a reflection of Kodak moments

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

10:48 AM

What is Singapore Culture?

In recent years, it's hard for one to open up the newspapers and not be bombarded with headlines such as :
"Things that make us uniquely Singaporean",
"Things that make us proud to be Singaporean",
"What makes us Singaporean?",
"How Singaporean are we as a nation?" and more importantly,
"What makes you a Singaporean?".
Singapore seems to suffer from an inferiority complex as it struggles to upkeep its national identity in the face of globalisation. Many might feel that Singapore doesn't have an identity or a culture unique to itself, or at least positive ones to be proud of, but is this really so?

Or perhaps our young age of independence can justify the paling richness of culture and heritage when compared to neighbouring Thailand or Europe from far beyond. But age shouldn't be a quantifier for how rich one's culture is, should it?

When one thinks of Singapore, icons such as the HDB and kiasu-ism (the fear of losing out to others) immediately comes to mind. Kiasu-ism as well as kiasi-ism (being overly timid) are often used as markers of national identity to Singapore. But many don't realise that this is not solely unique to Singapore; that it is evident in many neighbouring Southeast Asian countries because of the pressure to not lose out to competition.

The spoken language, Singlish is another distinctive characteristic of Singaporeans. It is the blend of many different languages such as Malay, Mandarin dialect and English in our everyday speech. Singlish is met with much disdain by the government and certain English-educated affluent individuals, but I think it is a lovely and interesting display of how our nation is a melting pot of cultures. Besides, it has its own rules of syntax, similar to other official languages.

For instance, you can't say: That is an insane la thought!
No Singaporean would get you.
The sentence only makes sense if la is put at the end for emphasis - That is an insane thought la!

Like Switzerland, it's hard for Singapore to define its own unique culture for it's influenced by its surrounding neighbours and its geographical location. Just as how we can distinctly separate Switzerland into its French, German and Italian regions; Singapore is made up of Chinese, Malay, Indian and European immigrants.

I think Singaporeans should embrace this amalgam of diverse backgrounds and be proud of it.
Perhaps it's because Singaporeans are too comfortably kept in their sheltered protected environments and have yet to be exposed to other cultures and environments, that they suffer from a cultural cringe and fail to appreciate what Singapore is/has - a safe haven free from natural disasters and calamities.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

8:33 AM

Assignment 6: Photo Analysis
Select any image from one of the following genres:
(a) Photojournalism
(b) Social documentary
(c) Commercial photography

Objective: To analyze the picture and list how the selected photograph might be read by the target audience.

Chosen Ad:

Tagline: Adopt. You will receive more than you can ever give.

Canneslions 2007 Press Lions Winners Category - Bronze

Advertiser: Indian Association for the Promotion & Adoption of Child Welfare
Who are they? An non-profit organization concerned with the escalating issue of orphans and abandoned children in India.

Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai.

Ad type: Public Awareness Messages

This ad campaign comes in a series with two other ads below:

Using Pierce's triadic model:
Sign vehicle refers to the form of the sign. Here, the sign vehicle is the hug.
Sense is the meaning made by the sign. From the hug, we can infer that there's a close relationship between the parties involved.
Referent is what the sign 'stands for'. In this image, a hug symbolizes love.

Iconic - The photo of 2 people in embrace resembles a hug, so it is an iconic sign.
Indexical - The embrace between the 2 subjects is affected by the proximity between the both of them, so it is a sign of proximity.
Symbolic - The embracing of two individuals symbolizes love in universal sense.

Signifier: Hug
Signified: Love
It is difficult to explain the distinctions between the two as the signifier and signified are almost identical in a photograph.

An embrace denotes the act of clasping tightly or fondly in the arms. An embrace means love, affection, adore, liking, care or even concern. In our cultural context, it connotes an amiable and intimate relationship between two individuals.

There are various types of tropes - metonymy, metaphor and synecdoche. This ad uses irony effectively to bring its message across.

From our shared experience and culture, we often perceive the adults as the ones responsible for showering love and concern over a child. This ad works effectively through irony as it stimulates us to think of adoption in a different light. Many may regard adoption as an extra financial burden, that requires lots of resources, time and commitment. Many often relate adoption to giving. However, this ad successfully propels the viewer to consider adoption as a reward; that foster parents can too receive love and a sense of belonging from the child. This key message is effectively brought across with a fitted tag-line to the image.

