About Me

Here's just a post about me. Well, more like just a summary of my journey as a hobbyist.

I can't exactly remember when was the time I took a liking towards the visual arts - drawings, illustration, films, animation, photography etc. When I was young, I wasn't an arts prodigy and was only capable of getting Bs during art class. Perhaps it was the envy of all the good artists who came up with all the wonderful cartoons that I enjoy watching. It could also be because of the day my Secondary school friend bought his first camera (camera phone!) and started showing me all the interesting pictures he took.

So from that day forth, well, more like from the day I got my hands on my own digital camera around that same year, I just kept snapping away. I remember that camera was Konica Minolta. I had so much fun with it! Experimenting around allowed me to learn about ISO etc. It was funny how I learnt the 'magic' of ISO. I remember a time when I was so fed up with pictures getting overexposed (I didn't know the term then) then I just started tweaking every single setting. When I came to the ISO setting and set it to a lower value, I literally almost fainted from amazement (no kidding.. I was like screaming "I did it!" to the nonchalance of my parents). My mother had pumped up the ISO speed to the maximum because she thought it would allow us to take high-speed photos. Haha. And I was so happy that the photos turned out CLEARER too.

However, the image quality of the compact cameras didn't appeal to me much a few years later. It was then that I realised that there were DSLRs around and I started researching and playing around with friends' DSLRs. Just imagine my amazement when my dad bought me a Canon 500D! :):):)

And I've been still snapping away ever since. Experimenting with lenses, accessories, composition, shutter speed etc.



Photography is a big part of my life. They aren't simply images or pixels, but they have meaning and memories. More than that, they are expressions of who I am - reflecting my artistic style, emotions etc.

People say that music is a language without boundaries. But I think photography is a universal language too. And besides, a picture alone does say a thousand words.. I wonder how many words a musical piece can translate to? :) (ok no offense, I am a music lover too, especially acoustic and jazz)

Week 2 - Exposure Triangle

We were introduced to the exposure triangle during this lesson. And I agree wholeheartedly that it is the basic knowledge (not even composition) that EVERY good photographer needs.

I've always had just a rough understanding of the elements: ISO, shutter speed and aperture. Today's lesson really enhanced my understanding of how they relate to one another and also the different stops.

I think the digitalization of cameras has really made the life of a photographer easy peasy. I heard from someone (either my dad or my uncle) that SLR photographers used to have to really train and hone their skills to such a level that they can just take any photo and be confident they will turn out good instead of being over or underexposed. Amazing right?

I've also heard that photographers used to have to calculate the settings. I'm not sure about that.

But now, all we have to do is to just look at the exposure meter on the camera display screen and see if it is indeed over or underexposed. (Well, at least my Canon 500D shows it).

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Ok so during the in-class exercise, we were allowed to experiment with panning. I've tried panning couple of times before: a friend cycling, someone running, cars passing, roller coaster. It sounds easy in theory, but in order for the subject to look crisp, the relative speed of your panning must be the same of the object that is moving. So, it really does need TONS of practice.

So these are what I have captured. As you can see, the quality's not very good. Shaky hands and being out of practice. Haha.

Form

Form was pretty much the toughest to understand because I'm not very trained in looking out for 3D-ness in objects. From the class, I learnt that in order for a captured to exude form, lighting and the angle of view place an important role. Because of lighting, we can see the shadings of the object and it gives a kind of 3D feel instead of just a flat image.

So here are my takes!

Form of a chair at The Deck (ok, so it's indoors, which I won't be using for the final portfolio submission, but I thought maybe the form of the highchair was captured here)


A cube at Central Library building


Another take.


Poles just outside Central Library building (not sure if it fits the assignment requirements, but definitely an interesting composition IMO)


Form of a statue at UCC.


The famous "I WAS HERE" structures outside UCC


Some dome thing in the drain.


One of my favourite form shots. Hopefully, it meets the assignment requirements. I definitely can "feel" or visualize the 3D-ness of the water droplets.

Texture

Color

Yellow and Gray. Wanted to use this for "Texture", but realised that the colors are more apparent here.


Haha. Another illegal shot because it's shot indoors. But I like the vibrant colors here.


