不管是谁的作品集，人们一般都会说，那是他的代表作。

　　罗更前的这本作品集，似乎不能简单地说就是他的代表作。作为中国最大的专业体育新闻摄影机构——新华社摄影部体育照片采编室的主任，作为北京奥林匹克国家摄影队的技术总教练，罗更前更重要的代表作应该是什么呢?

　　当北京获得第29届奥运会主办权时，我们敏锐地意识到，谁拥有一支强大的专业化体育新闻摄影采编队伍，谁就将掌握北京奥运会摄影报道的主导权。

　　罗更前接受了这个光荣而艰巨的任务。要带出一支队伍，谈何容易?从无到有，七年“磨剑”，他始终站在体育新闻摄影的前沿阵地上，实践探索，言传身教，既讲授专业理论和专业技术，又传授职业素养和职业道德，不仅让一些从事日常报道的摄影记者向体育专业摄影转型，更把一批从未接受过专业摄影教育的大学毕业生培养成业务精、技术好的体育摄影编辑、记者。

　　从雅典奥运会到亚运会、大运会、全运会，再到田径、体操、游泳、足球、篮球、排球等一系列世界大赛，这支年轻的专业队伍崭露头角，大显身手，终于让国际奥委会刮目相看，赋予他们全面报道北京奥运会的重任。

　　所以，这才是罗更前真正的代表作。

　　当然，作为摄影技术总教练，没有一点真功夫，怎能服人?这本作品集可以看成是总教练的资格证书。也许，它还可以作为体育摄影的教科书。

　　(徐祖根：新华社摄影部主任，北京奥林匹克国家摄影队领队)

2009年2月

　　An album book is normally regarded as an assembly of one’s most representative masterpieces.

　　But Luo’s masterpiece is not simply confined to a book of photo. As the director of the Sports Photo Office, which is the biggest professional sports photo server of China, and the general counselor of the National Olympic Photo Pool of the Beijing Olympics, what is Luo’s most important masterpiece?

　　Back when Beijing won the bid for the XXIX Olympic Games, we perceived that a professional team of sport photographers would be the key to the supremacy of Beijing Olympic Game report.

　　Luo Gengqian rose to the glorious but tough challenge of organizing and training such a team. Starting from scrach, he devoted 7 years to this task. Sharing skills and experiences with his fellow photographers and newly recruited graduates majored in foreign languages, armed them with international perspective and professional ethics, he turned the green hands who never set foot in sport photography or even photography to veterans who were competent as sport photo editors or photographers.

　　Going through tests of all kinds, like Athens Olympic Games, Asian Games, Summer and Winter Universiades, Chinese National Games, FIFA World Cup, championships of volleyball, swimming, gymnastics and tournaments of tennis etc., the promising team built up its strength and distinguished reputation, and was finally recognized by the International Olympic Committee to become the dominant force of the National Olympic Photo Pool.

　　And THAT is the real masterpiece of Mr. Luo Gengqian.

　　Of course, Luo would never get his title “the general counselor of the National Olympic Photo Pool of the Beijing Olympics” without outstanding achievements. Here comes this book. You may take it as an approval of such a title, or you may regard it as a textbook for sport photography.

　　(Xu Zugen: Director of the Photo Department of Xinhua News Agency. Captain of National Olympic Photo Pool of the Beijing Olympics.)

February 2009