Time to Explore

To sum up: Technically speaking photography is the art of writing with light. But if I want to think about it more philosophically, I can say that photography is the art of writing with time. When you capture an image you capture not only a piece of space, you also capture a piece of time. So you have this piece of specific time in your square or rectangle. In that sense I find that photography has more to do with time than with light. I am glad the time I have capture have given me good memories and reflection of what I have done over these period of time.

Our final assignment is to create a series of 6-10 portraiture photos. Brain-storming for ideas was the most difficult part in this assignment. As there should be 4 things in mind, one: it has to be portraiture, two: a message to tell in your photo, three: presentation should be conceptual and lastly: each photo expresses an individual idea but all are related to a common theme. A clue was given as to look into the ordinary – which I see it as to start from the basic means of life.

During my discussion with my friends we started in defining our message we wish to bring out from the photos. These messages are related to the physical elements in life which human likes and dislikes, or non-physical things which people cherish and take for granted and things which involves in human expression and emotion.

My first idea is to portrait the value of time between transitions of events. They will be a start and end shot which show what is changed over that period of time. The message to delivery is that even with the ability to do perform any task, time is still an important factor which one must consider. Without it nothing will be possible.

However, after my discussion with Ms. Jing, I released the photo shots will have to incorporate a lot of elements and the conceptual representation of time via using transition is not convincing enough to represent the value of it. Moreover, the conceptual representation can be more indirect by using other elements to represent time itself.

With that thought in mind, I looked into another direction which posts the idea of doing something in a conceptual way. What can be done indirectly yet it is received by many? The way we communicate was what I had in mind. How one can communicate non-verbally. Indirect yet received. Base on the medium used in the communication process we need to decode the message that is pass over. What medium do human use to communicate non-verbally?
Besides using sound, human also communicate by sights such signs and text.

From this point onwards, I had my second idea which is to use sights and sign to delivery my message. However, the message still remind uncertain to me. I started shooting a few hand signs and gestures and showing my friends. I wanted them see what they can understand from those gestures. Unfortunately, the feedbacks I received were plainly hand actions and symbolic hand signs. I realized that the normal hand gestures itself is not enough to express a meaning without another context in the picture.

My trial shots:

After the first trial shots, I did a research over the internet sourcing on how people uses hand gestures to communicate. I discovered majority uses it as a sign or action for an expression. Thus I decided to pin my message with a form of expression. What expression I asked? Thinking of these, I recalled the Disney animated movie Walle. The movie was filled with expressive and emotional scene which involves little or none verbal dialogue. Surprising, the audience can relate to the scene as the expression of love was easily received by his body gestures. Therefore working with an expression that one can easily relate will be good point to start with.

Finally, after some thoughts I decided on expression for LOVE and possession – which I later refine to AFFECTION for something. (see below) My plan was to have a hand gesture which portrays a sign for what he desires in the picture. To represent this in a conceptual way, I entailed each desired object in a frame. This signifies the boundary that one must get through to possess. It also signify how one desires for his or her imagination (as anything in the frame is not considered the real thing but just a visual representation of the actual assets)

Development Photos:

Final artwork:

Affection
The concept came about because I felt hands can tell a lot of things and portray a lot of feelings. Hence, I wanted to use signs to tell affection. After all, affection is about how you show how much you like or want something. Therefore, it can relate to a photograph as it can tell how you much you have affection for something.

Affection SIX

Affection FIVE

Affection FOUR

Affection THREE

Affection TWO

Affection ONE

Ethics: The Future of Visual Reporting

What’s Right and Wrong Today?
In the past, the manipulation of news photographs had not always been a question of ethics, but in recent years, photojournalism has emerged as such a strong force in news reporting that that issue has eventually evoked a major ethical controversy.