This ad aims to target affluent Indians working/residing in Mumbai, City of India. This target group is well-educated and influenced by Western media which explains why the subjects are dressed in Western clothing instead of the traditional Indian costumes; the target audience can easily relate to the ad.

One issue in contention is image v. reality. One might criticize that the kids portrayed are fairer-skinned, which I believe is of a Northern descent. They seem to be leaving out the darker-skinned Southern Indian kids.

Although portrayed bigger in size, it doesn't mean that child holds the power in the relationship. Rather, the kinesics prompts one to think that the adult is finding solace in the kid who's giving the adult inner strength and some sort of greater meaning to life.

The background colour chosen is not a bright and cheery one. This is apt as the issue of orphans and abandoned children is a negative one in India. However, because the organization wishes to portray its mission as a cause that provides these unfortunate children a sense of hope, there is a centered colour gradient that lights the subjects.

I enjoyed Paul and Meimei's presentation this week with their in-depth analysis of the ad. I appreciated their efforts in finding out what the various cards symbolize. I never knew there were different meanings to the various cards of hearts or spades and it was an eye-opener.
The ad also supported Las Vegas' campaign: What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, extremely well. The affair between 'Queen' and 'Jack' exemplified the concept of how Vegas is a place of escape and secrets.

Ratings are as follows:
Analysis:48/50
Execution: 48/50
Paul & Meimei: 96/100

Analysis: 45/50
Execution: 42/50
Eileen & I: 87/100

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

7:07 PM

Assignment 5: Creep
Objective: To create 3 images of an appropriate object that fits the theme, Creep by exploring 3 aesthetic intentions of a photographer, namely:
(i) realistic (an objective, neutral photo taken with a photo-journalistic style)
(ii) formalistic (explores patterns, light, shade and colour)
(iii) expressionistic (expresses the photographer's feelings at that moment or POV)

When Mr Reddy first announced the theme for the assignment, the first thing that came to mind was a song by Radiohead, entitled Creep. "I'm a creep...I'm a weirdo..."Lovely song........ and then, blank. This wasn't an easy theme to portray, much less x 3 with the same subj.

Did a simple search on dictionary.com and was amazed to find such an exhaustive list of the meaning of the word, creep:
1. to move slowly with the body close to the ground, as a reptile or an insect, or a person on hands and knees.
2. to approach slowly, imperceptibly, or stealthily (often fol. by up): We crept up and peeked over the wall.
3. to move or advance slowly or gradually: The automobile crept up the hill. Time just seems to creep along on these hot summer days.
4. to sneak up behind someone or without someone's knowledge (usually fol. by up on): The prisoners crept up on the guard and knocked him out.
5. to enter or become evident inconspicuously, gradually, or insidiously (often fol. by in or into:) The writer's personal bias occasionally creeps into the account.
6. to move or behave timidly or servilely
7. to grow along the ground, a wall, etc., as a plant.
8. to advance or develop gradually so as to infringe on or supplant something else: creeping inflation; creeping socialism.
9. to slip, slide, or shift gradually; become displaced
10. (of a metal object) to become deformed, as under continuous loads or at high temperatures.
11. an act or instance of creeping
12. Slang. a boring, disturbingly eccentric, painfully introverted, or obnoxious person.
13. Slang. an intelligence or counterintelligence agent; spy.
14. the creeps, Informal. a sensation of horror, fear, disgust, etc., suggestive of the feeling induced by something crawling over the skin: That horror movie gave me the creeps.

For this assignment, I had two attempts.
The first one, I approached creep as to advance or develop gradually so as to infringe on or supplant something else.

realism

formalism

expressionism

This first attempt very clearly shows my realistic, formalistic and expressionistic interpretation of the new braddell flyover (or rather, work in progress).

In my expressionistic shot, you can see how the highway or rather urban development is creeping towards the nature/environment. The framing of the picture is done deliberately to portray the engulfment of nature by the urban. And hopefully, it evokes a sense of suffocation to the viewer and draws a parallel between them and the environment... how the constant pressures to upgrade restricts and suffocates our freedom.

