0038PL2SK. A Trip to Beijing
(POLAROID, 4x5 inch, colour, 1992)
At the end of 1992, I was commissioned by a production company to join a team traveling to Beijing for a photography project. My assignment required using a large-format camera to capture images of popular landmarks, intended for special effects production. I suspect the project was government-commissioned, as the Deputy Mayor of Beijing personally hosted us. At the time, many high-quality productions still relied on external expertise.
I stayed in Beijing for only four days, departing as soon as my work was done. The postcard I sent to Holly was a Polaroid from the shoot—a photo of the Temple of Heaven. There was nothing particularly remarkable about the image, nor could there be. However, the trip itself was well-organized, including a specially arranged tour of the Forbidden City and a banquet featuring imperial-style cuisine.
Holly and I had visited Beijing before, but a decade later, the city had changed significantly—let alone what it has become today. The highlight of the trip, however, was acquiring several substantial books. In my postcard, I mentioned purchasing a thread-bound edition of 營造法式 by Li Mingzhong. Later, I also bought 點石齋畫報 the complete volume in thread-bound editions, 中國版刻圖錄, and 十竹齋書畫譜, among others.
北京之旅
1992年底，我接獲一間製作公司委託，隨隊往北京拍攝照片。他們所到的都是一些熱門景點，但我拍攝的照片，指定要用大片幅照相機。照片用作製作特技之用，我猜，那是市政府委託拍攝的製作。因為北京的副市長也來招待我們。那個時期，不少好的製作也需要外援。我只在北京逗留了四天，我的工作完畢後便離去。我寄給楚喬的明信片是當時工作使用的寶麗來，這一張拍攝天壇，照片沒什麼特別，再說，也不能特別。倒是旅程有很好招待，安排我們特別參觀故宮，吃仿膳。之前我和楚喬已遊過北京，十年之後也很不一樣，也煌說今天了。不過該行最大收穫是買了不少大部頭好書，在明信片中我說買了線裝李明仲「營造法式」。後來我還買了全套線裝「點石齋畫報」及「中國版刻圖錄」，「十竹齋書畫譜」等。