SDG11
"Future of Light and Shadow" at NCKU: Inaugural National College Mobile Photography and AI Image Creation Camp Debuts
The event was hosted by Po-Kai Tseng, Vice President of the Taiwan Mobile Photography Association and a student in NCKU's Department of Chinese Literature. NCKU Vice President Yu-Nu Chen delivered a written address welcoming and encouraging the participating youth from universities nationwide. She likened the humanities to "air"—invisible, colorless, and easily overlooked, yet an indispensable nourishment for human development. Particularly in an era of rapid advancements in high technology and AI, the companionship of the humanities holds irreplaceable value. She noted that AI technology can also serve as a vital pathway to make the humanities visible; through interdisciplinary exchange and the integration of diverse perspectives, technology, the humanities, and aesthetics can intersect to refract light and shadow imbued with greater warmth.
Associate Professor Ching-Pei Lee of NCKU's Department of Chinese Literature welcomed students from various institutions on behalf of the department. She remarked that holding a creative camp combining mobile photography and AI outside the traditional classroom is a rare opportunity, allowing students to engage with visual arts in a more relaxed and practical manner. She noted that the department had previously integrated mobile photography into literature and freshman Chinese courses, showcasing student works through exhibitions. Building on that foundation by incorporating AI opens up even broader possibilities between humanities education and visual practice. She also introduced alumnus Hua-An Huang, highlighting his lifelong dedication to photography, artistic creation, and curation, and expressed hope that students would apply what they learned in class to the afternoon campus photo shoot, truly putting knowledge into practice.
Professor Emeritus Kao-Ping Chang, former Chair of NCKU's Department of Chinese Literature, spoke from the perspective of "creativity." Citing the Korean drama *Dae Jang Geum* (*Jewel in the Palace*) as an example, he illustrated how limited original source material can be interpreted, deconstructed, and reorganized into an expansive television series. For Chinese literature education, texts do not have to remain in their original forms; what truly matters is how to reread them and unlock new possibilities from existing materials. His insights created a natural resonance between a camp focused on mobile photography and AI and the classical humanities' enduring themes of heritage, innovation, and re-creation.
Hua-An Huang, President of the Taiwan Mobile Photography Association and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Practice at NCKU, expressed gratitude to NCKU, Vice President Yu-Nu Chen, College of Liberal Arts Dean Wen-Sung Chen, Professor Emeritus Chiung-Jui Hsiao, Professor Emeritus Kao-Ping Chang, and the Department of Chinese Literature for their support in bringing the camp back to his alma mater. Beginning his remarks on the theme of "light," he stated that photography is the art of chasing light, just as human life is a continuous pursuit of one's own light. Reflecting on his journey after graduating from NCKU—from photojournalism on the front lines to photography, art, curation, and cultural work—he realized that what NCKU truly bestowed upon him was not merely knowledge, but a pair of eyes with which to view the world.
Huang noted that "Future of Light and Shadow" aims to transform smartphones from mere communication devices into creative tools for young people, and to let AI serve as wings for creativity rather than a replacement for human thought. Furthermore, he hopes to integrate photography with literature, the humanities, and aesthetics, elevating the act from simply "taking photos" to genuinely "creating visual art." At the same time, the camp seeks to establish an intercollegiate, interdisciplinary visual exchange platform for college students nationwide, cultivating young people who can "master technology while possessing their own unique vision" in the AI era.
"In the past, we asked whether you owned a camera; today, we should ask whether you have your own eyes," Huang said. While smartphones assist in shooting and AI can generate visuals, neither can live a real life, understand others, or decide on behalf of a creator why a particular frame deserves to be preserved. He encapsulated the spirit of the camp with the motto: "With the smartphone as our pen, AI as our wings, and the humanities at our core, let youth see the world through images, and let the world see our youth."
NCKU Professor Emeritus Chiung-Jui Hsiao, recipient of the 15th Tainan Culture Award in 2026, broadened the perspective to the vast timeline of art history. Tracing the evolution from ancient Egypt, Greece, and the Renaissance to modern art, he used works from various eras to illustrate how science, materials, and tools have continuously reshaped human ways of seeing. From perspective and optics to photography and post-processing, each wave of new technology entering art has compelled creators to re-examine the relationship between "reality" and "creation." What matters has never been merely whether a tool can be used, but how humans comprehend it and transform it into their own artistic language.
Turning to hands-on creation, President Hua-An Huang drew upon his decades of photojournalism and professional photography experience to cover smartphone fundamentals—including focal length, focus, exposure, shutter speed, depth of field, light and shadow, and color temperature—helping students grasp the visual differences produced by various settings. Although modern smartphones integrate computational photography and AI algorithms to handle an increasing share of technical tasks, deciding on the subject, what to keep within the frame, and how light is perceived still rests entirely with the creator.
In the afternoon, Yu-Chen Lin—Vice President of Alltek Broadband, AI video creator, and Vice President of the Taiwan Mobile Photography Association—led a practical session on AI image creation. Through hands-on exercises, students explored how generative AI can extend and reconstruct images, discovering that AI is not merely a tool for novelty effects, but an alternative approach to expanding imagination and visual expression.
At the conclusion of the lectures, participants stepped outside the auditorium and used the NCKU campus as a field creation site. Putting a full day's lessons on focal length, composition, focus, exposure, and light-and-shadow observation into practice, they produced works amidst red bricks, ancient trees, historic architecture, people, and the afternoon sunlight. The camp also held an on-campus outdoor photography competition, inviting college students from across Taiwan to view NCKU afresh through their own eyes. Submitted works will be evaluated by a judging panel, with winners to be announced on the Taiwan Mobile Photography Association's Facebook page.
From classical texts to generative AI, and from millennia of art history to a smartphone carried in a pocket, what this camp ultimately sought to leave behind is perhaps not any specific technique, but the human willingness to observe, understand, and discern firsthand in an era where images are effortlessly generated. Technology may carry images faster and farther, yet what ultimately decides why a single frame is worth keeping remains the pair of eyes behind the lens.
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“Photo Captions”
1. The inaugural National College Mobile Photography and AI Image Creation Camp makes its debut.
2. Holding a creative camp combining mobile photography and AI outside the traditional classroom.
3. NCKU Professor Emeritus Chiung-Jui Hsiao, winner of the 15th Tainan Culture Award in 2026, urges creators to re-examine the relationship between "reality" and "creation."
4. Using the National Cheng Kung University campus as a field creation site, students put a full day's lessons on focal length, composition, focus, exposure, and light-and-shadow observation into practice on location.
Using the National Cheng Kung University campus as a field creation site, students put a full day's lessons on focal length, composition, focus, exposure, and light-and-shadow observation into practice on location.
NCKU Professor Emeritus Chiung-Jui Hsiao, winner of the 15th Tainan Culture Award in 2026, urges creators to re-examine the relationship between "reality" and "creation."
Holding a creative camp combining mobile photography and AI outside the traditional classroom.
The inaugural National College Mobile Photography and AI Image Creation Camp makes its debut.
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