DaBeiPhotointhe1950s.courtesyofDaBeiPhoto
LocatedonBeijing’sQianmenStreet,DaBeiPhoto,foundedin1921,isoneoftheoldestphotostudiosinthecity.byWangZhendang
Takingphotosnotonlyfreezesimages,butcapturestimelessmoments.DaBeiPhoto,anearlycentury-oldphotostudio,haspreservedpreciousmemoriesforthousandsofhouseholdswithvividpictures,whicharealsovaluablevisualrecordsofChina’sdevelopment.
OldGlory
“Forquitealongtime,peoplelivinginsouthernBeijingwouldgotoDaBeitotakeaphotoaftersavingupsomemoney,”saysWangDongru,presidentofDaBeiPhoto,expoundingonthepastpopularityofthephotostudio.
DaBeiPhotoopenedin1921inShitouHutongnearQianmenStreetinBeijing.ItwasfoundedbyZhaoYanchen,anapprenticeofHongJiPhotoShoponLongfuTempleStreet.
Surroundedbytheatersandteahouses,ShitouHutongwasabustlinglaneatthattime,attractingmanyPekingOperafansandamateurperformers.ZhaoYanchencameupwiththeideaofofferingaspecialservicetoshootpicturesofpeoplewearingPekingOperacostumes.DaBeialsopreparedvariousothercostumessuchastheChineseandWesternweddingdressesanddoctoralacademicdresses,manyofwhichcouldn’tbefoundinregularphotostudios.DaBeibecameasensationacrosstown.ThesixdressingroomsinDaBeiwereusuallyallfullonanygivenday.
AfterthefoundingofthePeople’sRepublicofChinain1949,DaBeiwastransformedintoastate-ownedenterpriseandmovedtotheprosperousQianmenStreet.Duringthe“culturalrevolution”period(1966-1976),thecostumephotographyofDaBeiwasbanned,buttheotherservicessuchasportraitandIDphotographykeptitamongBeijing’stopphotostudioseventhen.
AftertheimplementationofChina’sreformandopening-uppolicyinthelate1970s,takingpictureschangedfromaluxuryintoabasicactivityofdailylife.Colorphotographyforchildren,familyandartisticportraitsevenbecamefashionable,ascontinuestothisday.Beforeorduringholidays,somanypeoplestreamedintoDaBeithatcustomershadtogetatoken.DaBeistaffrehearseintheGreatHallofthePeoplebeforetakingthegroupphotosofdelegatestothe19thCPCNationalCongress.courtesyofDaBeiPhotoWitnessingChina’sDevelopment
Since1954,groupphotosofmanycentralorgansandmajorministriesandcommissionsoftheStateCouncilhavebeentakenbyDaBei,soitwitnessedmanyimportanthistoricaleventsofthecountrysuchasChairmanMaoZedongmeetingthecastmembersofTheEastIsRed,anepicmusicaldanceproductiondebutingattheGreatHallofthePeopleinBeijing.ThephotostudioalsocapturedPremierZhouEnlaimeetingathletesoftheAsian-African-LatinAmericanTableTennisFriendshipInvitationalTournament.
Sincethe1950s,DaBeihasmaintainedaspecialdepartmenttoprovidephotographyservicestothecentralorgansofthecountry.TodayitstillshoulderstheresponsibilityoftakinggroupphotosforthecentralleadershipwhentheymeetdelegatestotheNationalCongressoftheCommunistPartyofChina(CPC)andtheNationalPeople’sCongress(NPC)andmembersoftheNationalCommitteeoftheChinesePeople’sPoliticalConsultativeConference(CPPCC).
WangDongruwasleftwithadeepimpressionofthephotographymissionherteamcompletedrecentlyformorethan2,000delegatestothe19thCPCNationalCongress.
AsearlyasSeptember2017,morethanamonthbeforethecongress,DaBeiorganizeda14-personteamcomposedofthreegenerations.Toensurethehighqualityoftheirphotographymission,thestudiodraftedashootingplanwithmorethan20pagesandpreparedfourSwissmadeSeitzRoundshotpanoramiccameraswithimagequalityofone-billionpixels.
ThestudioalsoworkedwiththeAdministrativeBureauoftheGreatHallofthePeopletojointlydesignafive-meter-highlightingsystemwith27setsoflampsthatiseasytoassembleanddoesn’temitthatmuchheatsodelegateswouldnotgetuncomfortableunderthelighting.
“Aftertwoon-siterehearsals,therealeventwasatotalsuccess,”Wangexclaimed.
