After winning the competition held by the Popular Photography (USA) for his work the Flying Egret in 1952, Lin Chuan-tsu remained passionate for photographing birds. His son, Lin Chuan-hsiu, recalled the scene when he, at a young age, followed his father to take pictures, helping to carry the photographic equipment. In Lin Chuan-hsiu’s memory, Lin Chuan-tsu was interested in exploring the various faces and postures of the subject as well as visiting the habitat of the birds and waiting for the sunrise in the night. The father and son often hide breathlessly among the branches of trees in the night in order to capture the birds.
The Spreading Wings series often present a single egret, allowing the viewer to focus on the various postures of birds flying. What he tried to capture is not only the graceful posture or aesthetic atmosphere of the birds as his discreetness and the spirit resembling conducting scientific research are reflected in his works. Lin Chuan-tsu observed the movements and paths of the flying egrets in detail. In this work, the camera takes an angle that is close to that of the egret. The location and angle of the scene must have been repeatedly examined and considered. In addition, in the age of the negative film, more control was required for capturing the ever-changing dynamic images. The artist’s enthusiasm and effort for this series is self-evident.
Sun Wei-xuan, “2021 Compilation and Research Project of Metadata in Photography.”