Friday, November 28, 2008
Photographers Gone Crazy
By the way, if you want to see the full videos of what happened during Studio Day Extended, you will need to come for Ops Ubin. Because it will only be aired there. ONCE.
So faster sign up if you haven't done so! :D
We got a real fish tank for this shot.
Studio Day was a ROARING SUCCESS! (Thanks to uncle security guard) Thank you Quentin for organising such a fun filled event! Actually, I learned a lot about flash photography this two days and my arms are really aching from all that crazy air banding, glass smashing, finger dyeing, milk splashing, ink dripping, dolls zaogenging, cameras clicking and lastly... music blasting from iPod doing S-dancing with JS looking possessed with the smoking light cover!!!
PHOTOG!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Studio Days
The Chemist
Fire
Drunken
Nature in a Glass
Let there be Light
Confession time....
Training by Eng Howe on Studio Lighting and Poses
Operation Ubin Trailer
Operation Ubin Trailer
Video Featuring: The Garbage Band (Jun Sen, Eunice, Quent, Vicky and XQn)
Last chance to sign up! Inform Eunice if you're interested (To those who haven signed up)
Studio Photography from the Squirrel Photoger
kays, if you have no idea what these are, they're pinecones that I picked from a field back when I was in the UK last year for that REACH programme :D
Studio Day Extended- A Live Update
This is Grouch reporting live from Study Room, where all the action is held for Studio Days 2008. Present today are the Lao Jiaos, mainly Big LJ operative Lao Jiao Grouch, vice-Big LJ operative Lao Jiao Maxaevi, GS-LJ operative Lao Jiao XQn, CD-LJ operative Quent, and our SJ operative Vicky.
So far, we have been experimenting with some subjects... It's so difficult and tear jerking, but we've done it again! Here's the first shot-
Basically this shot was taken on a table that was covered with black paper and shot against the black backdrop that was already there... I love the catch light.
This blog will be updated once we finish our next shot, in Photographers Gone Crazy!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Studio Day 2
We are all very shag from Studio Day, where Junsen and I spent two whole hours setting up our mini make shift studio and we only started after noon proper. By then, I had developed a very good skill that is only exclusive to the Lao Jiaos. It's called Mouth Power. Chin Chye, developed the skill of Eye Power, very good, he must have watched the clip my sister produced. =P
Madagascar 2 was a good laugh. XQn was laughing his head off, while I quietly hoped that his head wouldn't really drop off. Yup, the Lao Jiaos do deserve a well relaxed heart.
Ok on to what I said I would do...
Lemme share what we shot today...
Let's start with the normal stuff...
You should have seen the set up for this shot. We had 3 cameras on tripod, and 2 on hand. The three tripods were stacked so close together, one little nudge could potentially nudge the cameras out of their pre-determined focuses. But yup, Live View is here to save the day!
I don't think it's the same cup of water... but only Junsen the chemist knows...
Junsen and I brought a total of 6 bottles of colouring, and by coincidence, we actually didn't plan to do the same thing together.
And here's the cherry topping off the sundae:
P.S. Due to a particular Lao Jiao's lao jiaoness, he allowed us to learn a lot about flash photography. Despite that, we did not manage to finish shooting everything we brought. 3 bags full of food stuff, glass ware and colouring. Hence, we have Studio Day Extended. Tomorrow- starting 9am.
P.P.S. Dolby.com does not teach us how to photography water sculptures. Darned. Fancy torturing us like this... Dripping water all over...
Sunday, November 23, 2008
mjcphotogblog v5
I've done a major overhaul of the blog template..... still number of bugs, will fix them asap
will update on how to use and edit the top "ad" area.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Five Truths about Photography
1. A good photo is a marriage of TECH SKILL and MOJO SKILL. In mojo I mean the magic that a good photographer can infuse into the shot: the gentle tilt of the head, the correct candid moment, the angle of light as it strikes the object etc. But if one does not know the tech side of photography (ISO, Aperture, shutter speed control etc), then his outcomes are just luck.
2. Get good one niche at a time. This one more controversial. A good macro insect photographer is not necessarily a good landscape photographer. Competency across all types of photography is like seeing a lawyer fresh out of law school, knows something about everything but not necessarily a master of anything. Focus on acheiving excellence one niche at a time, it is surprising how rewarding this approach can be........
