FINAL PROCESS

heya people!

i have reached the final stage of my project and thats editing! I started by editing my RAW photos in photoshop.

After which, I start to cut segments of the interview and adjust the volume of my audio piece using Adobe Audition.

Finally, i end off by using Adobe Premium Pro to combined my audio and the edited pictures together. Other than combining the audio and video, I add in some effect like cross fade for the transition of my photographs. Next, i adjust the audio with some fade in and fade out effect. Lastly, I will match the respective audio and photos together.

The Final product is going to be done soon! Please stay tune!!

Cheers!
Rong Hua

Challenged Faced!

Dear Readers,

Today is my 3rd visit of the week to Robert’s place, hoping to do some photography as I didn’t get the chance to do so previously. Previously, I just took photos of him on the streets playing his keyboard, i feel that i could take more pictures of him. However, it was really disappointing that the hostel he stayed in prohibited photography.

Day 1, he wasn’t in, I waited for 3 hours around the area as the hostel don’t allow me to stand there and wait. There are some dangerous people in the hostel that is looking at me, so for my safety, the counsellor advise me to wait somewhere else.

Day 2 : I went earlier. I went to the usual spot where he usually play his keyboard, but he wasn’t there. So I went to the hostel again and he is again not in. Learning from previous lesson, I start to roam around Brighton and went to places that he would usually go, but I still could not find him. I went back to the hostel and left a note for him.

Day 3 : I went to the usual place that we meet and saw him there. He is playing his keyboard, I went up and chat with him. It is really nice to meet this humble man again. But still, there is no gain for the day except for his golden words. Because he couldn’t do anything to let me into the hostel and do some photography inside. And, he will be on the street the whole day, he will not be going back as he feel that he have not played the keyboard for the last few days. I waited for 5hours but still in vain. Thus I went off.

I could not understand why is it so strict at the hostel, that no photography is allowed. Even visitors are restricted into the building. I tried to sneak in, but i failed. I tried to take some photographs secretly, but was stopped by this big tattooed guy. I am so sorry guys! I really wish that i could show you how does a homeless hostel looks like and the kind of the people living inside and how does Robert lived inside the hostel.

I did my best and took some pictures of the exterior of the hostel. I must say the building looks awesome from the outside but wasn’t sure if it’s as good inside. Due to the doing of sneaky acts, i try to be fast, but ended up, most of the images of the building are blur, here is one clearer picture of it.

Here is some photographs that i took today.

Hope that you enjoyed looking at the photos. Due to time constraints, I will see what i can do with what is available. Stay Tune for more! I will put the photos and a interview segment of Robert next week. So stay tune for that! Robert is really an interesting man that we all have something to learn from him.

Cheers!
Rong

TRANSITION IN PERCEPTION

Hi Guys!

I would like to introduce you to my subject, Robert. After a week of communicating with him, he finally allows me to photograph him and make him the subject of my project.

Robert is going to be 80years old in Jan 2014. He is old, poor and has health issues BUT he is a grateful man who is shows passion. He plays music on the street not for the sake of money, but to share his passion of music to others. Moreover, he hopes that people can learn something from listening to his music. Although he might not be as fortunate as us to have a home and family members, he is still appreciative of what he have. He told me “you have to appreciate people of what they do, because you take on their mind and utilise their ideas, you cant just live yourself”. Just like what he is saying, he is appreciative of the person who made the keyboard, music tunes and many more, therefore he could have the chance to showcase his music and have a shelter over his head.

Here are some of the pictures of Robert.

I will be asking for Robert’s permission in this week to see if I am able to visit his hostel as i think it would really be interesting. Stay tune for that! In the meantime, i will try to capture more photos of Robert on the street as he is not on the street everyday and he doesn’t have a mobile phone. So it is really hard to contact him.

Robert Frank

Hi Peeps!

Recently I have been watching this documentary from BBC known as The Genius of Photography.This documentary exploring the history of photography – from daguerreotype to digital, from portraits to photo-journalism, from art to advertising.  From this documentary, i was introduced to Robert Frank and I thought it would be interesting to share with you people.

