I fell in love with photography in early 1990s’. After I joined Shenzhen photography association, I have participated many activities involving China photographers and Hong Kong photographers, because at that time, Shenzhen photography association had a very close relationship with the Hong Kong photography circle.
At that time, Shenzhen photography association was in the top rank in the China photography organizations. It not only had its own photography high-rise building, but it had held the famous “Fuji Cup” China Top Ten Photographers contest annually sponsored by Hong Kong Fuji Film Corp. This contest had been organized for over 10 years, which had a great impact in China photography industry. At that time, China photography was not as active as today, and there were very few nationwide photography competitions, so the “Fuji Cup” contest was able to attract many well-known photographers from China, Hong Kong and Macau.
The judges were all Chinese photography masters from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, such as Chen Fu Li, Jian Qing Fu, Liang Hui Xiang, Hu Pei Lie etc., all of whom were well-recognized photographers among the Chinese community inside and outside China. At that time, many professional and amateur photographers regarded it as an honor to win the top ten positions in the “Fuji Cup” contest, because it was an open, fair and square competition, and it was certainly not easy to be rewarded the nodding and appreciation from these master photographer judges
In an era without Internet, this tournament had provided a very effective platform for photographers from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau to exchange information and share experience. They learned from each other in terms of photography theme, shooting style and techniques. At that time, it was no doubt that Hong Kong photographers had broader vision and more advanced skills in many photography areas, because many of them had studied photography courses abroad. Photographers from mainland China could learn a lot especially in terms of western photography concept from an international perspective.
However, all good things must come to an end. The “Fuji Cup” contest had come to a stop for different reasons. Both China photographers and Hong Kong photographers feel pity about that. On the other hand, nowadays there are many more channels for photographers to exchange ideas and mutual interaction with the ever-increasing development of the Internet.