Keeping Everything Relatively Neat

Posters

2009-04-15T05:45:00.000-07:00

Posters

2009-04-14T07:27:00.000-07:00

Created these for an advertising module for Pull and Bear.

Random Blends

2009-03-14T08:43:00.000-07:00

Exhibition at 2902 gallery Random Blends!

Assignment 4: Awakening (Final)

2008-11-18T09:15:00.000-08:00

The concept behind this image is an individual’s social awakening. I believe we, as humans, are all bounded by the blue fabric of reality. This fabric restricts our movements and thoughts, but it keeps us safe within the boundaries of reality. However, there will always be a few who would gain a new insight. This social awakening encountered by the guy in the middle, is represented through the releasing of the blue fabric. The wing like structure formed by the ribbons showed his liberation and ‘enlightenment’.

However, reality beyond the blue fabric, beautiful as it is, is not what it seems. The true reality is in fact more precarious and overwhelming. So here comes the choice for the individual. If the awakened individual is overwhelmed by the true reality, he would plunge to his death. However, if he wants to, he could always get back into the fabric of reality with his new insight and keep silent about it forever. Or he could awaken the rest with this new found knowledge.

This is the purpose of this picture. With education, we know there is something wrong with this world, the government and social structure. However, a lot of us choose to conform to them despite having the knowledge. Some of us are activists who silently protest the government and seek to enlighten the rest. There are also those who failed terribly and lose their mind and soul to this new knowledge. What are we going to do when we gain this knowledge? What can we do to enact change? Are we being manipulated without us knowing about it? These are all questions worth pondering about as we inspect this image.

Regarding the technique, I used simple Photoshop tools to put the various images together, First I have to take the different people individually and crop the blue cloth onto them. I then used erase tool to create the cloudy effect on the guy in the middle. This gives the impression that he is rising above the clouds.

This current picture and concept is an evolution of the three pictures I did previously on Consumerism.

Final Assignment: Spectrum

2008-11-17T08:40:00.000-08:00

Here are the new version. This series of conceptual pictures are, in my opinion, better than the first few batches. This is because more work is involved in giving the pictures more depth.

Basically the concept is still the same.

The theme ‘Looking into the Ordinary’ allows me to pick out the most mundane things in life and create a series of pictures. After much attempts, my idea has evolved into this set of pictures. Using light and colours to depict emotions in different settings, it showed the most mundane of our lives, living.

Basically this series of pictures are to show that under normal circumstances, we are like the normal beam of white light. However, when we encounter different situations, we will be expected to act differently and appropriately. However sometimes, our emotions go beyond our control and we are overwhelmed by it.

Like a light beam entering a prism, a spectrum of colours is formed. Hence using the metaphor of a rainbow, the seven different colours depict different situations in which we might encounter and the emotions we might have in these environments.

Light: This first picture shows us in our purest form.

Red: Symbolically, red is often attached to anger or passion. In this series, the colour red depict the social setting we are in. When people around us are too passionate or too obsessive, they enact pressure on us and these pressures, if not handled properly, are frustrating, hence leaving us agitated.

Orange: Sometimes we do not fathom the social environment we are involved in. There are too many things in the world for us to know. The world is ever changing and these changes are sometimes too fast for simple comprehension, thus leaving us in bewilderment. On the other hand, these changes might also lead us to question our social environment. Have we evolved or change for the better, or have we regressed as human beings? There are many unsolved questions in life, it is often we as individuals, can get too lost in them.

Yellow: However, not all social environments are negative. There are some social settings whereby we are comfortable in and this lets us lower our inhibitions and be who we are. This outlet of all the pent up frustration allows us to relax and regain control of our emotions.

Green: Green is usually significant of envy. But rather than depicting envy, this picture is in fact showing how sometimes, the social setting we are in, makes one act out of his nature. We are constantly reminded of the moral right and wrongs, however, occasionally, the daredevil in every one of us would like to rebel and act out. We might regret after our actions but we more than often cannot control it and this is what this picture represents.

Blue: Being ‘blue’, is sometimes more than being sad. One might be feeling moody and no where sociable. Hence this particular shade of blue was chosen. The lack in vibrancy depicts the lack of social activity and the pose of the model depicts the attitude of moodiness directed to everybody else.

