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Some Perspective: The Most Important PicturesSomeone once asked me a question, "What are the best pictures you have taken?"
I couldn't reply because it was impossible to judge my own work like that, to discern, absolutely, which particular photo is the best out of all the photos I have taken in my life. The thought process behind such self-criticism is too indefinite, like taking a step forward and then back again.
Not the best: DiveIs it that photo which I submitted for that competition and won? No, that would be other people's opinion, not my own.
Not the best: Pagoda At West LakeIs it that photo I took overseas and thought was so beautiful and perfect, it couldn't be done anywhere else at any other time? No, that would be just one of the many other beautiful and perfect shots I have taken. And it may not be the best of them all.
Not the best: Geometric CalmOr is it that particular shot long ago that made me get noticed, that made me think that maybe I could do photography instead of just study my life away? Maybe, but somehow, there is something lacking. Something that my heart will want to reach out for, and look at it and leap with emotion.
Not just a pretty picture.
The thing is, I'm never going to be satisfied with whatever choice I pick. There's always something missing, something that the photo, no matter how perfect it is, lacks.
So, to choose your best photo, you need a certain technique, one that I learnt somehow from a movie.
"Yes, I'd like your heart roasted on a spit."- Anton Ego
Have you watched Ratatouille? It's a brilliant animation about cooking by the geniuses in Pixar, the same people who created Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. I watched it in the cinemas the other day and dragged half of the guys from my platoon with me, and other than that one guy who fell asleep halfway, the rest of us lasted through all 111 minutes of it. I thought it was a great movie, but my peers wondered why the hell I wanted them to watch a "cartoon" for kids.
Whatever.
So after everyone left, I remembered a quote in the movie that made me think quite a bit. It's the one by Anton Ego, the food critic.
"After reading a lot of overheated puffery about your new cook, you know what I'm craving? A little perspective. That's it. I'd like some fresh, clear, well seasoned perspective. Can you suggest a good wine to go with that?"
- Anton Ego
Fresh perspective. That's what you need to choose the best photo. You need to re-look at every photo again, because your eyes play tricks on you. Your brain tells you to look elsewhere, and you ignore the photos which really matter. Not to the brain, but to the heart.
Heart. That is the perspective we all need. Don't judge your photos with your eyes. Don't judge them with technical blahblahs and aesthetic impact. Don't be superficial. Remember why we picked up photography in the first place, why the purpose of the medium is the answer.
That purpose, is to record. To put our daily visions into pictures that we can touch and feel, even though it's on a piece of paper or on the screen. And these are visions we may take for granted daily, that we unconsciously ignore. But in a picture, they begin to matter.
And hence, maybe the best pictures don't come from overseas or from that out-of-reach place. Maybe they're closer by.
I haven't found my best pictures. What I have found, are the most important ones. The ones that touch me, the ones that I can look at and laugh and weep inside. The ones that when I look at them, I know they're not going to win any competitions or become any exhibition material. Grainy, blurred visions.
Here are the pictures:
Kingston and his coolness.
Chee Howe behind Suxin.
Eunice in front of the club for the first time.
Alex the stud.
Xing Quan, and that everlasting smile.
The Old Gang.
The fun times.There are too many of such pictures I have taken, of my family, my friends, my ex-classmates, my relatives, my platoonmates in the army, my loved ones. These only contain those whom you recognize. To me, Photography is personal. It doesn't matter whether you win a competition or not. If you learn to love your photos, only you, not anyone else, then you are the best photographer you know.
You know why I came back almost 3 years after I've stepped down?
To relive these moments.
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Hey, no long post ends without a picture of me!