Robert Frank is an important figure in American photography and film. Other than photography, he later expanded into film and video and experimented with manipulating photographs and photomontage.

Here are some of Robert Frank’s photo on his odyssey through 1950s America

Robert looked beneath the surface to reveal a different America, one that was rarely acknowledged and often denied. I really like it where he create a portrait of America that was raw and real—one that touched on issues of race and class. This leaves me with a unflinching impression of the country. At the time, some critics said that his photos depicted the wrong picture of America—one that many were not ready to see. BUT! I think that his photographs are great as it captured the sadness, tensions, ironies and possibilities of 1950s American culture and society with the depth and insight.

He is a great inspiration and his photos are influential. His photographs from The Americans are influential as it challenged the aesthetic of photography, the rules of photography, and emphasised on feelings. I aspire that my photographs will be like him and tell a story 🙂

Cheers!
Rong Hua

New Idea – In Transition

Hey Readers,

It have been a while since i last posted. For this 2 weeks, i have been travelling around UK from Bristol to Bath to London and back to Brighton to look for inspirations and ideas for my photography project! After thinking through the theme of ” IN TRANSITION” i decided to modify my idea slightly and will be focusing on one main subject : ROBERT 🙂

And i am happy to find my subject but I will only reveal ROBERT in my future post as i am still constructing the narrative. In the meantime, i will try to look for more inspiring photographs and  have inspirations that maybe able to help me construct my story and photos better. SO! please STAY TUNE!  Nevertheless, I did some test shoots. Here are some of my test shoots photos :

Test shoot 1 : Bailey, a innocent 4 years old boy in the library. He is very innocent and not yet being polluted by the society, I think that it is an important moment as I feel that when he grows up, this innocence will be lost and he might be corrupted by the society. I want to keep this moment of him being a carefree innocent boy.

Test Shoot 2 : The enormous wave at Brighton Beach. It was raining and cold that day, so the wave was big. I thought it would be nice to have a photo of it as I don’t often get to see big waves in Singapore. And i feel that the wave is a very good depiction of life.

Test Shoot 3 : This was taken at Bath, near the Roman Bath Museum. The man and woman looks like they both have a story to tell. They been sitting for there for more than 3 hours, so i thought it might be interesting to take a photo of them and analyse it.

Test Shoot 4 : When i see these scattered colour pencils on the floor, i have strong feelings about it. It shows me confusion, sadness and anger. Therefore i took the pic with bright light in the foreground in hope that anyone who sees this photo will be able to see the light in front of them and come out of his/her confusion, sadness or anger.

Hope that you guys liked my photos. Constructive comments would be greatly appreciated 🙂
Don’t forget to stay tune for my story and photos of my subject in my next post 🙂

Cheers!
Rong Hua

My Inspiration – Henri Cartier-Bresson & Diane Arbus

Hi Everyone!

I have been watching a BBC Documentary – “The Genuis of Photographer”.  This documentary is really interesting as it talks about the history of photography. After watching it, I learnt about many different inspiring photographers and the two photographer who really inspired me are Diane Arbus and Henri Cartier-Bresson.

I admire Diane Arbus for her unique style of photography ( as discussed in my last post :)) and Henri Cartier-Bresson’s “decisive moment” in photography.

 Fig 1 : Diane Arbus talking about one for her work

  Fig 2 : Henri Cartier-Bresson holding a camera

Henri Cartier-Bresson was born on August 22, 1908 in Cantaloup, France. A pioneer in photojournalism, Cartier-Bresson wandered around the world with his camera, becoming totally immersed in his current environment. He is considered one of the major artists of the 20th century, covering many of the world biggest events from the Spanish Civil War to the French uprisings in 1968. He is considered to be the father of modern photojournalism and master of candid photography. He studied painting after being unsuccessful in music studies. And from painting, he start to experiment photography and start to turn paintings to photography. Cartier-Bresson’s rise as a photographer proved rapid. By the mid 1930s he’d shown his work in major exhibits in Mexico, New York, and Madrid.