3. Imitation is flattery. When learning, copy. Copy poses. Copy lighting. Copy perspectives. Copy things that inspire you to go wow! If you can copy a good photo and replicate the shot yourself, you will have learned so much more. Copy means analysing how the shot was done and trying to replicate it to learn the nuances. Copy does NOT mean stealing a pic and photoshopping another model's head on it! "We see what we see now beacuse we stand on the shoulders of giants."
4. Post processing is integral to photography. Imagine showing a negative to a friend and saying here is the photo, completely untouched except for putting it into a plastic sleeve. Your friend will say hmm.....looks really odd However there is an attitude that post processing a RAW file is "adulterating the pureness of photography". Beware of this attitude in oneself. Yes. You do not need to DI +++ but remember that looking at a untouched RAW is like looking at a neg. In this way, learning how to use a basic RAW editor and a basic photo editor is integral to modern digital photography, the same way that using a darkroom was integral to good old film photography. Just because someone else did the darkroom work for us then does not mean that it was not done!
5. Shoot with purpose. No. It does not mean that every shot must be a tiring mental exercise. What I mean is that when one takes the shot, one should have an idea what he is trying to do with the shot eg baby shot for the family album, pretend that it is for a fashion mag, documentary shot, National Geo style etc. This "truth" I feel is most relevant to the group XMM shoots. Too many shooters there just snap w/o thinking. If one decides that for the next shot, it is for a pretend music album cover, suddenly one has a reference point to pose the model, decide on the mood etc. By giving each shot/ pose a purpose, it dramatically improves the way the photographer approaches the shot and results in a better picture. Give meaning and purpose to your photos when you are shooting and you will find ways to infuse the magic that will bring your photo from good to great.
My five cents worth......
Film VS Digital
http://fwd.five.tv/videos/challenge-blow-up-part-3
Of cos you can go on and on about the nitty gritty issues but the verdict is true..really.. haha.. But I don't think its cos film sux or anything... maybe its just the scanning technology that has just pull its handbrakes.. haha..
In case you all wanted to know, it takes alot of work to get my film pics out so nicely compared to digital.. and thats just the editing process... haha
Friday, November 21, 2008
A Photo A Week
A little preview of what is on A Photo A Week this week-
More photos have been added this week! If YOU have yet to contribute to A Photo A Week on the Forums, do so TODAY! I know you all finish PW and A levels very free liao, go go go!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
ReDsCaLe
For those of you who are getting excited already...sry to break the bubble.. its a film-only technique.. haha.. Basically, its redscale photography is similar to B&W pics, except that the colour ranges from red to yellow instead of black to white. Enough of me talking.. besides there is nth really much else to talk about anyway.. Onwards! To the pictures!!
Well, its simple to make redscale film, you just go to "invert" the film. You do it by rolling the film into another film canister inverted.. haha.. but its tough shooting with redscale film, cos ur shooting through the back of the film which is slightly opaque (and because the back is reddish and the last colour chemical layer is red; that's where u get the reddish effect from) you shoot at around 2-3 stops slower...ISO 200 becomes like ISO 50...heh..
Btw, I got an extra roll of redscale film to be shot at ISO 25.. If you have an old film camera sitting around and you wanna try it out, let me know.. haha
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Shifty-Tilty
50 reasons why PPC should buy a Tilt-Shift lens..:P (a proper one for that matter)
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/11/16/beautiful-examples-of-tilt-shift-photography/
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Studio Days
Monday, November 10, 2008
Going Places...
see the MJC badge on the top right???? ha? ha? can SEE?????
it was taken by your PPC! ^^
Once again, a photo published on the national paper
the original
Yes... even shooting a simple thing like badge will also require some thinking... carry on shooting and experimenting...
PPC
Saturday, November 8, 2008
A Photo A Week
and be sure to check out the forums for additional comments:P
Nightmare
It was quite roflmao cos there's a mix of some memories from Perth...
I dreamt that we were going overseas trip neh, I dunno go where la, all I know was that PPC and Ms Koh left me behind! *wails*
(worse than King's one forgot to bring film... haha)
Then I even had the idea of taking plane myself to go find them, armed with a handful of maps!
