Chapter 659 - 294: Li Younan’s Grand Master Photography Exhibition Venue

Of course, although the current photo left him stunned, Lu Ye quickly calmed himself down after the brief shock.

He certainly wouldn’t immediately believe that this young lady’s boyfriend had produced hundreds of master-level works, as it was simply too unbelievable.

Even photographers like himself who couldn’t care less about fame and profit would still hope their photos reach a wider audience.

It might sound contradictory, but it actually isn’t. The former is for money and fame, while the latter cares more about the emotional fulfillment.

If he were to confront his own feelings, Lu Ye had to admit that he was also a common man and he also liked to show off, though his way of showing off wasn’t the usual kind.

It’s like some pure singers who might create songs not for money, but they definitely hope more people hear their creations.

Happening to be heard by others and generating material benefits often complement each other.

And if this photo in front of him was indeed taken by that young lady’s boyfriend, and he had many more works of similar level, it would at least prove he is a seasoned expert long immersed in the art of photography. There would be no reason for him not to want more people to see his works.

Therefore, he should have already heard of his name and seen his works.

After all, for Lu Ye, besides taking photos, his greater hobby is viewing photos. Only by continuously viewing quality works by his peers can he keep expanding his horizons and inspiration.

Such is the case in any form of art creation; it’s hard to make breakthroughs when staying behind closed doors.

Either Li Younan truly doesn’t care if others see his works, or the photo, although stunning, was an accidental gift from nature due to a stroke of luck.

Thinking this, he couldn’t help but feel a bit doubtful.

Upon reflection, it seemed to make sense.

After all, from their previous conversation, it was evident the young lady knew little about photography, so she couldn’t gauge the value of this photo.

Thus, in her eyes, a truly top-notch master-level photograph and a photo that just looked pretty good to ordinary people might seem equivalent.

The majority of photos are ordinary, but indeed better than those randomly taken by amateurs with cameras, leading her to such a misunderstanding.

Ha, hundreds of master-level works?

He felt he had grasped the essence of the situation, thus avoiding any internal conflict.

Even so, the Sunlit Golden Mountain photo did leave him in awe and, looking at Li Younan now, he felt a great sense of admiration, so he slowly walked over to Li Younan while holding the photo and said, "Hello, mind if I ask...? Did you really take this photo?"

His gaze even bypassed Liu Li, and he stared intently at Li Younan, eager for a confirmatory nod from him.

For Li Younan, there was really nothing to hide, so he smiled and nodded.

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Lu Ye immediately apologized for his previous forwardness: "I was just thinking of taking a photograph for you, ha ha, truly sorry for the presumption."

At this moment, he couldn’t help but admire Li Younan’s composure.

Holding Li Younan’s photo in his hand, he looked at it several more times before saying, "It really is a fantastic photo... Have you ever participated in any photography competitions before? Where can I see your works?"

Lu Ye asked purely out of curiosity.

Considering Li Younan’s level, even if he accidentally took a master-level photo, he should have his works published through various channels by now.

However, Li Younan shook his head and then looked over at Jing Chaoyi: "Eh, what was the name of that competition I participated in before?"

"The Smithsonian Digital Humanities Photography Award," Jing Chaoyi sweetly replied.

This award is considered a fairly prestigious competition within the industry.

Yet Lu Ye hadn’t constantly kept up with various photography awards; upon hearing the reply, he started searching on the official website, and soon found the photo Li Younan took previously.

To be honest, when Li Younan took that photo, his photography skills were only at Level 1, far from the seamless and exquisite Level 3 skill he possesses now.

Winning that award sufficiently demonstrated the quality of his photo, but any discerning person could see that compared to this current photo, there was still a noticeable gap.

Lu Ye openly expressed his doubts: "Just that one competition?"

Li Younan casually chuckled: "Competitions, you know—I don’t really like participating in them. That photo was taken when I just started learning photography, and I haven’t participated in any since."

On hearing this, Lu Ye had mixed feelings.

He produced such a quality photo at the very start of his photography journey?

Looking at the past award-winning photo, Lu Ye momentarily found himself at a loss for words.

Could this be what a truly gifted individual is like?

He was even more surprised that if Li Younan wasn’t lying, it meant that within such a short period after taking that photo, Li Younan’s skills had progressed to a level where he could produce a photo like Sunlit Golden Mountain?

This rate of progress is astonishingly terrifying.