Nature nominee

These images are from my ongoing project of the Secret Garden, which displays the graceful beauty of the Great Egrets in natural Florida.

I want to share my subjective view of reality through my work. My love and admiration for nature and wildlife are evident from how I idealize every scene I shoot, transforming realistic pictures into images of an ideal fictional and dreamy world that could exist only in imagination. I tried to paint pictures of a fairy tale or mystery with photography and creativity.

How I visualized the concept relates to my excitement and desire to share my experience. As an exciting live experience is always superior to its portrayal, the only way to transmit it visually is to create an equally exciting visual experience for the viewer. By using carefully composed images, the treatment of light, and some digital post-process, I want to challenge the boundary of traditional photography and create an ideal paradise beyond realism, and inspire viewers with a fantasy world in my imagination. The Great Egret has a pure and ethereal figure that suits a paradise bird.

Fenqiang Liu is an Orlando-based fine art photographer who captures magical moments in natural Florida and transforms them into a paradise in his imagination. Liu’s passion for visual art began with studying drawing while attending middle school in China. During college, he took an interest in photography. After finishing his BA in Chinese literature, Liu worked as a cameraman for geographic educational videos.

He later came to the United States to obtain his MFA in Cinema and Photography at Southern Illinois University. After graduation, Liu worked as a motion graphic designer. He and his wife later opened a business that provides behavior analysis services for children with autism.

In recent years, Liu has devoted his time to nature and wildlife photography and won multiple international awards, including Category Winner in the Nature & Landscape at the Siena Creative Photo Awards 2022, 1st Prize Winner in Nature and Wildlife Category at the 6th edition of MonoVisions Photography Awards, 1st Prize Winner in Wildlife & Animals Category at the 8th Fine Art Photography Awards.

Liu’s cultural influence from both the East and the West, his artistic background, and his photography mastery allow him to express his thoughts and emotions uniquely.