Now, for my second attempt...

realism

formalism

expressionism

While the meaning of 'creep' differs in the 3 aesthetic interpretations, I felt I was successful in conveying the theme throughout the same object - the HDB flat.
In my realistic shot, the theme creep comes through as the urban creep - how it is slowly but surely making its way into nature. Although some might feel that this is expressionistic, I genuinely wasn't trying to put any point of view across it, just capturing what I saw at that moment.
Perhaps I should attempt another realistic shot of the HDB flat, you think?

The second picture is made up of repetitive rectangles, quite evidently formalistic.
This picture undertakes the meaning of creep in a different manner. Here, it takes on the meaning as an intelligence or counterintelligence spy (as in definition #13).
Personally, this picture reminded me of the Big Brother in George Orwell's novel, 1984. The Big Brother essentially refers to an authoritative figure/entity that infringes on our privacy and never stops watching. The people are oppressed.
It's funny how this is part of the HDB design and esp ironic since Singapore has such a monopolistic govt. It seems to suggest a similar link, no?
Notice the looming shadow at the right side of the picture, it seems to indicate a sense of creepiness as well.

I don't love the third picture, but Mr Reddy says it works for formalism as well.
Which do you guys think work better for formalism?

In the fourth picture, one can interpret it in 2 ways.
Firstly, a POV shot a victim of killer litter (which in this case, the creep is the perpetrator).
Secondly, you know how the govt portrays the HDB as something Singaporeans should work towards to, as part of the Singapore Dream... I wanted to express how this dream is a meaningless one, that leads to nothing (notice the clear void). There are bigger things, dreams and ideals people can work towards to, esp Singaporeans who often seem like frogs-in-a-well when they travel overseas. I think there is a serious need for our people to broaden their mindset. The govt has kept us too safe in our little box. In this case, the creep here refers to the creeping (state) ideals and mindsets that the people are subjected to.

This week, I thought Jillyn nailed the assignment home man!
I'd give her 98!
Concept:50/50
Execution: 48/50
I initially wanted to capture snails too but couldn't come across one so kudos to her!
Her realistic, formalistic and expressionistic interpretations of the subject also came out very distinctly. Well done babe :)

In relation to her work, I'd give myself 88!
Concept: 48/50
Execution: 40/50
I assess myself lower on this as I felt that my pictures could come out with a little I don't know, sharper, more contrast. I really like the colours of say Jia Lin's, Paul's and Ivy's pieces. I'm not sure if it's the camera mode I'm using or my inferior skill in using light. Both attempts were taken around evening 5-6. Perhaps I could try taking in RAW mode the nx time round :(

Monday, October 8, 2007

12:06 AM

Assignment 4: The Day After (Hockney's Joiner)
Objectives: To create a photo-montage that captures your mind's eye view in John Hockney's joiner style as below:

First try-out:

An evening shot taken at the Malayan Railway Track beside KAP.
I wanted to compose a picture of a railway track with barren land on one side
and boundless grassland in abundance on the other.
For the latter, I went to botanical gardens to take some shots.
I later dropped this idea when lighting conditions weren't
the best, the morning I went back to the track.

While I was exploring more railway tracks along
the stretch of bt panjang all the way to woodlands,
I discovered sungei kadut - an area which largely houses the
building and construction industry.

A row of bright yellow bulldozers lined neatly in place
caught my attention and I decided to attempt this assignment with this:

Usually, when we see bulldozers, there's just one of them covered
in mud and dirt, hard at work, but I thought it was quite refreshing
to see all of them all neatly placed on one row with their yellow paint
still very much bright and alluring.
I played with the saturation a little to accentuate this. And the class
commented that they loved the bright colours too.
I thought this suited the theme as well, as it came across to me
as though it was the day after work and all
these machines were taking a rest from all the sweat and toil.

I soon realised at lab, that I misunderstood the objectives of the assignment
when Mr. Reddy posed us this qn:
"Can this be taken with just one shot?"

I thought we were supposed to create a seamless photo-montage of which
I tried to fit every piece accurately like a jig-saw puzzle.
Man.

I will attempt a re-shoot sometime later this week,
perhaps after the creep assignment.