The dream ended off with two thugs who wanted to kidnap Spooky...
Bizarre.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Wave!!
No matter whether you have finished your OP and done your irritating InR, or still in the middle of your "A"s, or maybe stuck in consultation, or... doing saikang for *ahem* work....
If you're reading this and are still alive and kicking, WAVE AT ME! ^^ (using the tagboard la)
*Waves waves*
Ok, good to see you guys still doing well ^^
Gambatte everyone!
Monday, November 3, 2008
All Ze Best!!
some more points...
1. If you REALLY *kok your head* do forget to keep your phone in your bag like King, DO NOT, i repeat, DO NOT go SMS your civics tutor after that to tell her about your booboo cos she'd sweat blood and scold the living daylights out of you! chewrens, it's not funny... if your phone so much as VIBRATES, you'll get a T grade... and you can take your A levels NEXT YEAR! *ROAR*!!!!!!!!!! don't ask me why T grade k? i also don't know... T for telefon??? -.-
2. Pls remember to change your GC batteries. and bring extra batt too... you can sell someone $50 for 4 AAA batts if that person is desperate.
3. bring tissue... your nose may bleed if the questions are too difficult. it happened to TWO people during math prelim paper 2.
4. tie string tie properly... you're not tying shoe-laces or present.. the idea is so that it CANNOT be untied... tie tight tight hor!
5. don't know how to do don't leave blank, just anyhow hamtam a formulae (from the correct topic of course), draw a circle, ellipse, parabola, hyperbola whatever. write n! or something. you may just heng heng get one mark!
All ze best!!!!!
Examination Tips for the Mugger Soul
Well since we seniors have been through it, why not give your some tips to help u people in the battle against the exam monster summon by Cambridge the Devil. haha:)
1) Drink water ! No joke water is like brain food. It keeps your brain working and well oiled. Our Brain is 85% water and common sense will tell u that a lack of it will cause some problems, so drink up especially when u are intensely using it during exams. I always have a bottle with me during exams and it is usually gone after the paper. But pls don't drink until you keep going to the toilet k?
2) Bring a jacket if u are afraid of the cold especially if you are super warm blooded. As Kingston have mentioned, the hall's aircon is like piping cold air from south pole. It gets even worse if u are sited in the 3rd and 4th row. The aircon is like directly above your head. If u dont want to end up like kingston who nearly enter a state of preservation, and with hands shaking so hard from convulsion and had to "kek" his hands hard so his words wun end up all fuzzy, bring a jacket it keeps u and your brain nice and warm to think properly.
3) Write BIG BIG ! It really helps if u are those who will write until u don't know what u writing. You have already paid for the papers, so use as much as u want and exams are not the time to save trees.It also help ease the markers eyes who maybe some grumpy old man in Britain who is marking your paper during christmas. It really pissed them off if your writings are so small and ilegible that it looks like a line of ants have walked across your paper and u just smack them on your paper. For me, I know my handwriting not very nice so I write BIG BIG, so at least the marker can see what I am trying to write. And if u realised that there are many mistakes on your paper, don't bother using correction tape or liquid paper or whatever to correct them. Put that paper away and rewrite on a new piece of paper.
4) Do not Mug liao ! If u are still mugging now when the exams have already started, u are really in trouble. Now is not the time to mug already. Instead just revise on what u have studied and look through the stupid mistakes that u have normally made especially in maths papers. Read through your notes until they are like music to your ears and if u want to burn them and mix with water to drink, I really leave it up to u.
And most importantly get a lot of rest ! At least 7 hrs of complete rest if by SAF standard. Give your mind a break after the papers. U will be sitting through papers after papers consectively and the last thing u wan is a mental block during the exams.
5) I don't know if it works for others but it works for me. Eat a bar of chocolate before going into the exam hall. It perks me up and keep my brain working through the exam. I think it is due to the higher level of sugar that sort of boost my mind.
These are some tips that I used to get through my A-levels and I guess it works. It might not work for some so pls suit it to your own preference. But I doubt any of them will be reading these cause they are still mugging :( But dont care lah just write cause I just feel like adding on to King's post. haha:)
Sunday, November 2, 2008
A Different Light
I think the blog is way too quiet and I was hoping some cute posts might miraculously pop up written by me dear dear juniors who happen to be all rushing for OP. So nehmind nehmind, the Grouch shall post something...