When one tells stories with images, one tend to present a strong point of view on their subject matter that it might become ‘slanted’ or lacking objectivity. Similarly, when included images in this story, they tend to be more exaggerated, and sometimes, even manipulated so that people will slant to that point of view. Of course, this is all only possible with the invention/development of Photoshop that people have the attitude of altering or changing photographs, to be put mildly.

However, with such instruments like that of the Photoshop, the public eventually loses faith in us. Without credibility, audience loses interest and soon, newspaper publishers close down, one after another when advertisers also lose faith in advertising in such a paper.

Nevertheless, there are people on the other side of this marvellous invention. Many felt that the Photoshop and digital photography has helped educate the public about photo manipulation and has also forced a new level of transparency by news organisations. This eventually has a positive impact on journalism’s credibility. All in all, Photoshop has its bane and boon, but the line drawn is still rather thin, probably needs alot more controversy before people take more notice of it.

1. What are the ways readers can judge the credibility of an image even in this era of digital manipulation?

There are 4 considerations in establishing the credibility of image-based research and they are:-
1. Quality of Research Design
2. Attention to Context
3. Adequacy of the Image from Multiple Perspectives
4. Contribution Images Make to New Knowledge

However, I personally feel is about the most crucial matter in judging credibility is how one knows who is creating and using images in order for them to establish the credibility of images. After all, he asserts that image, and get meaning from their context. A common mean for providing context is the combination of images with text.

2. Imagine yourself as a reader representative for a newspaper. What would you tell a reader who complained to you about a picture of a car wreck that was particularly upsetting?

I would probably tell him or her to look at this picture from a more practical point of view. This photograph was probably there to educate the public that such things can just happen to anyone and by making it more upsetting, the possibility of retention would be higher and would probably bring more awareness to people, especially when they bring it up to other colleagues, friends and family members.

Too busy to be moody? I hope not.

In this assignment, we were supposed to depict mood with the photgraphs we took. Seems simple? No it is not as we were not allowed to take photographs which include human figures or any sort of human expression. So what makes this assignment hard is that the mood has to be represented by the setting, context and the various forms of subjects to be framed in the photograph.

To accomplish this, I began to be more sensitive to my surroundings, and sourcing for settings which I feel could be a possible candidate for any of the moods I was trying to capture. Well, of course, the first venue that I considered was the storeroom of my house. Being stacked with so many things that I can barely reach, it has reached a point that when someone opens the door, it just seemed as though he’s looking at a black wall. The messiness and disorganization brought forth the chaotic and cluttery mood and since the only thing that could be seen now was the light, I felt there was no better way to capture this than to make the surroundings underexposed, and only focus on the light through center metering.

Messiness	Light
Loneliness	Chaoticness

Later on, I headed down to Lower Pierce Reservoir which was around my area. Wanting to explore more on the different moods that lights can portray, I captured a photograph which has a lamp post whilst framing the lonliness of the roads and darkness into it as well. That was when I remembered vividly the shots I took previously prior to sunset which probably capture the tranquility and calmness that Lower Pierce Reservoir has. This reservoir may seem a little out of the way, but actually, during sunset, it has one of the most beautiful scenery with the reflection of the sunset on the water as well as the nicely sculpture pavilion that was by the side of the reservoir.

Advancing

Harmonious

Serene

Gloomy

Peace

The sunset photographs then brought back memories of me being in Korea during the summer for an exchange programme. There, I took many photographs, of some that meant a lot to me. I came across this photograph that was taken when I was up in the Busan Tower in South Korea. The landscape view of the city was chaotic with the many high and low rise buildings, but one thing stood out and that was the blue colour water tank that was present on the roof top of every building. That aside, the messiness of roads, heights of buildings and greenery added to the chaoticness of the whole city.