The two best pieces of work which I was very impressed with
were Jia Lin's and Ivy's.
I think they grasped the concept very well and
I fell in love with both pictures the min I laid eyes on them.
I'd rate Jia Lin's 90 and Ivy's 95.
For Jia Lin, I'd say it's her best piece of work so far, aesthetically.
It's very well composed and has an interesting perspective.
I never thought I could see Chinatown in such a manner.
But, in my opinion, it didnt successfuly expressed the theme well.
Conversely, I thought Ivy gave more
thought into it and better portrayed the theme: The Day After.
She did well in the placement of the different angled-planes and
successfully made me want to escape into the scene.

As for my self-assessment, I'd put it up once I'm done with
moi reshoot. (Patience is a virtue :p)

:p I haven't managed to find the time to do a a worthy piece.
So based on the first piece, I'd give myself a 65.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

9:12 PM

Assignment 3: Change
You live in a country where the the only thing constant is change.

Create a 8-12 picture photo-essay on the above theme.
Select an appropriate point of view which addresses the theme; for example:
- Economic change and human condition
- Age relations and rat-race
- Geography and Time
- Cultural Invasion

Objectives:
To develop control over image creation process.
To explore different styles and develop observation skills.

I initially wanted to explore the topic with eight individuals from all walks of life dressed in something characteristic of them and have them posed as though there were changing out of their clothes, shoes, appearance. It could be a businessman, an air-stewardess, a cleaner or changing out of their clothes. One might interpret this idea as an attempt to portray the annoyance of singaporeans with the routine/mundane singapore lifestyle.

I dropped this idea in the end as i couldn't get sufficient models in time. besides, i'd require damn good lighting (studio kind) to do some nice portrait shots.

I then attempted the topic via another route...
Singapore is a country where nothing is permanent;
it's not surprising if you don't recognise the landscape
two decades ago as skyscrapers and land is constantly developed.
However, Singapore is also trying very hard to preserve its heritage and traditions.
Hence, the shop-house building conservation scheme, Kampong Glam and Chinatown Heritage Centre...etc.

For this assignment, i wanted to capture how despite the 21st century advances,
we're also trying to 'stop' change or rather, preserve a state/past.

1. conservation of shophouses (as mentioned earlier)

2. an old school, dusty door (check out the round metal handle;
characteristic of ancient doors)

3. a dying trade
(a craftsman's tools in making red clogs-keychains)

4. the dying trade of (life-size) clog-making

5. a push-cart stall

6. trishaws which were a form of transport in the past
are now being used as a tourist gimmick

7. despite the advent of electronic lanterns,
children are taught the traditional way of lantern-making in celebration of the
Mid-Autumn Festival

8. the ever-changing shape of wax
contained in the traditional cellophane lantern

While the rest of the class tried to portray change through objects/humans,
i wanted to challenge the theme and explored how we might resist change
through heritage and tradition.

For picture #3, I thought I could have better expressed my point of view i
f I had included a pair of the red-clogs-keychain in the foreground.

I received comments from my previous assignment that my shots tend
to be a little too far and I could afford to get a little closer to take tighter shots.
I tried to improve on that and found that it indeed made the picture more intriguing.
I liked Ivy's and Steph's interpretation of this assignment best this week.
For Ivy's, I liked how she had a really strong concept and how well she encapsulated
what she wanted to say in a poem. Coincidentally as Reddy pointed out,
her pictures had this nice 'wave' thing going on when she presented them in a row.
Aesthetically, Steph did really well in taking macro shots of the degeneration
and rust of objects. I'd give both of them 95 and mine a 85!

Other pics not presented:

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

9:55 PM

Assignment 2: Exposure
Objectives:
To develop control over image creation process.
To develop an ability to previsualise, to know exactly hw a print would look like before releasing the shutter.

What should be seen:
Contrast (Clean whites and colour)
Depth (should create an illusion of 3D space)
Presence (should draw viewer into picture space)

For this assignment, I headed to Arab Street in search of some interesting colours/textures.
On my way there, I saw this hydrant hiding amidst some bushes.
And I was thinking, if a fire was to break out, would anyone even notice its existence.
It looks so forgotten; like it doesn't serve its function anymore.

(1/1600; 1.8)

(1/125; 2.2)
This was taken outside a fashion boutique. Initially, I thought the birds were artificial.
But, they turned out to be real!
So anyway, I took this picture cos the colours of the birds and the cage
looked so bright and cheery.
I used manual focus for this one and didn't manage to get the
depth of field that I'd like create.
I wanted to create three levels of depth of field, namely the cage, birds, and yellow ornament,
but couldn't manage to focus on the birds.

