Biography of Long Chin-San

Mr. Chin-San Long, he was born Zhejiang Province in 1892 and passed away in 1995 at the age of 104. He devoted himself in the art of photography for more than 90 years. He made a profound commitment to the art of photography and lived almost every single minute with camera in hand.

Followed with his teacher Gin-Lan Lee, who was specialized in photography, during his youth, Long began to find interest in photography. Meanwhile, painting also plays important role in Long’s photography, especially in the field of Composite Photograph.

Long’s Composite Photograph is so unique that it incorporated the essences of Chinese ink painting into photography, landing the two in great harmony. The Composite Photography is a specific darkroom technique bringing images from a number of films into one frame. Long’s ethereal shots that took after the lyricism and vintage composition of Chinese landscape painting well illustrated the pursuit of the traditional Chinese art and culture.

Long believed that art must contain 2 required conditions. First, the structure and the layer of the picture must with art. Second, the art work must be meaningful. Long stressed that every successful art work took him a lot of time in the dark room. With the long believe, Long’s Composite Photography has won him the great reputation of “Picture in the painting, painting in the picture”.