John Wang has cherished the fondness for photographic art since he was a child, but his groundwork in photography was not laid until when he went to Chiba University to study color separation of printing in 1954. He bought his first camera with his first paycheck as an intern at Common Printing Press and embarked upon some serious study of photography. His entry in amateur's contests eventually led to his winning of Fuji Photography Award.

As Common Printing Press has a close business relationship with Eastman Kodak at the time, John Wang had the chance to make many acquaintances. He was told that if he wished to specialize in printing, one of the choicest schools to go to was Rochester Institute of Technology on the East Coast, where one of the divisions of Kodak was located. So with merely 1,000 dollars in his pocket, he decided to pursue further education in America. Upon completion of his studies he had no trouble finding a job at the color separation of printing company in lower Manhattan. He acquired plenty of experiences and techniques in photography on the job, and in 1966 he left his job and hung out his own shingles.

He put together his photography works from the past and a resume, and with references from his friends in the advertising industry, he started to have interview opportunities, "As long as they agree to see me and take a look at my works, I can surely leave a deep impression," he used to say confidently. Every time he saw his prospect tacking his business card to the wall, he know that he had more chances to clinch a deal because it demonstrated that he had gained confidence of the other party in him.

In the decade between 1970 and 1980 John Wang's career in advertising photography reached the peak. In th ebusiest season he would have to camp out in his studio for several days in a row. His innovative and hard work earned him the admiration of his clients galore. He won the award in a photography contest sponsored by the American Popular Photography Magazine.

In this busy world of ours where industry and commerce prevail, the work itself speaks volumes for a photographer when has to deliver a sales pitch in a 10-minute interview. What kind of works can be etched in people's memory? To take one of John Wang's works for example. This is a close-up of an eye, surrounded by a broad landscape to convey the original idea of "open the eye to see the world." Another good example is an advertisement for aspirin, in which the look of a man in pain is set in contrast to a bottle of aspirin so as to make the appeal that the product can "relieve the pain in an instant."

A good commercial photographer attaches much importance to techniques, but what counts most is originality, which finds its expression in all of John Wang's works. In most cases that clients offered no clear directions at all; even if they did, he would incorporate his own ideas about lighting, color, model's posture an advertisement layout into his clients's requirements. He would give a client a number of options, and more often than not, the client would settle on his concept, which had helped him build up long-standing confidence and business relationships.

Commercial advertisements have to focus on a product's appeal, and to make it look real, what is true or not in the world of advertisement imaging is getting increasingly difficult to tell. For example, a photo featuring a glass of beer has to show some foamy bubbles, but when the beer is poured into a glass, the bubbles disappear quickly. The way John Wang handed it was to stir up some soap water to generate lots of foamy bubbles and then put it the glass as if it were a glass of beer, thus a photo of a refreshing, chilled glass of beer was completed.

For another example, the image of a hand with a spoonful of beans holding out from inside of a can would lead people to believe that the photo is a result of computer integration. In reality, John Wang made it look to real by cutting out the bottom of the can and having the model push her hand through the can. The aspirin advertisement, which is also his personal favorite, was made by photographing the man's painful look first, folding it up, putting it into the opening of the bottle, and then making the final photograph. All of this was done by hand.

A photographer has a sensitive heart and a pair of sharp eyes. John Wang, who made his career through his innovativeness, feels blessed for the wisdom and vision that Lord has bestowed upon him. He remarked emotionally, "Originality is sometimes innate. But some people are still unable to deliver original works even after years of endeavors, and this is when talents acquired through training comes into the picture. But of all of those aspiring commercial photographers, only a small handful has really made it."

In the eyes of his wife, Cheng-Hua Pai, "John is the kind of artist who is a teacher as well as a guide. Just like when someone asks for directions, he not just tells you how to get there but personally takes you to the destination." His fundamental motto in his career of commercial photography is good faith, care and hard work. He tirelessly gives instructions to those young people who aspire for a career in commercial photography. However, he finds it disappointing that hard-working young people are hard to find nowadays. Some of them make light of techniques and capacity while there are also interns with ulterior motives who attempted to steal his clients behind his back.

A glass of wine is the indispensable source of inspiration for John Wang's conceptual innovativeness, and he takes pleasure in contemplating alone while sipping on a glass of wine. He said, "Having a glass of good wine in hand is as much as brewing unlimited originality. Just like those ancient poets whose burst of poetic creativity came after a glass of a good wine, I experience the same spiritual ambiance when I take photos after having a glass of wine."

Of all the subjects his camera lenses have captured, people is the one that John Wang likes most and is best at, and it is also the most difficult one at the same time. When he photographs a group of people, he has to have a good grasp of the psychology of each model. He would tell some jokes to make them relax before he seizes the opportunity to photograph the most natural expressions and postures.

What John Wang is most fancinated with is the application of multi-exposure techniques to create some mysterious and dreamlike atmosphere. For instance, the photo featuring the swing of a baseball bat was completed through five to six exposures instead of computer composition. As it involves high technical difficulty, it normally takes two rolls of film to create one single magnificent photo, and sometimes one or two satisfactory photos will come his way only after several hundreds of tries.

John Wang put his works on display in his exhibition "A Photography Exhibition: Originality In The New Century" in New York. Most of the exhibits share one common feature: they were taken with one negative - with the oldest method of photography. Those photos made through multi-exposure technique give the impression of movement in the context of stillness or action to be unleashed. Although computer technology has made many inroads in modern photography and contributes to speedier completion of commercial works, in John Wang's view, it also diminishes their artistic value. Therefore, he still insists on photographing his advertisement works with his own hands and imagination.

John Wang has consistently believed that the supreme realm of photography lies in the adage "One Picture Means a Thousand Words." To make a good photo substitute for many words and to turn a simple object into a superb image through superior techniques was, is, and will be the ideal state that he is immersed in and he stands poised to meet higher challenges and explore greater artistic value.