With the environment and available resources in the 1950s, travelling to outlying islands for photography was an exciting but uneasy task. It required a lot of hard work and funds. It is truly rare for Lin to master multiple themes and expressions within a short stay. In addition to his expertise in photography, the major reason why Lin was able to grasp the elements of lives and the artistic texture of the subjects he shot in different cultural backgrounds is his sincere and cordial feeling as well as his keen observation of the surroundings, which enable him to interact with the people, environment, and objects in front of the camera in a calm approach. In other words, when the photographer and the photographed are at a harmonious resonance, they can express emotions freely to each other while maintaining a natural subjective and objective attitude. It is this steady tone that allows Lin Chuan-tsu to present a warm, plain and ingenious personal style in various photographic creations.
Through Lin’s lens, lively ceremonies, intimate emotions between fathers and sons, layouts of group portraits, close-ups of personal portraits, daily life and even unique moments become approachable and are full of true feelings, revealing natural and vivid expressions.
In Looking at the Native Land from afar – the Sea, the figure leans on a boat with exquisite carvings that highlight cultural characteristics and looks into the distance. Although the image does not reveals what he is looking at, the posture, distant gaze and the overall atmosphere bring unlimited imagination to the viewer.
Sun Wei-xuan, “2021 Compilation and Research Project of Metadata in Photography.”