Indigo: Our social settings on some occasions scare us. We are sometimes afraid to step out of our comfort zone and the unknown frightens us. We would then view the environment as dark and haunting and wish to have no part of it. However, when we do take the first step, sometimes it is more rewarding and eventful than our comfort zones. Therefore one should take risks while being cautious.

Violet: No one is perfect. However the social standards are overtly exaggerated and our flaws are sometimes magnified. This internal struggle to conceal our insecurities is found in everyone, and sometimes it is the social environments we are in that makes us doubt who ourselves. This colour, violet or more commonly known as purple is closely associated with royalty, and it is this in which I wish to depict insecurities. Everyone, including the rich and famous, is inflicted with self-doubt. We tend to shy away from the crowd and hide behind other material objects.

Dark: Last but not least, the final picture depicts the loss of self identity. Like a beam of light, we might sometimes be overwhelmed by the darkness surrounding us. We would slowly lose our self identity and fade amongst the shadows.

This set of pictures is taken with the model standing at the bottom right of the picture because, this shows that we are only a small part of a bigger picture. We are not alone and our actions are interdependent on one another. The model’s clothes are also specifically chosen to be the same throughout because, this gives the idea that we, as an individual, are constant while adapting to the ever changing environment. We might lose control of our emotions but ultimately, we are who we are and that is important. A male model is also chosen because the society we are living in now is a masculine one. However this does not give the men advantageous benefits that women do not have. This series of pictures are to depict the fact that men are also subjected to the pressures of the masculine society as well.

Assignment 5: Emotions (Final)

2008-11-17T07:53:00.000-08:00

Here are the final pictures for the portfolio.

Progression

Aperture: f/22 Shutter Speed: 1/40 sec ISO: 200 Focal Length: 20.0 mm

Loneliness

Aperture: f/32 Shutter Speed: 1/5 sec ISO: 200 Focal Length: 85.0 mm

Gloomy

Aperture: f/4.0 Shutter Speed: 1/160 sec ISO: 800 Focal Length: 17.0 mm

Happy

Aperture: f/3.5 Shutter Speed: 1/35 ISO: 125 Focal Length: 6.3 mm

These are the final picture for Assignment 5: Emotions. I decided to use this gloomy rainy weater to depict Gloomy instead of Harmonious with the picture of Chinese Garden because I received many feedback that it is the least strong among all four pictures. I personally think this is much better because it is very grey looking.

Final Assignment: ME (Part 2)

2008-11-16T07:01:00.000-08:00

Ok I did a couple of changes... Not sure which is better...

Final Assignment: ME

2008-11-15T03:37:00.000-08:00

This are my new series of pictures for my Final Assignment. I have decided to change the idea from Insecurities to ME! So take a look!

Hope you all got what I want to say haha

Basically the colors represent the environment. Our moods and emotions are very much affected by whatever is surrounding us, our social setting. Hence the different colors depict the different social settings that lead to the different emotions portrayed in me. My position in the pictures are rather stagnant and the white tee is supposed to be constant to show how we, despite being the same on the inside, is very affect by our social settings that our emotions run rampant without us controlling them.

The first picture is typically the normal me and like a light passing through a prism, the different colors would show the different emotions within me. However after all these strong emotions, I realised that I am actually fading into the background. The losing of the individual self is represented in the alst picture with a darker gloomier wall and a disappearing me.

Hope you all got what I am trying to say! Feedback!

Assignment 5: Emotions (Take 3)

2008-11-14T22:00:00.000-08:00

Harmonious

Aperture: f/16 Shutter Speed: 1/80 sec ISO: 200 Focal Length: 17.0 mm

After much consideration, I decided to use this picture to depict Harmonious.

By definition, Harmonious is forming a pleasingly consistent whole. I personally think this picture depict this aspect since all the elements in the picture are indeed consistent in forming a congrous whole. Therefore this picture would be titled Harmonious.

Joyful

Aperture: f/3.5 Shutter Speed: 1/35 ISO: 125 Focal Length: 6.3 mm

I decided to use this picture to depict Joyful. Colors are always joy inducing and furthermore candy and sweets are also very associated with joy and happiness. So therefore this picture is most apt for depicting Joyful.

