Walking past the Xmas tree decor outside JP, and the hordes of people with their phones and cameras flashing, trying to capture an image of the falling 'snow' that is in fact disintegrating bubble, got me thinking about my attitude towards photography. I never really understood why so many people like to capture images with their phones/digital cameras; the choice of subject is often mundane and challenging (a towering tree that will not fit into the frame. a darkly lit background), and their devices will never really be able to do reality justice. it is a misrepresentation.
The more amazing pictures i see, the more i want to pick up photography skills/ techniques and the less i want to shoot with a normal camera. Perhaps it's my inadequacy with the already complex functions of the digital camera, but the digital camera will never be able to take the kind of pictures a DSLR can, and if u cant shoot a justified shot, or a stunning, if not more impressive shot that offers an alternative way of seeing the subject (which all great pictures have), then there is no point in shooting it. i find the experience underwhelming.
this is not a case of photography snobbery, if ever there is such a notion. Call it practicism, if you may.
of course i do take pictures with a normal camera. there is no doubt in it's practicality and essential utility in capturing moments. i snap many random items - a table, food, streets or alleys - that i hope will merge to form a realised memory of that moment in time. they might not even have any humans in them, but they trigger memories. in such occasion, the most mundane makes sense. but the difference is that i do it selectively, and not bring it out to point at the first thing i see. i give it some thought and feeling.
i guess what i'm trying to say is, the next time u take a picture, don't just do it because it is the cutest thing, or because everyone else is doing it. if there aint a reason, if u're not a tourist, if you're not a foreign worker, then maybe you don't have to be so amazed and obliged to snap a shot with your latest hipstamatic application. and if u're going to post it on twitter, pls make sure it is something people would care about. the world is cheap enough already.
standing there video-ing the fake snow, i wonder if it gives u any form of pleasure, especially when JP's xmas tree, with it's moving musical figurines and fake snow, contains more plastic than the Exxon Mobile factory and looks like child's play. This phenomenon should rank high in Jason Hahn's latest 8 Days article about Singapore's "Mysteries of Life", together with #22 - why do so many people not flush the public toilets?
In other photographic stories, please support my junior Hoong Wei Long.
In my opinion, this dude is highly underrated, and takes some of the most amazing shots i've seen. Bin and WL are the 2 people whose pictures almost always have me mad-loving them. do take some time to read the following msg from him (nope i did the pimping on my own accord, without his request), and show some support this Xmas. Share your love with the less fortunate by buying a picture. i have. All proceeds go strictly to the Make A Wish Foundation.
and since i'm at it, screw those people who committed fraud in charity.
(Facebook URL at the bottom)
PRINTS FOR CHARITY
Hiho,
Thank you taking time to look at this album :) As the title suggests, I am selling prints of images I've shot at Baybeats 2009 for charity this X'mas.
These pieces were used for exhibitions during both the post Baybeats 2009 'Budding Photographer' exhibition at *Scape and this year's Noise Singapore exhibition.
Due to the handling processes during the exhibits, some of the pieces have their edges nicked but they're by and large in good condition. That said, these aren't meant to be archival, collector's items (it would be crazy to suggest so). They're really purely for decorative purposes.
For me, getting to shoot Baybeats 2009 under the 'Budding Photographer' programme was a big milestone. Perhaps the fact that I had tried 2 years before that, and finally getting it on the third try made it all the more memorable.
At the risk of sounding melodramatic, it was in ways a dream come true for me. Finally being able to experience what is was like to be in the photo pit during a rock show...the rush...the excitement...I think every music photographer can attest to that.
So I thought I would pay it back and come full circle with this. All sales will go directly towards a donation made to the Make-A-Wish Singapore Foundation. I'm not keeping a single cent from this.
If you're interested in buying the piece, just drop me a message and I'll get in touch with you as soon as I can. Do note that sales will be conducted on a first come basis. Delivery of the item will be done via a meetup (preferably in the West or Central). It's cash on delivery but no obligations should you be unhappy with the physical conditions of the piece before payment is made :)
If you're kinda tight this X'mas or know someone else who might be interested in the sale, do forward, tweet, or send a smoke signal to your friends and spread the word. This sale will run till 31 Dec 2010.
Cheers,
Wei Long
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Hoong Wei Long is an aspiring music photographer. Since 2007, his love of capturing the art of performance has pushed him to document a multitude of gigs. Of which includes the likes of The Observatory (SG), Delphic (UK), Nine Inch Nails (US) and Shai Hulud (US). In 2009, Hoong was privileged to be selected as a budding photographer for Baybeats and enjoyed his first photo exhibition that year.
Hoong continues to work towards his dream of being a top music photographer and has recently provided coverage for Guttermouth (US) LIVE in Singapore and I Am David Sparkle (SG)'s 'Swords Are Drawn' album launch.
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To see his selected works, visit:
www.flickr.com/photos/hwlportfolio
To find out more about Make-A-Wish Singapore, visit:
www.makeawish.org.sg
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150099370091756&set=a.10150099369501756.305040.672756755&pid=7427374&id=672756755#!/album.php?aid=305040&id=672756755
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