Assignment 3: Changes and the Constant in Art

“Art is a mirror to life”
– Hamlet

In this assignment I was inspired by the painter’s love for the craft, and the changes an artist would go through as he/she ages. As stages in one’s life changes, the Art he/she does changes in terms of subject and style.

I imagined a naive space

In the comforts between chaos and exposure

Drifting amongst the amorphous smoke,

I know I can always turn back and refuel

Then it became point BLANK for me

As I look back on life’s black and white

I felt my life inverse, changed.

And as life’s changes surround me, I sit alone,
being the only constant, at the heart of apparent change.

Challenges:

1)Taking pictures of people is hard because once you’re in front of them, they appear to be uncomfortable with what they’re doing and would try to make it a point to pose for you. I tackled this problem by chatting with them to ease the discomfort especially with subjects that I do not know.

2)Because all photos are shot indoors, capturing the perfect lighting is a HUGE challenge. I literally lie on the floor and got myself in weird and uncomfortable positions just to get perfect side lighting for some of my subjects.

3) Angle is hard to capture, especially when I tried to make it a point to capture a)the artist b)their current work and c) their past works in the background.

Explanation:
Seen in two parts, the first 4 photos depicts younger artists trying to forge their distinct style and message, like the journey of self discovery when in our youth. The next 4 photos depicts people who are older releasing their passion for the craft onto the canvases in the comforts of their own space.

This series of photos are intended to be read in a chronological manner, together with its accompanying text.

Self assessment:

For technicalities I give myself 39/50
For concept development I give myself 49/50

so in total I’ll get 88/100.

I enjoyed the process of this photoessay, and gave it a lot of thought in terms of planning and the composition of each photo. The poem/short prose/writing was in my head the whole time, but it only really came out when i put the photos together, so i thought the process of doing this work is more than just “work”.

my concept is to make every photo mean something by itself, but when put together, forms a narrative that is coherent and conveys a central idea. The only regret (which led to me taking off 1 mark for concept) is that 3 of the photos in the “younger” stage were done in one place (Lasalle), and if i were to go somewhere else a better range can be developed.

My technique in photo taking obviously, needs improvement. The composition and angle is the best i can go, so i give myself 25 marks for that. but the focus and shutter speed and the dynamics of the manual function is something i have to keep up with. my pictures are out of focus, and most of them are blur. so for that part i can only award myself with 19 marks, for the effort and attempt at focusing. in total that amounts to 39/50.

Comments from the critique session:

I got responses like “nice” and “good”, and from Mr Reddy, that there is a ‘wave’ that runs throughout the series.

Tea commented that I can add a picture of myself doing my work and it’s ready for an official exhibition. heehee.

The complain is that my pictures are blur, and that the tag at the bottom where is wrote my “poem” is distracting. Personally, i also hate the fact that my pictures are blur.

People also asked me if the difference in colours for the frames were intentional. Yes they are. the off white represents the “empty” minds that are eager to learn, and the black frames represents the accumulation of knowledge that is ready to re-emerge in one’s own personal style.

Actually I’ve got paul to thank for that, because the day before, he mentioned that framing is part of the process of creating a photographic work. I went home and thought about it and decided on the size of the frame and the colours for the presentation.

So Thank you!

Benchmarks:

The best set of photos this time is yikang’s from DW 1 and Paul’s(DW 2) series on the changes in a person’s emotions and outlook in life as he/she ages. I thought the pictures were engaging and of course, very well taken, with the techniques of a good photographer. My only complain is that when put together, the change is not very apparent unless he talks about it. There is consistency throughout the pictures, but there is nothing that binds the series tightly, thus the part on concept development suffers a little.

I like Yikang’s originality. There’s a consistency in his series that binds everything together, be it the small figure that peeks through the pictures subtly, or the consistent colour scheme that runs throughout the images. Awesome and great to look at.

His attempt at composition and the capturing of the lighting is also superb. The only thing that is stopping me from giving him full marks for technique is that his images are not very clear, and I don’t really see a focus. there is no play on the depth of field (which i think he should try) to convey depth and contrast. Moreover, since Paul’s image quality is the benchmark, I can’t give yikang a full mark too.

I’d give Yikang 45/50 for technique and 50/50 for concept (95/100 in total)

I’d give Paul 50/50 for technique and 39/50 for concept (89/100 in total)

credits

I would like to thank the students of Lasalle SIA for allowing me to take their pictures and visiting their studio.

and also Dr Irving Johnson from the SEA department for letting me take his picture.

and to the artists from the Singapore federation of Art society for allowing me to enter their studios and letting me take their pictures while they are at work. Also, to Mr Kiew for introducing them to me.

and my art student, Thaddeus, for being a good boy that day and letting me take his picture.

and last but not least, Mr Chia, who got me contacts to enter the Lasalle art studio.

