Cheng Shang-Hsi stepped onto his path of photography with a low-priced "Pigeon" camera. At age 18, he joined the Shinsui Photography Exhibition established by photographer Chang Tsai, and obtained the nourishment for his future creation from Chang's philosophy of rich humanistic care in photography. Influenced by the Western photography trends in the 1950s and 60s, he continuously experimented with lights and shadows in his works. After graduating from college, Cheng held a solo exhibition Birds at the Rose Marie Gallery. His images that precisely captured the vivid expressions of animals drew great attention.
 

The most acclaimed “documentary” character in Cheng's works stems from his work experiences for the Photography Unit of Government Information Office, as well as his accumulation of experience in shooting his hometown Keelung and the mountainside town Jiufen. The selection of Cheng's works in this exhibition takes his Keelung series as the core, highlighting "natural, unpretentious humans, and the absence of photographer," the visual language Cheng pursued. Cheng captured the misty weather, the lifestyle of local residents, and the landscapes of the port city under industrial transformation, all in his richly emotive images.