(1/320; 1.8)
I was attracted to the lines and patterns of the gate.
Both the mailbox and the gate seem to be such old-school, retro elements
but I like that they've been given a coat of new paint
and how it looks so refreshing now.

(1/4000; 1.8)
Fashionistas might recognize this.
I spotted this "thing" outside White Room and wanted to create a depth of field
with the repetitive logos. I also liked how there's some white on the drain,
it kinda seems to balance the picture.

(1/60; 1.8)
Interesting blue handle taken indoors.
Contrasts with the boring silver handle in the background.

(1/500; 1.8)
Another indoor shot.
I was shopping at haji lane when I saw this old school bath-tub filled with water
in the store. Totally amused that it had real-life goldfishes in it. :p

(1/4000; 2.5)
Like the contrast of the blue windows on the white wall
as well as the patterns of the window.

(1/500; 1.8)
The texture and bright colours of the baskets drew me to it.
I wanted to make a contrast between the bright new baskets and the
seemingly old faded baskets.
And as someone pointed out, I liked how it has this 'travelogue to cambodia feel' to it as well.

(1/50; 2.2)
The warm yellow lighting of the shop indoors probably contributed to the inviting
european feel I got from this picture.
For me, this picture draws me to look at it as I'd wonder what the lady in the background was doing; what was her state of mind... It seems to create an air of mystery to her.
Wadya guys think?

(1/30, 2.2)
Window shopping's a common thing for most of us.
We get intrigued by the window display or something in the shop
and it draws us to peer at the glass.
I wanted to capture this moment.
(If you look closely, there's an insect which seems to be attracted by the
store display as well)
Perhaps because it was a glass surface, the image didn't turn out as sharp
as I wanted it to be.

I have to admit I have not grasped the technicalities of photography.
Still lost in how fast/slow the shutter speed should be, how big/small the aperture shld be
to create the picture I want.
Care to enlighten with some tips, anyone? :)

I really loved Paul's pictures this week.
He has a style which really appeals to me; it's simplistic and well-composed.
I think he has a great eye for things as well!
With this best piece of work at 98, I'd give mine a 88 :)

7:55 PM

Assignment 1: Photogram
Objective: To create an interesting composition by placing objects on a flatbed scanner.

I've always thought the fig of a bunch of grapes had an interesting shape
and thought it would make for an interesting composition for this assignment.
I tried to give it a tranquil, pure look
and only added a pink dried flower to a white background.
But somehow it still looked dull.

I then tried to add some texture and warmth in the background.
I placed the grape fig and a ivory fish earring
on top of a yellow cellophane paper and a white textured paper.
And I still wasn't pleased with it.

Next, I tried putting different textured coloured paper together.
The colour contrast came out pretty well
but it felt a little too stiff for me.
And my friend even commented
that it resembled a United Colours of Benetton Ad.

I ransacked my bag to see what else I got
('cos I went to my friend's to borrow her scanner)
and decided to scatter whatever I could find to get the random feel I wanted.
It then turned out to look like an ad for ArtFriend or something.

After numerous frustrating attempts,
I was desperate and decided to try using my hand instead.
I first crumpled yellow cellophane paper and then put my hand on top of it.

The result came out pretty interesting.
I tried a few more times but the rest felt too deliberate and planted.
I liked this one as it had a very random feel to it.
The texture of the cellophane ppr also made it look
as though electric currents were flowing thru my hand
which i thought was pretty cool.
I was very fortunate to be wearing my gold watch as well.
It added some detail into an otherwise plan image.

In the end, I presented the hand and the UCB pieces during class.
Most seemed to like the hand better.
One suggested to have the hand closer to the right corner
but I felt that would appear too planted like my other subsequent attempts.
One also commented that it seemed like it was reaching out to nothing-ness
which exemplified how I felt at that point in time; desperate and helpless. Ha.

Compared to the rest of the works,
I'd give myself, say 70, with the best work at 90.
After reviewing the works of others,
I realised that there were quite a few techniques that I could play around with;
such as playing with movement and exposing pictures to get a black bkgrnd.