For the following two pictures, I decided to stick with them for Progression and Loneliness. This is because I personally think they are the most straightforward depictions of these two emotions.

Progression

Aperture: f/22 Shutter Speed: 1/40 sec ISO: 200 Focal Length: 20.0 mm

This picture, Progression, is one of my favourities since it showed the Old and the New in the same picture. However is the New over taking the old or are we still living in the past by fossilising these old buildings?

Loneliness

Aperture: f/32 Shutter Speed: 1/5 sec ISO: 200 Focal Length: 85.0 mm

I guess the boat on an open sea tells all of the loneliness of the open waters. The ocean, although vast and filled with life, it always induces a feeling of claustrophobia. Anyone would be overwhelmed by loneliness.

Assignment 3: Symbolic of the Sun

2008-11-14T21:50:00.000-08:00

This is the final image for my Symbolic of the Sun.

Personally, to me nothing is more symbolic of the sun than an umbrella. The umbrella has multiple purposes. For some it aid as a walking stick, to most of us the umbrella is used to shelter from the rain as well as the sun.

Therefore the image was taken from under the umbrella to show the bright sunny day. This represents the view of the umbrella user, this common everyday life event is sometimes overlooked but it is simple things like this that is significant of living. This, to me, is symbolic of the sun.

Symbolic of the Sun

Aperture: f/32 Shutter Speed: 1/160 sec ISO: 800 Focal Length: 60.0 mm

These few pictures are the latest cropped versions for the final portfolio.

The Dragonfly (Close Up)

Aperture: f/14 Shutter Speed: 1/160 sec ISO: 800 Focal Length: 60mm

Totem (High Key)

Aperture: f/29 Shutter Speed: 1/20 sec ISO: 200 Focal Length: 38mm

Assignment 5: Emotions (Retake)

2008-11-12T09:01:00.000-08:00

So I went to Chinese Garden today and it was eventful. Took a few good shots and these are some of the shots taken. However I'm unsure which of the following is more Serene/Calm/Peace.

Do let me know your feedback. Even if they are not at all Serene/Calm/Peace inducing pictures haha.

Ok this first picture below was taken vertically. I wanted to to depict Serenity or Calmness. But some of the feedback I got back was the color is too intense to be calm. And furthermore the portraiture of the image makes it less serene/calm than a horizontal one.

Aperture: f/16 Shutter Speed: 1/80 sec ISO: 200 Focal Length: 17.0 mm

Therefore I cropped the first picture into a landscape picture. However the image looked to cluttered.

Aperture: f/16 Shutter Speed: 1/80 sec ISO: 200 Focal Length: 17.0 mm

Therefore I decided maybe I can use another picture I took horizontally and see if the image is less clutter and more calm.

Although less clutter, I'm not too sure if it is serene enough. I need your feedback please thanks!

Aperture: f/16 Shutter Speed: 1/80 sec ISO: 200 Focal Length: 17.0 mm

Oh and I edited the previous Progression picture. So here is the new edited one. I am much happier with this picture than the previous one because of the color.

Aperture: f/22 Shutter Speed: 1/40 sec ISO: 200 Focal Length: 20.0 mm

Oh I'm not sure why also but the colors do not seem to be as strong here. The images in my folder are much stronger compared to these.

Assignment 6: Insecurities (Take 2)

2008-11-10T22:15:00.000-08:00

After last week's attempt, the feedback was it was very straight forward. So after much thought, I decided to use shadows to conceptualise the series. The theme would be the same 'Insecurities' but the portrayal is now different.

Past Haunting You

Society Pressuring you
Society Judging You

People Grabbing You

Society Pressuring You

Drowning In Insecurities

Trapped by Your Insecurities

Due to the space constraint, I was not very satisfied with the product. I'm even more disappointed after viewing the rest of the tutorial's pictures. Therefore I decided to redo my entire concept. But the tutor said she likes this week's pictures more than last week's because this week is more conceptual and original. She is also worried about the time constraint I might face if I were to redo everything from scratch.

