A CHRISTIAN

This assignment revolves around Li Jing, a close friend of mine and a devout Christian. She started receiving biblical teachings from a foreign teacher at her school when she was 15, and after years of study, she officially became a steadfast believer at the age of 18.

 

Due to the differences in faith with her family, Li Jing's beliefs were once met with opposition from her family. For a long time, she was deeply troubled and faced inner struggles and pain. Fortunately, she found someone with the same faith, and together they understood and supported each other, entering into a sacred marriage and now raising a lovely child. Li Jing told me that she is grateful for God's guidance, which has given her the courage and confidence to face the unknown challenges of life.

 

In fact, Li Jing and I have been evangelized together since 2009, when I didn't have the courage to become a believer. But over the past decade, I cannot deny the profound impact those years of learning had on me. It wasn't until last October that I told her about it, and she was happy to hear it. With her help, I slowly started to face it again. She gave me many books related to the Bible, and I started learning more about the Bible, hoping for spiritual growth. Therefore, for this assignment, I wanted to shoot on the theme of faith, considering the rich sound materials from church bells, organ music, hymns, and more. This was the background and initial intention behind my choice of this topic for the assignment.

 

During the shooting process, Li Jing and I met face-to-face five times, and I went to church twe times, hoping to achieve satisfactory results.

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From November 19th to November 20th, at the beginning of the assignment, I quickly chose the theme of faith followers, and promptly contacted the interviewee, informing her of my shooting concept. The interviewee recommended some gospel songs for me to choose as background music. We agreed on the time for our first meeting. 

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On November 23rd, our first photo shoot was scheduled at Shanghai Hongqiao Flower and Bird Market. The main purpose was to take pictures of her purchasing Christmas wreaths and small Christmas trees, but unfortunately, they were not included in the assignment. I will compile them in the photo folder. 

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On November 27th, for the second shoot, we went to Li Jing's home. We recorded the interview video and collected lifestyle photos. We had in-depth discussions about the influence of faith on her life, her personal views on religious believers in China, and her family's current attitudes towards her faith. She also gave me some advice for my future Bible study. 

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On December 3rd, I went alone to Moore Church near Shanghai People's Square. As the church shooting date with Li Jing was set for December 10 th that the weather was gloomy on that day. Considering that the shooting effect of certain scenes might not be ideal on the actual day, i decided to do some test shots on December 3rd. 

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On December 5th, I returned to Li Jing's home and took some additional photos of the mentioned items during the interview as supplementary material. 

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On December 10th, accompanied by her husband, Li Jing and I went to Moore Church and took the necessary shots of portraits and close-ups. We also recorded the sound of the church bells, organ music, and hymns sung by the choir before the worship service. Finally, we completed the collection of all the materials.