Some block thingy found in Engineering. Maybe it's the remains of a rag day float.


Colorful mural at Architecture.


I've seriously never noticed the different colours of the colums at Arts corridor. It was only when I was thinking about this assignment that I realised it. And I told myself, "I have to get it on camera!" Had to take this at two different timings because previously, the corridor was too crowded and the people in the shot actually distracted the eye from the colors.

I was considering to use this corridor shot for my final submission, but my friends during the critique session said that the curves and lines were more apparent in the picture. And besides, the colors here were not very vibrant.

So, I resolved to continue observing and experimenting! :)


I hadn't wanted to take flower shots because I think this subject is overused. However, in NUS, it was easiest to just take flowers for "color". Anyway, this shot is similar yet different given that although it's still a shot of flora and fauna, the color contrast was contributed by a fallen petal instead of a flower.


I guess I can say that this is my favourite color shot. It's a picture of a drain at COM1. Believe me, I had hesitated whether or not to take this picture coz it does look kinda gross, but I told myself that I had to get over it and take a good shot of it. Experimented with different aperture and angles and finally got this decent shot. :)
Ended up being lunch for a lot of mosquitoes too. T-T


Cars at the carpark at COM1.


Road at COM1 carpark.


Yeap. Another flower shot. I took this because I was surprised that this flower was actually a hybrid (I think), given that the surrounding flowers were only yellow OR red OR orange. And I thought it's pretty cute to have a mosquito there too.

Shapes galore

Circles. Triangles. Shapes.
This was my first time taking shapes. And it was also my first realising that NUS architecture actually has shapes in them! =)

Tada! My very first attempt - at Central Library


Took a look at the pipe in Arts building and thought it'd be an interesting subject for shape. I used this photo for the online submission which friends critiqued that it would fit "color" more. On second thought, it probably does.


Circles on the fence at The Deck.


Circles on a Science building!


Triangles and rectangles @ Raffles Hall.


Raffles Hall again.


Raffles Hall yet again. But maybe this shot might also fit "form".


Triangles and circles on a car tyre parked at COM1.


Personally my favourite Shape shot. Taken at COM1. Was quite a feat to capture this image because I had to extend my arm over the railings and keep my hands steady. Managed to get it after 2 takes. =)
It looks like a robot's face huh?

Lines shots

For this post, it's all about LINES. =)
We were tasked to take photos of lines, shape, color, form and texture around the NUS campus (specifically the outdoors). So I'll post up each category of this assignment in individual posts.

To me, lines are the easiest to experiment with and I like how the professional photographers are able to take interesting lines of architecture etc.

So here are my takes. 献丑了！


Stairs at Central Library building


@ Science Faculty


Shadows at the walkway to the bus stop at Science Faculty


Curving lines on the running track


Curving lines on the road at Engineering Faculty


Architectural lines at Engineering Faculty


Architectural lines at Engineering Faculty


Architectural lines at Engineering Faculty


Lines on the plants outside UCC


Lines on the window at SoC. I think it's interesting that the window is framing a plant outside. But I don't know how much it links with the requirements of the assignment.
Haha.


Lines on a tree.

Warming up! First NM3223 lesson

For this very first exercise, we were tasked to take pictures of an object in the Usp_CyAr classroom - 5 pictures taken at different angles.

So tada~ Here's my object of choice - the curtain! I know, it's kinda dull but I wanted to deviate from the Mac-taking-crowd (since the classroom is full of Mac machines) so I thought of doing this. It was quite physically challenging to take because of the breadth of the table which was placed against the wall (i.e. against the window.. and you guessed it, the curtain!). So yeap, wasn't able to take more creative shots during that short span of time.

Shot 1


Shot 2


Shot 3


Shot 4


Shot 5

Roar~ They all look almost the same huh?

So, I got a bit fed up with myself and started going around the classroom to take more pictures.

Here are just some of them

A shot of another curtain. I like the lines here.


The carpet. I like how the lines are formed here too.

I've also taken some pictures of the Macs around too (haha, hey.. I confess that I'm an Apple fan). One of which can be found here.

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I really am thankful that I am able to take up this module and learn more about photography. Photography has always been my passion and I'm just eager and exciting to see where this art leads me to.

=)