This artist has an adventurous spirit—and the photos to prove it. Here’s what drives Li Zhongfei’s creativity.
Everyone has a unique story to share, and Shutterstock has the assets that allow you to share it. That’s why this holiday season, we’re inviting you to receive 25% off, site-wide, as part of our Share Your Colors campaign. Simply enter code SHARE 25 at checkout. Click here to learn more.
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On average, Li Zhongfei runs three or four times a week, three-to-six miles per run. When she’s not busy clocking her own cardio, she can be found photographing other runners in action—sometimes on snowy mountains, other times along sunny coastlines.
“Lots of my running pictures are shot during the trips,” Zhongfei says. “Travel is my thing.”
Here, the China-based artist responds to our Share Your Colors questionnaire and explains why she loves running, what she does when she’s in a creative rut, and the color that best captures her personality.
I like taking photos because … I hope to have a positive impact on people’s lives.
I enjoy running because … I love sports and want to be healthy. Running is the most convenient [sport] in our daily lives—we can run almost anywhere at any time. When I run, I can be myself. Nothing and no one can bother me. I can think more clearly, keep moving, and feel the wind blow. I feel free.
The most challenging thing about photographing runners is … Finding new and better angles to show their strength and character.
A creative risk I’ve taken is … Running and shooting in snow and fossil glacier mountains at an altitude of 5,000 meters in Tibet. That’s really freezing and we had no idea if we would get altitude sickness from one minute to the next.
The color that inspires me is … The color of bright sunshine.
The color that captures my personality is … Bright sunshine! I treat everyone I meet with respect. Life is hard these days. We are not going to live forever—why not take a shot at being happy now?
When I’m in a creative rut … I watch TV and eat!
My favorite lens is … the Canon 70-200mm F2.8 USM II. It produces cool pictures.
Other sports I enjoy photographing are … Cycling and skateboarding. With skateboarding, I like how I can feel the wheels rolling under my feet as I speed up. The sound of rolling can delight me somehow. And, who doesn’t love the feeling of cycling, no-handed, in the breeze?
After I shoot, I feel … like that’s what we set out to conquer—and we made it.
My favorite running photo from my Shutterstock library is … This one:
You can see the runner is struggling, striving. She has her own soul, shows her own spark of divine fire.
My advice to aspiring photographers is to … Have fun!
Cover image via lzf.
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