Actually, out of the many photographs that I captured, the ones that left a lasting impression on me were those that I took before I left Daejeon, the city which I was doing my summer exchange. Then, I was travelling to Incheon as I was having a morning flight the next day. During my journey there, I saw the most picturesque scenery I have ever since in my whole life. Ok, probably my emotions played a part in it too. I was really dejected as I did not want to leave this beautiful city where I had make many new friends. Yet so, part of me missed my family and friends in Singapore after being away for close to 3 months. Well, in this photograph, the warm colours of the sun and the cool colours of the sky interplay and portrayed the beauty of this country, as well as my contradicting emotions.

Moods leaving Korea

When I first arrived at the Biennale at the Central Promontory Site, I start to wonder if I got the location wrong. What I saw was a pavilion (Containart Pavilion) constructed by stacks of shipping containers beside a construction site. The surrounding looks rugged and untidy; there are no proper pavements or parking lots. It was not a site you will image as an art exhibition nor expect to find in a central district area.

However, after going a few rounds, I felt that the intention (the setup) was to fit this year theme: “experience of wonder” – Which I define as the WOW of the art installations and also the WHY and WHAT for these creations. Most installations had used various form of presentation to transport the viewers to a new dimension in art exhibition. (See below) They give the audiences a more physical and emotional experience with the art pieces. However, to me all these still come down to how they are received by the individual. Some I will consider awkward and some are rather “awe-inspiring”.

Below are two exhibits from the Central Promontory Site which I found unsuccessful and most successful.

Unscuccessful : “Flight” – by Alfredo Juan Aquilizan & Maria Isabel Guadinez
This is the only outdoor installation. It features thousands of slippers bounded on bamboo poles surrounding the Containart Pavilion.

WOW : So many of them!

WHAT : What is that flat piece of thing on top of the pole?
As I arrived in the evening the lighting did not really give me a clear view of the slippers. I could only get a better view when I stand somewhere below the pole. Moreover, with the marina bay and the central buildings in the background the whole installation look chaotic and confused.

WHY: After going through the description, I then understood the engagement in the art piece. In collaboration with the Yellow Ribbon Project, the slippers are contributed by ex-convicts and members of the public which stand side by side on the pole to represent the integration between both walks of life. As to how our community will give them a second chance in life.

Personally, I did not feel the engagement as the poles look normal. As I walk between the poles, I felt that I was suppressed by the slippers more than integrating with their presence. The effect will be more subtle if the art piece is view from a high perspective (looking down from the nearby high rise building).

Successful : “Location (6)” – by Hans Op de Beeck
This is a monumental sculptural installation based on the historic panoramas created to suggest an endless landscape that completely surrounds the viewer. It has an entrance tunnel which leads you to a central courtyard.

WOW: The whole installation is colored in white. The whiteness and purity I experience as I walk through the central tunnel is like transporting to an artificial cold reality. Inside the central observatory you see a vast snowy landscape views through a panoramic window.

WHAT: Curiosity pull. What do you expect to see at the end of the tunnel?

WHY: I did not get what the rational behind this, but I also don’t think there is need for it. However, the locals will find this artwork most interesting as it’s hard for them to picture a snow land in a tropical country like Singapore.

I am impressed by the used of a three-dimensional foreground together with a white painted background outside the central courtyard. It exaggerated the perception of depth and space between the background and foreground. Apart from associating snow with the color white, the white interior also widen the space in the surrounding. To walk through the long and narrow tunnel, it gives the impression that I am travelling into a faraway land paradise. All these factors successfully create the endless landscape which the artist wants to express in his artwork.

Beside these installations, the Containart Pavilion holds other exhibits which use other presentation methods to express their artworks. Some of them are presented inside a container while others will place in the open space. There is a series of exhibits know as “the Art of T” had audio and visual devices installed in the container. With the music in the background and flashing lights in the centre the Club 21 showcases were more dynamic as the lightings help to highlight the static designs on the individual t-shirts. Another exhibit titled “I Love Rock and Roll” showcase a time line of rock stars tee shirt designs. Audiences can listen to the classic hits of that era from a music player as they go through the art pieces. The music can easily bring the audiences back to time as they relate the design in that period of time. Another method was using peep holes to display their contents. This again arouse the audience curiosity and hence attract their attention to peep through the holes. From the above examples, the user experience factor had help to bring life to the exhibits and allows audience to better relate to the artwork. (See attached clips)

 

Attached Clips: The Art of T – Club 21

Attached Clips: The Art of T – Mosaic Voices

In this exercise, we are to pick a photo and analyze it. When one analyze its hard to tell what he or she is telling what the photo is really telling that because it’s only from his or her point of view. As we all know a single picture can have different meanings to different people.

