Article: Deaf Taiwanese's Photography Displayed in Deaflympics Stadium - Deaf Studies Division in the News

Deaf Taiwanese's Photography Displayed in Deaflympics Stadium

By John Critser.

Monday, September 7, 2009—Reprinted from Article at Deaf Nation website.

Man standing in front of framed photos hanging on wall.Frank Ying-Tsung Chen stands before his photography displayed in Deaflympic Stadium.

Athletes and fans are milling about in a swarm inside the stadium at the 2009 Taipei Deaflympics, and there is one particular display we cannot miss, and it is on the walls.

There is an impressive array of photographs professionally taken that is displayed that gives us the clearest sensation of the place and object, it is like putting on new glasses for the first time and seeing with 20/20 vision.

The man responsible for the almost panoramically artistic photographs that gives us a detailed close-up view is a deaf Taipei resident and Taiwanese national named Frank Ying-Tsung Chen, a humble and perceptive man.

He is a professional photographer, many of his photos were used on fruit produce advertisements and outstanding architectural projects in both the interior and exterior areas.

Born in Tainen, Taiwan which is in the southwestern coastal area, he attended school there until he graduated. He moved to Taipei to attend some college there, but let’s go back to the birth of his photography career and where it took him.

Chen used to borrow his father’s camera because he loved taking photos and tinker with the camera to see where it would take him. The result was beautiful angles and a discovered ability to take pictures that becomes marketable. That was when he knew it was time for him to get drawn deeper into the photography world.

His goal was to become a professional photographer, so he went overseas to the United States to attend two different colleges, Ohlone College [emphasis added] and the Academy of Arts located in the greater San Francisco bay area in California.

Ohlone [emphasis added] has an excellent international program for deaf people to attend for furthering their education. Ohlone has a reputation for turning many international students, particularly Asians, into successful students and workers, attracting students such as Chen.

After college he stayed on in the United States for professional internships to continue brushing up his skills.

In 1987, he returned to Taipei to work for companies while building his reputation until he got his own photography studio where he operated until 1997 when he retired due to back problems.

Since he still does photography in special projects, the National Association of the Deaf, Republic of China (R.O.C.) asked him to display his best photos at the stadium where the 2009 Taipei Deaflympics is taking place. He wanted people attending to see the work of a deaf local, it would be his best representation of the games.

There are talented deaf people in every country and Chen is one of them, in Taiwan.