In the summer of 2019. LORRIC launched our brand image and Mr. Jin Lei’s video to strengthen and deliver our brand message and concept through it. The footage of the sperm whale diving in the shallow sea off the coast of Hualien makes people feel the beauty and be in awe of nature. Under the leadership influence of the founder of LORRIC, we changed from a computer animation method into actual film footage of a sperm whale diving which was shot by a Taiwanese photographer as the material for our brand Mr. Jin Lei’s video. After months of hard work from our creative partners, LORRIC has finally met with Mr. Jin Lei, the first ever underwater whale and dolphin photographer in Taiwan, as he captured extremely beautiful and shocking photos and videos of whales in nature. Also because of this opportunity, LORRIC invited Mr. Jin Lei to have a relaxed conversation with our founder about his journey, his ups and downs, and the meaning of “whale and dolphin photography”.
Check out our latest brand Mr. Jin Lei’s video: the diving Sperm Whale
On a warm afternoon in the early winter of 2018, LORRIC invited Mr. Jin Lei to the Xinfu Town Cultural Market, a secluded exhibition space in Bopiliao, Da dao cheng, to chat about “Whale and Dolphin Shooting”, the cultural ecology and art that LORRIC admired. Mr. Jin Lei and LORRIC exchanged ideas on the brand, products, and Taiwan’s industry. Mr. Jin Lei and LORRIC shared a mutual cherishment in silence for each other and both hope to bring Taiwan some changes through their own ways.
The realization of any idea starts from fearlessly taking the first step
After graduating from the Institute of Life Sciences of National Taiwan Normal University, Mr. Jin Lei first served as an instructor docent for Kuroshio Ocean Education Foundation, and then received a documentary subsidy from the Forestry Bureau in that certain year. Despite some doubts and anxiety in the early stage, he understood that this is the dream career he was pursuing, he began to try to film whales and dolphins in the water, and at the same time, he was determined to become an eco-photographer. Mr. Jin Lei resolutely changed the runway, from water shooting to underwater shooting, returning to the original point and renewing himself. Then eventually started studying underwater shooting abroad.
Difficulties in shooting whales and dolphin
It takes a long time to go out to sea but it is also necessary to meticulously search for whales and dolphins. The climate, environment, light and whale alertness after finding the whales and dolphins will affect the possibility of shooting. It often takes a lot of time to search for them and the time into the water is actually less than 30 minutes in a day.
The sperm whale video used for LORRIC’s brand image was filmed by Mr. Jin Lei in 2014, this scene made him wait for 7 years. Although sperm whales do not live in Taiwan, they often swim across Taiwan in the summer, and show up only 10-15 times a year on average. During summers of July and August, Mr. Jin Lei would stay in Hualien waiting for the whales and dolphins to show up, he would go to the sea right after someone on a fishing boat or whale watching boat spotted them. It often takes 1-2 hours before arriving at the spot, so in order to see the whales, it largely depends on the captain’s experience and luck. The spinner dolphins photographed in 2015 took him the whole summer, and had only pressed the shutter 3 times in total.
There’s this one incident during the filming in Tonga, a humpback whale wanted to get closer to him out of curiosity, and the greeting behavior between the creatures was physical contact with each other. The humpback whale’s tail flung to Mr. Jin Lei’s feet. At first, he just felt numb, but he didn’t expect that after the doctor confirmed it, he would need to be hospitalized for a week before being discharged. Contacting creatures of different magnitudes really requires adequate physical and mental preparation.
Sustain life and enthusiasm
After exchanging experiences with some foreign technicians, Mr. Jin Lei learned that he can take people to Japan and Tonga to take pictures like a tour guide, so that he can have income and also take pictures at the same time, but this is not practical in Taiwan. The business model of whale watching in Taiwan is mainly above water watching, and 80% of whale watchers saw dolphins inhabit around Taiwan but whales. Large whales will not be stable enough to inhabit the environment of Taiwan, and will only pass by. Even so, it is still necessary to document this ecology. Underwater photography is a niche market in Taiwan, and as a result, the agencies provide less subsidies in this part. Underwater photography is expensive, Mr. Jin Lei often cooperates with other teams to gather the resources and project subsidies owned by everyone to increase the number of trips to shoot underwater. “It's just a group of people who want to do it, go everywhere and think of ways, and then do it by themselves.” Mr. Jin Lei said with a smile.
LORRIC looks forward to work with Mr. Jin Lei for Taiwan
In Mr. Jin Lei’s unremitting efforts in his field of expertise, we have seen LORRIC’s brand philosophy: Our Challenge - In pursuit of nozzles that surpass mere accuracy; Our Aim - to advance the industry and make the leap to the world of tomorrow; Our Pursuit - looking for the most fitting and like-minded partners, Mr. Jin Lei is like LORRIC’s Partners who embrace the same values, while each of us silently move forward in our own field, and we all hope that Taiwan will shine.