Initially, I wanted to search from some online photos which are featured in the recent news article when I come across this article which covers the coming US Presidential election with a rather interesting topic. It was then when click upon a popup window which was feature a product called the “Muzzler”. The popup then linked me to Jessica Alba’s website where I found this image I am about to analyze.

Photo by Marc Liddel. Model : Jessica Alba

Seriously I won’t classified this as an fine art but more of a Commercial photo (See below)

On the first look (without reading the fine text clearly), the image give more of an expressionism feel.
Although the image looks simple, there are a few things which are obvious to the viewer: The lady (topless) is in pain (from her tears) and she is forbidden to use her mouth (the mouth mask). With the plain background, the focus is simply diverted to these two points; thus, one might see this as a campaign ad to stop women body abuse (that is what my brother first interprets it).

However, after reading the subtext which text: “Only You Can Silence Yourself”. I then understood the actual meaning of the ad. It was to resonate with the issue of the young American who do not wish to register as a voter to the coming election. The campaign is basically to encourage every eligible America to register and vote in the presidential election. It’s an indirect way to portray the realism in this issue. However, as the context was more for the American, foreigners like us, might not understand the rationale and meaning behind the campaign ad.

Beside the text which helps to clarify the meaning, the overall feel was also capture by the texture and focus on the photograph. It was the facial texture and lighting on the lady tears that drew most of my attention, the mood is also set by the dull background.

Apart from all the analysis, the campaign ad which is found not only online but over many billboards in America was intentionally set to market its campaign with another interpretation. That is to market the so call product: the Muzzler (the mouth mask) (OT: Check out the hilarious commercial show)

As for a commercial photo to delivery its product, the emphasis should be on the product. But in this case, it was the understanding and meaning derived from the photo that bring out the used of the muzzler. In addition, I feel that the photographer had successfully bring forward the message and portrayed real emotion in his pictures.

Below are other photos from the similar campaign:
       

New photo extracts:

Enhancement to Prototype

:: Prototype 01-1	:: Prototype 01-2

Feedback from the Second Critique Session

- There were improvement but the overall design does not have a balance perspective. The upper half is flat while the bottom half is more 3D.
- Its hard to see the contrast detail between the sink hole and the draining effect. (Need to further adjust the color and contrast)
- Details of the stopper is distorted by the shadow

Some random shots at vivo with my crystal mirrors

Some re-shoots for the previous assignments

Assignment 01
Assignment 02
Assignment 03

Assignment 4 Tasks:
- Moving from technical to artistic shot
Title: Urban Fantasy
Style: Surrealism
Technique: Photo Montage

:: Prototype 01-1	:: Prototype 02-1

Brainstorming

From the previous blog exercise, I understand that Surrealism is simply doing something illogical in the real world which can also sometimes symbolises a wish that someone would like to fulfil in reality. When I was thinking of surrealism in the urban context, I thought about the few things people will dream about and things that people might not be satisfied with, something along the lines of pollution where people take things for granted when they dirty the place, and they expect someone to clean up after them.

I asked some of my friends what they want to do, and some of the more common things were being richer and more powerful in the competitive urban city. Others just dream of more ways that can help to ease their life or ways they can enjoy life at ease by simplifying things. The urban city is getting dirtier not because of the increasing amount of the trash but more because of the black-hearted people who only think of winning at the expense of other people, bribery or corruption.