This project wouldn’t be possible without all your help. Thank you.

Playground for shutter speed

I spotted this forsaken bicycle in some obscure alley and decided to bestow some attention upon it by taking multiple shots of it, while figuring out my Canon 400D’s manual function.

On the left: ISO 100, 1/150, 7.1
Right: ISO 100, 1/25, 11

Assignment 2: Depth, Presence, Contrast

In today’s tutorial, we understand presence to be a ‘window’ that engages the viewer. Sir later explained that engagement would imply that the image is more than just a picture and would draw the viewer into that 3D space.

I presented this two pictures to the class:

It was an extremely hot and sunny afternoon, so I had to increase my shutter speed by a whole lot in order to avoid overexposure.

ISO: 100 1/50 7.1

I also had two other shots of the durian shells, but one of them is seriously over exposed, and I didn’t like the other one because the ATM machine can be seen and it’s rather distracting:

edit

I realised I forgot the part on self assessment here. Here goes:

Self assessment:

For the picture on the bottles and newspapers, I give myself 45/50 for technicalities and 48/50 for visual appeal. In total it’s 93/100. I think my composition for this picture comes from a unique perspective, and the close up of the two “rubbish” does convey and tells audiences the story behind the person who threw them away. When questioned which are the pictures that created a sense of entry into the space, Stephanie pointed out mine, so I guess my composition works.

For the picture on the durians, Mr. Reddy said that it would be better if the man is not so centralised. However, I like the way i positioned the camera to capture the durian shells that eventually leads to the seller. Mark mentioned that the durian shells gave the picture texture, and thus adds contrast and depth into the picture space.

I give myself 43/50 for visual appeal, but because it is overexposed, I give myself 42/50 for technicalities. In total: 87/100

The two photos together, adds up to 90/100.

Benchmarks:

I think Mike did a great job on this assignment. His picture of the night sky was breathtaking. I love love love the colours, and the peek-a-boo horizon that makes a nice composition. I give him 97/100 for this assignment.

Paul also did a great job on his collection. I think what is most commendable about his work is that he puts in a lot of thought in the series. I saw his album and they are organised in terms of colours. The vibrancy and contrast in the colours were stunning. However, When compared with Mike’s works, Paul’s photos felt a bit distant, and does not engage me as much as Mike’s. Perhaps I can’t blame Paul for technical issues (because he has them, no doubt) but Mike just chose a really good subject, and took the chance when he had it to photograph the sky in that state.

Nevertheless, Paul still made the tops list with 96.5/100.

Assignment 2: image 1: A ‘life’ once lost

How many times have we tried to alter our states of mind to get on with life?

“There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy.”

– Albert Camus
.

For the second assignment, I’m documenting the things people throw away, as they are the remnants of an experience that has passed, an emotion that was once alive and a vignette of life that has died.

more pictures to come.

Assignment 1: The Hair photogram: “There and Then”

I was inspired by my visit to the hair salon when I created this photogram. While my hair stylist took lumps of my hair and started twisting them to get what I have on my head now, I went through a long 8 hour process of thinking about nothing-ness. It was as though me brains are sucked out of the body, and all I could feel is my hair being tugged and pulled, and all I could see in front of me is hair.

Pre Presentation:

The class preferred this to the one i presented to the class:

Here’s another that I tried:

Self assessment

I give myself 80/100 for this assignment, as I admit that I haven’t explored the possibilities of hair+plastic very well.

However I like my idea, and it’s a genuine emotion that I felt “there and then”. thus i gave myself 50/50 for concept and a mere 30/50 for technique.

I could have done more with the playing of the hair, and should have collected more hair to add on to the composition.

I should also have played with more materials instead of plastics.

Comments from the class:

Mr Reddy commented that the one is presented to the class is pretty, but the “shocking” image (2nd photogram following the first one) is more engaging.

Another classmate commented that I should have played with the hair more as it looks very cluttered. (which is agree, but i like clutter. how?) Is it possible for a photographer to be obsessed with taking pictures of clutter?

Benchmark:

The best photogram this time is Mike’s flower. It’s stunning yet simple. I couldn’t take my mind of its colours. the image grabs my attention and the colours engages. in short, it speaks to me, it makes me want to look at it more. stunning. I give him 100/100.

no complains.