Campus Life news

A PASSION FOR PHOTOGRAPHY

Wen Dong

Photography is more than a passion for a SUNY Oswego graduate student: Wen Dong, 25, a student from Lanzhou, China has been shooting photography since he was a child. You have to say photography runs in his blood, since his mother is a professional photographer. When he was 12 years old he had two exhibits with other career artists and Wen's photography was even displayed in the local newspaper.  His passion did not end there. He continued developing his craft and then pursued his dreams of attending a university. While in undergrad he studied Japanese Translation and it was not until he attended graduate school at Shanghai Normal University that photography became his attended course of study.  

Wen has a phenomenal resume, and has done work for the Chinese affiliate of "Car and Driver" magazine, "Tencent" map (Chinese equivalent to Google maps), and for a luxury high-rise hotel in Shanghai. His experience as a young man in China has been impressive, but Wen was always yearning for more.   

"I already went to Japan for an exchange program. Then after that experience I wanted to come to America. New York City and Los Angeles are the fashion centers of the world," said Wen.  

He finally got his big break this summer when he had a paid internship to work for New York Habitat, which is a real estate agency in New York City.  Wen spent his summer taking photographs of various brownstone houses in Brooklyn and many homes and rentals in Manhattan. Before he left for the Big Apple, he already caught the attention of staff from the Department of Campus Life. When it was time for SUNY Oswego's 'I am Oz' diversity campaign to highlight Asian Heritage Month there was no other choice but to use Wen's talents in photographing students and faculty. His excellent ability to capture the essence of a person got him the job of taking portraits for the 'I am Oz' campaign for Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month.  

Wen explained, "My dream is to do fashion photography commercially. I have been told by professionals to keep trying, and there are a lot of possibilities for a specific area. I would like to work for a magazine or in advertising. My plan right now is to work two to three years in the U.S., have a great reputation in photography here and then go back home."