On the other hand, there are also another set of people who wants to clean up the place by starting from point zero again, all can be done easily if only there was a ‘Reset’ button.

From these thoughts, I came up with 4 design guidelines to show that:-
1. The town is polluted.
2. There was some sort of purification.
3. It was the easiest way to purify it.
4. There is a balance of ‘reset’ condition.

Design Aspects

Ideas to portray the 4 points:
- To Portray a Dirty Town
Having trash around, mixing dirty pictures of trash and buildings together or source photographs with expressions of greed – money covering the town or having money that flood the town.

- To Portray the Easiest and Fastest Way of Purification
Some ways I shortlisted include to dispose or shred the town into pieces and going back to a recycling bin or having a filtering funnel where I can liquify the town and filter out the dirty residue that is currently present in the city. The fastest way I can show purification was to press a reset or a delete button, however I feel that was too straightforward to portray purification and not everyone would understand. Hence I finally decided on the flushing action to drain the dirt out of the town, leaving behind a clean space for future development by the new generation (which is probably why people like selling space nowadays where other people can build their new space out of it).

- To Portray Balance
The layout should be evenly distributed where I can see part of the dirty town and part of the clean space.

Below are some of my photo extracts:

Design Techniques

As the technique of this assignment requires photo montage, hence I had to source out suitable photographs to satisfy the theme I was trying to achieve. I started by looking through photographs that I have taken in the CBD area and photographs which features strong urban infrastructure – high-rise buildings, crowded areas etc. However, it was only later on that I discovered that the bulk of photographs I have chosen looks rather stationary, and there was no interaction between each other. Hence, I decided to edit these photographs, such as first transforming them then distorting them.

Based on my sketch, to create the draining effect, I took advantage of the waterfront that was originally in front of CBD area by creating a reflection of the water. The idea of reflection actually came from the photograph itself. Instead of cropping out just the buildings from the photograph, I decided to just crop out the sky instead and do a reflection of the photograph then darken it to make the reflection black and dirty. Here I portray surrealism as by right, a reflection should capture the mirror image of the original, but instead, the reflection is actually the dirty side of the town itself.

To create a draining effect, I first need to transform the reflection perspective by elongating it. Then I change its perspective to create the shear effect. Next, I apply the distort twist effect to recreate the water being sucked in by the drainage effect.

As the background of the city has been removed, I have initially replaced it with piles of trash and dirt to signify the town is overloaded with trash. However, the background was too messy hence I decided to replace with dark clouds instead which will still signify the dirty state of the town.

Lastly, it was to montage the sink into the picture. However by putting in a picture of the sink and the twister going into it, the idea would be too straightforward and none the creative. Hence, instead, I decided to put a hole there, after getting my inspiration from cartoons where the illustrator tends to end it by drawing a hole and all the cartoons get sucked into the hole to signify “THE END”. In this case, I would achieve some sort of surrealism as such things will only happen in cartoons and not in reality. The pair of hands was placed there so that one of the hands can remove the stopper that starts the ‘flushing’ process.

Accidental Creation of Prototype 02

Prototype 02 you see on the right was not due to any special effect in Photoshop but was the cause of converting from TIFF to JPEG. Initially I only wanted to present the first version but due to the dark printout that makes it visually unpleasant, I decided to print out prototype 02 to see if I had experienced a similar effect.

Feedback from the First Critique Session

- To keep it simple with the dark clouds as the top half would look overly dense if there are more elements being added to it. This is so as the bottom half is simple and clean and the picture would no longer be balanced if the top becomes complicated.
- Some felt that one of the hands were there to stop the other hand from removing the stopper
- Most got the idea that I was draining off the town.
- photos look too flat and have no depth
- They prefer the colors in Prototype 02

Future Enhancements

- adjustment to the color and contrast of the photos
- create more depth between the photos
- modify the hand position to improve the composition