he shares a similar aesthetic and visual simplicity. Notably one of his favorite photographers of all time is Peter Lindbergh. Lindbergh’s humanist approach to photographing women redefined standards of female beauty in fashion photography. He once famously said that it was “the responsibility of photographers today to free women, and finally everyone, from the terror of youth and perfection.” It is easy to see his lasting influence in Rraay Lai’s work and how he likes to capture the female form, which feels naturalistic, light, and carefree.

近來，他一直關註日本攝影師Sanai Masafumi和Okada Atsushi的作品，相似的審美和簡單的視覺是Rraay的作品和他們的作品所擁有的共同點。尤其是他一向的心頭最愛攝影師之一，Peter Lindbergh。Lindbergh在對女性的拍攝中所應用的人文主義手法，重新定義了時尚攝影中女性美的標準。這位攝影師曾有過這麽一個著名的說法: “當今攝影師的責任就是要將婦女從對青春和完美的恐懼中解放出來，進而解放出所有人。” 從Rraay Lai的作品中，從他那自然輕松的對女性形態的捕捉中，Lindbergh一直以來的影響顯而易見。