What Has The World Come To?

Well, I actually wanted to reflect on something else. But I attempted my Visual Trigger assignment and found that it was more like a reflection than an actual piece of writing for the homework, so I decided to share it as a reflection instead, and work on another piece of writing altogether.

Credits go to “versatile” from ClubSnap

The above photograph was posted recently on ClubSnap, the authoritative photography forum that boasts the largest population of local photography enthusiasts, with several members from as far as Australia and beyond.

The shot was taken at the recently concluded Big Boys Toyz 2006. It is essentially a motorshow, with a lot of other attractions factored in, such as hot babes clad in bikinis, and even a “mud fight” between some of them, in a cordoned area filled with nothing but muddy water. Hardly what I will call a mud fight, and yet nowhere near a crystal clear swimming pool.

A picture says a thousand words. What does the one above tell you? Does it tell you that Singapore has many avid photographers? Or does it convey to you that a motorshow has subject(s) so photogenic that no matter you are a teenager, a working professional in your twenties, or a middle-aged man, you simply cannot miss it? The equipment involved is not of concern here. Everybody just seems to want to take a few, (more like a few hundred), JPEG files home for memories or other undesirable intentions.

The aforementioned photograph has evoked strong emotions and triggered my thoughts about a certain popular category of events.

A motorshow is well, an automobile show, isn’t it? It is an event where hot-blooded males attend to ogle at fast cars, while ladies grace to fantasise riding in one, isn’t it?

Well, times definitely seem to have changed, a lot. I said a lot and I mean a real big difference. Nowadays, attend any motorshow and chances are, you see hot-blooded males turn up more to ogle at “SWTs” (sweet young things, although the majority of them hardly qualify to be titled that), and not cars. They are there for the “race queens” and automobile models, not the cars! Oh, I have yet to mention, even “ah peks” in their fifties or sixties are there just to ogle at the race queens!

Worse still, are the hordes of photographers, professional and non-professional alike, who tout their DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex), PnS (point-and-shoot, also known as compact) and handphone cameras, snapping away relentlessly. What is worse is that the majority of them are not taking photographs of the cars, but the models “on-display”.

What has the world come to? I understand that the race queens are part of the crowd-pullers, but shouldn’t the main attractions be the cars? I am not sure if it’s a social norm for Singapore nowadays, or if it is just me.

Oh, by the way, although I have no means of proving it right now, even the ladies are shooting the race queens and models nowadays! I guess it’s time for me to sit back and reflect more…

Oh, and one last thing, as a photographer, I guess I am somewhat guilty as well, though I shot at neither the aforementioned event, nor the Singapore Motor Show, which dropped its curtains in mid-November. Perhaps it’s just our primal instincts… Hmm…

Attached below are two more pictures that I feel convey the same story to me, though perhaps in a slightly differing manner.

Credits go to “Kensuke” and “sugary88″ from ClubSnap respectively.

Week Eight Reflections!

Well, here I am again, sharing the on-goings in class. Class started with a feedback session of sorts on the audio dialogue assignment. One common difficulty we all had was finding a suitable host to upload the audio file to. Being the first class in the week to have storytelling lesson meant we spent a substantial amount of time troubleshooting. Eventually, I remembered a host, and tried it. Fortunately, for everyone, it worked and some of us uploaded the files there. But this was only after we have finished our sharing of the assignment.

Ryan asked for our feedback on the assignment. He asked if those of us who do not come from “nuclear families” find this assignment harder. He also wanted to know how we thought of it and whether it was a feasible assignment to incorporate into the syllabus in future.

Something else surfaced during class. Most of us did not use either of our parents to record the audio dialogue, though we were supposed to. I too, did not employ the help of my parents, as they are Mandarin speaking, and know limited spoken English.

After that, we watched Terminal Bar, a documentary set in New York City. It is about this bar situated opposite a bus terminal and the different types of people, usually derelicts and the like, that the owner (or bar manager) saw at the bar, and how they gradually change over the years.

He took photographs of them, and over the years, as he snapped more of their portraits, he realised how much they have changed. The documentary also tells me two things. Firstly, alcohol (and drugs, where applicable) really deteriorates your health rapidly, and this can be seen from how much your appearance has changed. Secondly, New York City is a scary place to live in. Bus terminals were (and probably still are) the seediest places in the city, and nobody would actually bat an eyelid even if they saw corspes on the sidewalks or pavements. They would just get on with their lives, seemingly oblivious that somebody has died on the streets.

I suppose it is part of culture shock as well. Imagine if somebody drops dead on the streets. You will see a crowd gathering around the body instantly. Everybody just wants to “kaypoh” and see who it is. Such is the stark contrast of living in different countries, different cities, different cultures.

I shudder at the thought of how cold the New Yorkers may seem to be. But I also realise that death on the streets is such commonplace in NYC that it does not affect them emotionally and pscyhologically anymore. It makes me think about where I would want to live, if I do not intend to continue living in Singapore one day…

You can find my notes here.

Singapore Rock!

I met my beloved for people photography around the “dangerous” Chinatown in the afternoon. Why people photography? Well, we have an assignment on people photography for our photography module. Why dangerous? Well, most of you should know that generally, the older generation are “camera-shy”. Some of them can even be “camera-aggressive”! We threaded with great care.

Well, the evening was a much more lively affair. My beloved tagged along to an event co-organised by the organisation I volunteer with. Another great opportunity for people photography, I told her.

The event was named “Singapore Rock” (I do not know why, so please do not ask me). It was organised for the elderly who stay in the 1-room and 2-room apartments along North Bridge Road. Well, these are the elderly who do not shy away from the camera. In fact, most of them will pose for you!

We had many difficulties trying to cover the event as it was held between 5.00 to 10p.m. and the lighting was really difficult to work with. But anyway, I still netted a handful of shots that I am pretty proud of.

Well, this post is getting really long. But 1 last thing to share with you guys is the affinity I have with this particular “auntie”. She is definitely one of the most lively residents in the area. Somehow, she is the subject of my favourite photo in both “Singapore Rock” and another previous event held way back in February! I do not know why, but it just seems that I have a special connection with her (not the kind you silly people are thinking of right now). Well, she just seemed to be enjoying at both events so much!

Here are the photos of her. Do comment and let me know how you think of them.

           

Click on the pictures for a larger image.

Week Seven Reflections!

In this week’s lesson, we discussed the differences between a memory and an experience. We also watched a local short film titled “Autograph Book” by Wee Li Lin, which can be found in the compilation “Singapore Shorts”. We then discussed the function of dialogue in the above film, before Ryan started the slideshow filled with notes on dialogue. Once again, I was overwhelmed by what dialogue can do and what impact it can create. The purpose of dialogue in a film can be so extraordinary, and proposes to me the fact that screenwriting is getting more difficult by the week! You can find all the aforementioned references in my notes here.

Well, I figured that perhaps I should change the style and contents of my reflections, and I hope this new approach will seem more appealing to most of you. In fact, as an incentive (I hope Ryan does not mind), I will be posting a few pictures every week (if I can) to share with you people. Now, my blog will become a photo-blog of sorts.

I went around campus shooting some landscape pictures on Wednesday, while waiting for my beloved to finish her classes. Two whole hours of her brother’s D50 in my hands proved to be quite heavenly. The sky and cloud formations were really gorgeous and I embarked on a “tour” around the school compound. I even bumped into Ryan twice in an hour or less. Well, I have digressed.

Here are 2 of the photos I shot in school last Wednesday.