Afterworkingforsomanyyears,Wangstillfeelsnervouswhenleadingateamtotakeagroupphotoonsuchanimportantoccasion.“Inthecenterofa35-meter-diametercircle,IseeonlyfiveDaBeistaffersbusyshooting,withmorethan2,000pairsofeyesstaringatus,”shegrins.“Howcanoneavoidfeelingnervous?”Still,hernervesaretotallydifferentfromthoseofanovice.“Experiencedworkersknowthatthelongeryouwork,themorecarefulyouare,whichrequiresyearsofcautionandhumility.”
“Overthedecades,I’vebeenluckytowitnesseveryimportanthistoricalmomentofthecountrywithDaBei,whichisourgreathonor,”sheadded.
StrongSkills
Atop-notchproductsellsitself.Overthepastcentury,DaBeihasprovidedcustomerswithdiversifiedandqualifiedservicesthroughconstanttechnologicalinnovation.In2006,itwasawardedthetitleofChinaTime-honoredBrandbytheMinistryofCommerce.
WangbelievesthatthemajoradvantageofDaBeiliesinthefinesse,vividnessandexquisitenessofthephotosittook.“Accordingtothesubject’scharacteristicsinageandcomplexion,ourphotographerscapturehisorherbestsidebyadjustingposturesandstylingaswellashighlightinghisorhermostattractivetraits.”
DaBeiworkerstookagroupphotowithpanoramiccamerasintheGreatHallofthePeopleinthe1990s.courtesyofDaBeiPhotoSomeoftheveterantechniciansofDaBeihavemasteredunbelievableskillsinnegativerepairandrestoration.Traditionalnegativesaredevelopedwithchemicalsonphotographicpaper.
Torepairdamagedfilm,techniciansremovethechemicalskinoftheunnecessarypartfromthefilmandreplaceitwithbettermaterial,similartothelassoandcutfunctioninPhotoshop.However,thewholeprocessisnotaseasyasworkingonthecomputerandmorelikeperformingacomplicatedsurgeryaccordingtoWang.
Colorizingnegativesisanothertraditionalskillthatfewcanperformtodayduetotheproliferationofdigitalcameras.However,thetechniciansofDaBeihavemadesomenewattemptstoenrichmodernportraitworkbymakinggooduseoftheoldskill.
“Oilpaintswereusedforcoloringinthetraditionalprocess,butit’shardtobedonewellonmodernphotographicpaper,”Wangexplains.“Thewholeprocessisjustlikecreatinganactualoilpainting,challengingthetechnician’sabilitiesincolorcontrol.”
Usingtheseskills,thetechniciansrecentlycompletedsomeartisticportraitswithtraditionalcoloringtechniques,whichappearmoreexquisiteandartisticthancolorphotosofthe1970sandmorerealisticandvividthanoilpaintings.
OldBrandwithNewVigor
Howdidthestudiopreservethepreciousskillsandmajorsellingpointsofthetime-honoredbrandfornearly100years?Stickingtotheoldrulesandwayswouldhavehurtitschancesforsurvivalanddevelopment,buttoomuchchangecanresultinthelossofthesoulofthebrand.
Inthelongprocess,DaBeihasattachedgreatimportancetomakingoptimaluseofbothyoungandelderlyemployeestogetbetterproduction.Veteranshavehonedskills,whiletheyoungergenerationsaremoresensitivetofashiontrends.
Byusingthismodel,asthetimeschangeandtheequipmentimproves,thestyleandessenceofDaBeiarepreserved.
Wangconsidersthecharmoftheoldbranditsaccumulationoftraditionandfeaturesoverthetimes—exquisiteandirreplaceablecraftsmanshipandemotionalattachment.
“Ourfutureworkwillbemorechallenginginthenewera,”Wangadmits.“Weneedtokeeppacewiththetimesandmaintainasenseofmission,sofosteringanddevelopingacreativeandpersistentteamwithdreamsandfaithreadytoservethepublicisthetoppriorityofourwork.Afteryearsofexplorationandpractice,theteamwehavenowisamazing.”
Inthe1980s,photographersfromDaBeiPhotocoachedcustomersonhowtoposeforapicture.courtesyofDaBeiPhoto
OnNewYear’sDay2018,aphotographerfromDaBeiPhototookpicturesforcustomers.Anassistantusedtoystogetagigglefromthekid.SometraditionalphotographyskillsofDaBeihavebeeninheritedconsistentlyoverthedecades.byChenJian