Revealing Stories from the Lens of Photographer Lu Yu-jui／高雄在地影像紀錄工作者的奇幻旅程 為港都譜寫另一部海上情書
Revealing Stories from the Lens of Photographer Lu Yu-jui
◎English translation: Hou Ya-ting
◎Photos courtesy of Lu Yu-jui
Back in 2010, Mr. Lu Yu-jui's photography work "About Waving Good-bye─Three Years of Navigation" won top prize at the Kaohsiung Awards, a major annual arts competition hosted by Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Art. Then, on the first day of 2015, he boarded a pelagic squid fishing vessel setting out from Kaohsiung's Cianjhen Fishing Port to film a documentary about Yiyung, a young member of the Amis indigenous tribe working on the boat, as it headed to the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. This journey later inspired Mr. Lu to produce a series of works.
Mr. Lu has been keenly interested in painting since childhood. For a long time, he did not embrace photography, despite his family running a photo studio. This perspective changed after he studied and worked in Taipei. During that period, there was a surge of interest in images of ordinary life. Mr. Lu then realized that photography is a way to present society, history and culture. This discovery drove him to study in the Graduate Institute of Studies in Documentary & Film Archiving at Tainan National University of the Arts. Ever since, Mr. Lu has endeavored to portray society through photographs.
Mr. Lu admits to preferring photography to filming documentaries. He says that, when he is making a documentary, he takes photos constantly. Photography fascinates him because through it he is able to satisfy his curiosity and enjoy opportunities to explore different areas. Along the way, he is always able to find something that intrigues him.
Mr. Lu has been making documentaries about Kaohsiung and the ocean for a long time. His topics include fishermen and the fishing industry. When asked if he has a special interest in the sea, he stresses that people take center stage in his images. As his lens focuses on those individuals, their stories are revealed. Mr. Lu mentions that for a long time he has been paying constant attention to the anglers who fish from Cijin Island's northern breakwater, laborers who work at fish-freezing factories at Cianjhen Fishing Port, and the Amis people in Taitung County. Over the years, these people have become his good friends. Just prior to this interview, Mr. Lu was in Dulan in Taitung County. He is a frequent visitor to Yiyung's hometown in Taitung.
Mr. Lu sees Kaohsiung as buzzing with endless energy, and this helps him compose strong images. As Kaohsiung has evolved, it has attracted many migrants, giving it a diverse character. Mr. Lu has observed the city's transformation, and it has inspired him to record topics such as the fading hardware industry around Gongyuan Road, Hongmaogang, military dependents' villages, the Former Tangrong Brick Kiln, and the petrochemical industry.
After Mr. Lu completed the documentary Waiting for Fish in 2006, he produced various versions of a documentary called Freezing Point. He also continued shooting footage which later appeared in Just for New Parking and A New Park, interviewing residents who faced the demolition of their homes and relocation. In addition, his time-lapse photography works includes Grand Theater, Siaoyao Villa, and the demolition of Singren Residential Quarter. Mr. Lu insists on working on things that interest him, and over the past decade he has built up a body of work. He may not be the most productive photographer or director, but he takes pride in his work.
In 2013, Mr. Lu published a photography album titled Fishing Village in TAKAO, in which he recorded Kaohsiung's 65km of coastline, from Baishalun in Jiading District in the north to the fishing village of Shanwei in Linyuan District in the south. He is currently director of the Takao Renaissance Association.
From now until November 6, Mr. Lu's works are featured in Reading the Landscape: Stories from Artists, an exhibition at Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts. Photography works such as Cement Factory under the Mountain and A Cave in the Mountain, as well as his time-lapse photography Grand Theater, are on display. As a photographer dedicated to record social images and movements, he always carries camera equipment with him. The images he has captured have broadened his vision and enriched his life. It was no surprise, then, that when our interview ended, he hopped on his motorcycle, and headed to the next location where he wants to take photographs.
高雄在地影像紀錄工作者的奇幻旅程
為港都譜寫另一部海上情書
◎文／鄭乃華
◎圖片提供／盧昱瑞
2010年以靜照《關於一種揮手告別的姿態 》拿下高雄獎攝影類殊榮的盧昱瑞，隨著他拍攝的紀錄片主角─阿美族青年蘇夏華，於2015年元旦從前鎮漁港出發，目標是位於大西洋西南的福克蘭群島，《水路上的信天翁》即是他搭上蘇夏華的魷釣船，航行萬里的遠洋系列作品之一。
從小喜歡畫畫的盧昱瑞，原本視拍照為蠢事，從沒因家裡開設相館而改變這想法，直到他到台北求學及工作，期間適逢台灣本土影像開始被挖掘的年代，他才發現攝影可以結合社會與人文，採紀實報導呈現，毅然決然就讀台南藝術大學音像紀錄研究所，開啟他紀實攝影之路。
「相對於拍紀錄片，我更喜歡拍靜照。」盧昱瑞坦言，很多攝影作品是在拍紀錄片同時的側寫，「拍照，是一種藉口，透過攝影，讓我好奇且有機會去認識這個領域，更可看見自己感興趣的東西。」這是盧昱瑞對攝影工作所下的定義。
因長期記錄高雄及海洋相關主題，盧昱瑞似乎與漁業、討海人緊密連結。問他是否特別喜歡海洋，其實也不盡然，盧昱瑞強調他的影像紀錄是跟著「人」走。從旗津北堤上的釣客、失業勞工到前鎮漁港冷凍廠的工作員及來自台東的阿美族人，都是盧昱瑞長期關注對象，彼此也因工作而成了朋友。盧昱瑞受訪前日，甫從台東都蘭回到高雄，他經常探訪蘇夏華的老家，「受訪者的一切」才是他拍攝紀錄片的原動力，而不是海洋。
有別於台灣其他城市，盧昱瑞眼底所見的高雄，盡是生猛、視覺強烈。因為高雄存在過去工業城市的印象，外來移民城市的多元性格，盧昱瑞認為這個城市有太多主題可以拍攝，從公園路到紅毛港、從眷村到中都窯廠、完全停擺的石化廠 …等。
自2006年完成紀錄片《北堤漫遊人》起，目前還處於創作進行式階段，期間剪輯成各種版本的紀錄片《冰點》，還拍攝紀錄片《廣三終於拆了？！》、《尋找五金》（訪談公園二路五金街拆遷戶的心情）及以縮時攝影紀錄大舞台、逍遙園與行仁新村拆除的經過。盧昱瑞一直做著自己想做的事，有心且用心，10年過去，累積作品雖然有限，但他一一兌現對自己所開的支票。
除了影像工作，現任打狗文史再興會社理事的他，2013年底更出版個人第一本攝影文集《打狗漁村》，完整紀錄高雄北起茄萣白砂崙、南至林園汕尾的漁村社會底層文化與生命故事，共計65公里海岸線為主題的圖文作品。
正在高雄市立美術館展出的「沉默風景藝術視界的人文觀想」，亦可見盧昱瑞的靜照《山腳下的水泥廠》、《山裡的山洞》及《大舞台》錄像作品。一位以紀實攝影為使命的文史工作者，隨身攜帶可以拍攝或錄製的器材，參與他人的生命歷程，然後豐富自己一生。
採訪結束，盧昱瑞發動機車，前往下一個紀錄現場，繼續拍攝。