Here are some of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s work :

I couldn’t agree more with him that a decisive moment is very important, once it’s gone, it is gone forever. I feel that some advice from Henri Cartier-Bresson is really useful and I would like to adopt his advice and use it for my project. I would like to share with you guys some of his advice.

Here is some of the advice from him 🙂 For more information please visit http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2011/08/22/10-things-henri-cartier-bresson-can-teach-you-about-street-photography/

1. Focus on geometry
2. Be patient

3. Travel around  –  similar to Diane Arbus’ “Go to places you never been) So i guess it is really important to take good photos 🙂
4. Stick to one lens  –  similar to Diane Arbus’ as she only uses a TLR medium format camera 🙂
5. Take photos of children
6. Be unobtrusive

7. See the world like a painter
8. Don’t crop
9. Don’t worry about processing
10. Always strive for more

I have been inspired and might like to make use of a single lens and take black and white photographs of interesting subjects on the street like children. Because i feel that children is a great subject, they are innocent and the only one who will not hide in front of a camera. Unlike adults, children do not act and they are the most natural human being. They are never afraid to show their real emotions in public, when they are happy, they laugh hard, when they are sad, they cry hard. I strongly feel that real emotions is rare and valuable, it is a  decisive moment, once the children grow up, they will never be the same again.

The reason for square format photograph is because I feel in a square format, the composition is different as compared to the normal horizontal or vertical photographs. It has it’s own unique composition. Black and white photos are great as there will be no distractions and the subtlety of tones and versatility makes a black and white photograph interesting.

I think it will be a very interesting topic and look forward to the result. Hopefully as my research progress, I will be able to meet more inspiring photpographs and I could better improve on my initial idea.

Cheers!
Rong Hua 🙂

Diane Arbus

Dear Readers,

Recently I have been reading and researching a lot on Diane Arbus. She is a American photographer (14th March 1923- 16th July 1971) who is well known for creating strong intense black and white square-format photographs of marginalised people in society — including transgender people, dwarfs, nudists, circus people. She didn’t learn photography from school, instead she learnt it from her husband, actor Allan Arbus.

She is really interesting and a woman with character. I must say, i am very impressed by her. Her work is like Picasso’s painting, where people just can’t stop looking at it. Her raw and unusual photographs of the people she saw while living in New York created a interesting and interesting portrayal of the city. She explored how people live with sameness and difference as well as acceptance and rejection. I feel that this combination creates very interesting art.

She used a TLR medium format camera, its a special camera that take square photographs. She is well known for black and white square photographs of people who are on the edge of acceptance society. She shows their common and recognisable side of these people. She choose her subject very carefully and have deep emotions and feeling for them. Most of the time, her subjects look sad, conflicted or physically abnormally, BUT they do not hide their insecurities.They opening stare at the camera. One art expert said that Diane have turned photography inside out. Instead of looking at her subject, she make them look at her.  She have mixed realistic nature of photography with its expressive possibilities.

A camera could be “a little bit cold and harsh” however, but it revealed the truth; the difference between what people wanted others to see and what they really did see – the flaws.  Diane used to be in the Fashion Industry where she is a art director who contributes to magazines such as Glamour, Seventeen, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and other magazines. She used wide angle lenses intentionally to highlight wider perspective which is seeing beyond the traditional beauty. Instead she feel that one should look for and capture authenticity.

Here are some of the photographs that she have taken :

 

Diane have some advice for street photographs and I feel that it is really useful so I would like to share with you guys! I found it on : http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2012/10/15/11-lessons-diane-arbus-can-teach-you-about-street-photography/

1.  Go to places you never been.

2.  The camera is a license to enter the lives of others

3. Realize you can never truly understand the world from your subjects eyes

4. Take specific photos

5. Adore your subjects

6. Gain inspiration from reading

7. Utilize textures to add meaning to your photographs

8. Take BAD photos

9. Don’t arrange others, arrange yourself

10. Get over the fear of photographing by getting to know your subjects

11. Your subjects are more important than the pictures

Hope that you guys are now as inspired as me! 🙂

Cheers!
Rong Hua

FIRST JOURNAL ENTRY

HI PEEPS!