Blog.Chunsum.Choi

If a PERSON has a ‘life situation’ and take some advantage of other’s sympathy, fine. Because that’s what sympathy is for. However, if a PERSON lies, cheats, and disrupts the lives of those who are sympathetic, that PERSON should go to the deepest part of hell.

I hope I don’t know such PERSON. Because I will take them to hell my self

I’ve been “into” photography for over 20 years and I have been actively doing photography for almost 15. During these time I went from APS film DSLR, to film SLR, to fully digital. And I have to say that going digital was a wonderful evolution for my photography. But this is not about digital or film, this is about photography as a form of art and skill.

I consider my self a “old-school” photographer. I use my camera as my main tool for making the picture, I think about what I want to show before I press the shutter, I continuously learn about my subjects and my craft, and I care about my images. Photographers used to work this way, I know many of them still do. However, the new breed of photographers seem to work differently.

This new breed seem to use the camera to take the picture, they seem to take as many as possible and hope to have “the shot”, thinking is no longer a priority, they rely mostly on “post processing”, and they don’t seem to care about the image. That’s right, they don’t care; and that’s the biggest difference.

How? you say? just take a look at the images in the challenges on DPReview. 1 out of 3 images are not even in proper focus in relation to the subject matter. 1/2 of the images are over sharpened to the point that it is just hideous. Not to mention the badly under or over exposed images. The worst part is that some of these images are actually placing high in these “challenges”. So not only people who are taking these photos doesn’t are, people who are looking at them doesn’t seem to care as well.

I can go on and on about this but I won’t. But I will say this, photography is no longer photography. That’s for sure.

Here is someone who cares:

In the recent months, we have seen how the ethical practices of Chinese people can affect the world. From lead paint toys, to the tainted milk, and now the poison honey, we are seeing the ugly side of the great Chinese culture. Mark my word, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

“Don’t stereo type the Chinese of being unethical. After all they are your people.” A friend said to me during a conversation over this topic. True, not everyone is unethical. However, majority of them(us) are in violation to a certain degree.

Take my wife for example, She is a victim of such violations. Before she and her family moved the US, she had crowns done on her for front teeth by a dentist in China. The dentist, who probably thinks if he can skim on his work, he will be able to make a little more cash and guaranteed future business. So, he put in 4 posts without having her done a root canal. Little did he know that they were leaving in 3 months.

Forward about 8 years, we had just started dating, and she was in China with her parents on a extended vacation and 2 of those teeth started to hurt and eventually swelled at the gums. Of course, she had to have root canal done while she was in China.

Fast forward to last week. One of her crown fell off. So, we head to a new dentist in our neighborhood to have a new crown done. Well guess that, the 2 teeth she had redone almost 6 years ago, wasn’t done properly. One of them looked like they had left something(cotton swab tip) in.

This is not ending up well for us because this will probably require some sort of surgery. It going to be painful, and it’s going to be expensive.

What’s my point? My point is that if a educated “professional” in the Chinese society will violate their ethical code, almost everyone there will. I am not just pissed because my wife is a victim, I am speaking the “TRUTH”.

I’ve heard stories of recycled 1 year old cakes fillings repackaged and sold, tooth pastes made with toxic materials, old cooking oil filtered and repackaged, used parts in AC units, and many, many more.

This is a sign of a sick society where corruption is the way and greed is king. Especially when is trickles from the top down. These so called leaders must step up and either take the blame or take initiative to make things better. I would prefer that they show some balls and do something about it instead of stepping down and let some other idiot run the show.

It is a sad day for being Chinese.

Here are some recent links for everyone:
http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=9261940e-c555-4bb9-bd4b-7c3170908e52
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2009/01/06/2003433005
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jL7mHkJcSHVOLlejms7eQS2xXDiwD95F2JV80
http://www.dailyworld.com/article/20090102/OPINION01/901020306

Have fun.