A Different Light
By Grouch Chan.
(Photo by Mel)
This photo shows that one single rock has its own charisma. So attractive that two photographers have to squat down, angle their heads in the same exact angle and position just to picture this one charismatic rock. (And yes, we were using the same camera, he was at 14mm and I was at 15mm. Just maybe different film that's all.)
Did the photo turn out the same way?
I'm not really sure. I wasn't even aware that something like that actually happened until when I actually stumbled onto this photo weeks back when I was sorting out the Perth photos.
Remember I mentioned photography is storytelling with a purpose?
You realise at an event of say 5 photographers, more often than not a bulk of the photographers would take the photos from a certain angle or from a certain distance from the stage/performers/wadever's-happening. You want to tell a story, but most probably you don't want to tell a story that has been repeated and repeated again. It's boring.
This happens at almost every event. People take picture of the same thing, and after looking at it for the 3rd time, the viewers get turned off. What we want is a wholesome coverage of the event, not just focus on the performance alone. Sometimes, we might want to include the audience response, sometimes you might just wanna up the glam factor by capturing the spot lights on them as well. Just browse through some of the wedding portfolios on Clubsnap and you might understand what I meant.
Could it have been the same for you? Try thinking of capturing something in a different light. (I cant find the pics argh argh argh *breathe in breath out*
and if you need some explaining why people choose Nikon over Canon, read Joho's comments here http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=235746&page=11 because it doesn't really matter...)
Always think out of the box on how you want your end product to look like. It could be crazy, but TRY IT!
I'm not sure how many of you are aware of the term "chee howe shang shen" which refers to a photographer shooting very close to a subject even in the case of a performance just to get the shot he wants. I'm not saying you can do, but you could always try, ya?
(don't get the performers pissed though... but I think the other photographers will be even more pissed by you being in their frame >50% of the time so please also don't always hog a spot...)
Yah anyway, I'm very tired after all my ramblings and failed attempts of finding that one very nice frame by somebody on Clubsnap, bottom line is, try shooting everything in a different way. Because looking at a photo that had been shot a thousand times by others is boring.
Good Luck for your A's
Good luck for your A's!! ^^ hehe...
Some things you should take note:
1. Remember to bring windbreaker... Cos once I forgot to bring and I sat under the air con which pipes cold air from the south pole, I nearly enter a state of preservation, and my hands was shaking so hard from convulsion, I had to "kek" my hands hard so my words wun end up all fuzzy...-.-...
2. Leave your hand phone in your bag, dun bother to turn it on even if your feeling bored and still have 15 minutes before your exams start and is still hoping that someone might still wanna wish you good luck and you think you'll need all the luck you can get; cos you'll end up leaving it on and poping it in your pocket because after your disappointment with no new smses, you look at your watch to realized, you got 5 mins to rush into the hall and the teachers are screaming "You'd better hurry up or the exam will start without you!!!" and the last memory you have of your phone would be the time you put your phone in your bag before you left home...lols..
But that's not the worse part, cuz the worse is when 1 hr passes and the south pole wind is getting to your already tired hands and you decide to pop it into your pocket for some warmth. So the next 5 mins passes all fine and dandy, groping onto that something warm in your pocket like you always do in lectures, until till your horror, a flashing though bolts through your conscious; "Crap! Is that my hand phone in my hands?!?! Didn't I put it in my bag already? Shat! I took it out just now!" If you have been following my line of though, I think you can imagine the rest, (partly cos I'm too lazy to type out the rest:P) so for the rest of the paper, no need to concentrate le lorr.. haha. You will just have your mind filled worrying about whether your phone will even vibrate, dun say ring...
3. I think there is no number 3.. haha... of cos I could think of a lot more stuff, but it wun be fun to recall, if it never happened to yourself.. hahahaha... Maybe closer to the A level collection date, I'll write another one regarding my A-level result collection.. hahaha..when I think back about it, that one was hilarious.. wasted no one there to see it... I shan't reveal it anymore.. So watch out for the post closer to the A-level results date...