Hello everyone! This is Vicky reporting live from the club room. It is currently 0500hours, and we are 14 hours into our camp, with 14 more to go! Exactly halfway through!
Everyone is asleep, and for some strange reason I cannot sleep... Angeline is beside me and she is also trying vainly to sleep in the coldcold room.
Camp Aperture. What a momentous event. The Photography Club got camp siallll!!!!1 :D
After rereading all the old 'Featured Posts', and Kingston's recent memoirs, it does strike me how far we've come, and how our really unique history has allowed us to flourish such that we have all the capabilities (and EQUIPMENT!!) to have a camp! I guess I'm right now, feeling very grateful and blessed to be in such a wonderful and PRESTIGIOUS photography club, even if only we MJCians can see it.
For those who are interested, I'll talk more about the camp, as I realise that the alumni aren't really informed about the camp and its happenings, and also I think that this is a memory I'll treasure forever. ^_^ Don't mind the post not very structured, 'cause brain not really functioning properly, hahaha... Oh ya! And I'll try to be a bit more detailed, so you can skip some parts if you want, 'cause I'm also typing this for posterity, so if the future excos want more info on organising photog camp, this can be reference.
Oooh, okay first thing on my mind is the Camp Aperture Manual! Which we have come up with within the span of 5 days, from last Saturday to Wednesday night. The manual is 63 pages long, and has all the technical information that would be covered in the camp which we sort-of hope the juniors won't forget. It was consolidated by Zheng Hui (Yay to him!) and is very nice. It includes...
- Basic Photography Notes (El)
- Flash Photography (CC)
- Light Painting (Van)
- Printing (ZH)
- Photoshop (Shir)
- Macro+Prime&DepthofField+Perspective (MEEE)
Mr Cheng was quite happy with it, which made us very happy, and maybe we can further improve on it through the years until we develop a full-fledged MJC Photography Club BIBLE. ^_^v Really want to say GOOD JOB to everyone who came up with the parts (and sorry for making ZH nagnagnagnag me for it. Actually right, I didn't expect the manual to come out to be so good leh. As in, I thought it would be this small set of notes stapled together and given out to the juniors, but I guess that the more we worked on the part of the notes, the more devotion and sense of ownership we have to it.
Also for my part ah, I started out not knowing anything about it but the more I researched, the more I found out that there actually is a LOT A LOT to know and in the end had to cut out a lot. Making lesson notes, I find, is a very good way to learn photography. Hmm... maybe this is a possible project work thingy for meetings...?
Oh ya! And today, after the basic photography lecture (which was our first major activity in the camp), we had veryvery fun games! So sorry I don't have any photos to upload, but I think everybody enjoyed it and it was a VERY good way to expose the J1s to the reflexes needed in usage of the camera, pun not intended.
We had two games, Exposure Whiz! and Counterstrike Photog!
In Exposure Whiz!, each group send a representative who compete with each other on who can get the most well-exposed photograph of each other, given only 20 seconds to set the settings that the game I/Cs scrambled up on the camera.
Hahahaha, I think the funniest parts were when they keep setting self-timer accidentally, then in the end have to stand there and wait long long. Sometimes also we set the exposure so it's okay liao, then they themselves go and make it worse, heh... But the best part of it was that everyone started to loosen up in their groups and have fun! The J2 members did a great job in fueling the enthusiasm and getting them to cheer.
The winning two groups then battled it out with each other in Counterstrike Photog!, where each representative stood back to back, took 5 steps forward and on the fifth step had to turn around and 'shoot' the opponent. The catch was that they had to manual focus!
Haiyo, I think we should play more of these games during club meetings also, haha! :D
So anyways, then we had dinner supplied by the Malay store aunty, who gave a lot a lot of rice and a huge huge drumstick. A lot of it was wasted. :( However, Zheng Hui with the bottomless stomach, could actually finish Angeline's leftovers, as expected :p.
We then proceeded to SLRs!! Heh, the photography club is all about acronyms. SLRs means Station Learning Rotation!
We had the Flash station, Light Painting station and the Printing station, as can be seen in the previous post, where Mr Cheng took videos of the lovely J1s.
For the SLRs, we split up the club into 3, and believe Elliot when he says how we couldn't have done it without the J2s. It was really great that they agreed to help us with the camp, and were really efficient in the movement of the J1s and everything. The best thing about everything was that we didn't overshoot the schedule, though we ate into the buffer time, as was already planned. Oh and it was really nice of the J2s to complain "Why we J1 don't have this camp ah? >_<" That was so sweeet! Haha, I felt very proud of the camp at that moment.
At the Flash station, the J1s all handled cameras accessorized with the 580 II Canon Flash, and it was so shiok to see them ALL be able to learn together about what I've always regretted not being proficient at, WITHOUT having to share the flashes.
Here, I think we all would like the say a big THANK YOU to Mr Cheng, who drove all around everywhere to borrow flashes for this session, as well as for purchasing 2 of the flashes to add to our arsenal. Yep yep, I don't know whether I've mentioned in this blog before, but if I did I'll say it again, though Mr Cheng may be xiong at times, but honestly, I've never seen a more dedicated and selfless CCA teacher in all my academic life, who sacrifices his personal time, and worries alot alot about us. Haha also, sorry Mr Cheng, for being the most worrisome exco eva! We don't mean to. T_T
ANYWAYS, it was very cute to see Chin Chye improve his teaching technique with every time he repeated the lesson. I didn't manage to observe the other stations, but I guess some of the exco has learnt in the camp so far on how to improve our teaching and communication methods. I hope I do too later in the lesson I conduct! *_*
Light painting was soooo fun!! So sad though, that Vanessa's sick and cannot conduct it, but Elliot did an excellent job and it looked very fun. Maybe next time can post the photos here. On hindsight, even though the technical aspect of light painting wasn't really delved into, but the exposure that the J1s have to this type of photography, as well as the truckloads of fun they had more than made up to it. I think. I hope. Aiya should be lah, judging from the noise we could hear from it from the atrium. -_-"
Printing was, according to Zheng Hui and Shirleen, covered pretty quickly, so the session turned out to be bonding time! And it provided a chance for the J1s to rest and the airconditioned clubroom. Plus, kill 3 birds with 1 stone, the J1s learned to print by printing the canteen photos... muehe....
Oh! Chin Chye just got up and told me I have 5 more minutes to finish this post before we have to wake everyone up! Okok quick one quick one...
My insights and reflection: This is my first time being in the organising committee for a camp, and I'd say that I've really learned a lot, especially from those experienced at organising camps, i.e. Elliot, Shirleen, Mumtaz, Zheng Hui (from St Johns' and Red Cross). I really really feel a huge sense of achievement, and am really proud to say that I. Am. From. The. MJC. Photography. Club. I hope the J1s will take away as much as they can from the camp, and later to have lotsa fun for the outing and secret Finale!! Woohoo!!
I'm really grateful to be working with such a fantastic team of exco, J2s, and that we have soooo super uber enthusiastic J1s. This year's exco elections are gonna be tooouuggghhh....
P.s. Thanks to the alumni who came down to give an encouraging word, and take event photos!!! You know who you are... <3!