If I were to stay with this concept, I would use the shadow puppet method to get a sharper image.

However, I think I might resume back to my Disney Princesses idea. Generate 6 pictures based on consumerism or insecurities. I shall think about it.

Assignment 4: Surrealism (Take 3)

2008-11-09T10:18:00.000-08:00

Version 1

Version 2

This is my third attempt at Assignment 4.

Basically this time round I want to portray that the fabric of reality is weak. But we as humans do not wish to break out of the save state we are in and wish to be deceived by it. However there are the few that do break away from the fabric of reality but they realise that reality is indeed scary and hence they are now at a loss what to do with the new found enlightenment.

The blue fabric represent reality and I use fabrics instead of chains, is because I wish to portray that the way to get out of the pseudo reality is actually quite easy. The person in the middle has struggled out of the binds and is now struggling to take in everything the new world presents to him. Whatever he do now is up to him, he can either go back to the pseudo reality and do nothing or he can change the way other people perceive the world or he might be too overwhelmed by the new world that he falls to his death.

This is basically what I wish to say with my picture. Hope it works feedback please thanks!

Assignment 5: Emotions (Take 2)

2008-11-09T04:32:00.001-08:00

Progression

Aperture: f/22 Shutter Speed: 1/40 sec ISO: 200 Focal Length: 20.0 mm

Loneliness
Aperture: f/32 Shutter Speed: 1/5 sec ISO: 200 Focal Length: 85.0 mm

Blog Assignment: Ethics

2008-11-09T03:35:00.001-08:00

•What are the ways readers can judge the credibility of an image even in this era of digital manipulation?

In this period of digital manipulation, the advancement of technology has blurred the line between a true event and a pseudo event. Credibility of an image is now questioned even more than the past. However there are still several ways to check on the credibility of an image.

First the source of the image is always important. For example s prominent or reputable source would most likely hold more credibility than those from a less reputable source. Next the viewer might want to check for some flaws in the image, such as the head might be superimposed badly onto the body. Such small details might be overlooked so these are just some tell tale signs of digital manipulation.

Unfortunately these are the few things I know to judge the credibility of an image. I mean the news can only be taken with a pinch of salt. However I’m not trying to say everything is falsely reported to make news sell. But I mean news is just merely a way for us to know more about the world, and images are just a way to further bring out the image in us readers. Therefore I suppose a little manipulation here and there is fine since pictures sometimes speak more than words. However if the photos are manipulated for the wrong purposes then it is wrong.

So what are considered ‘wrong’? I guess it would mean defamation of a person’s public image (such as superimposing a person’s head onto a naked body), exploiting the young (such as the incident of using a young lady’s picture from Flickr on an advertising campaign in Australia), and misusing another person’s work and claiming ownership, as well as tweaking the image to make the subject more vulnerable.

However in cases such as making the subject more aesthetically beautiful is fine with me, since who likes to look flaws when there are so many in our daily lives? Photo manipulation is necessary to sell in this society where the preconceived notion of beauty is already warped.

•Imagine yourself as a reader representative for a newspaper. What would you tell a reader who complained to you about a picture of a car wreck that was particularly upsetting?

Personally I would explain to her the purpose of using an image to convey the message. She might be violently against it, so I would have to be empathetic as well. However I would not agree to remove the picture unless it has a more personal affliction on the reader.
So first I have to understand where the reader is coming from then act appropriately.

Assignment 6: Insecurities (Take 1)

2008-11-04T05:43:00.000-08:00

AchievementsSmile

Muscle

Makeup
Crowd
Brands

These are my series of pictures for Assignment 6 and also the Final Assignment for this module. The aim was to create a series of 6-10 pictures with a common theme according to this concept of 'Looking into the ordinary'.

Basically my concept is to convey people's insecurities. How people hide their insecurities behind material objects. The colors are used to depict the elements.

The comments received are that the pictures are not exaggerated enough. Especially so for the 'Makeup' one.

However, I intend to change all the pictures. To improve on it. Maybe it would be done much better. Currently right now I intend to use shadows to portray the concept of insecurities. Maybe it might be more conceptual and ordinary in that way.

Assignment 5: Emotions (Take 1)

2008-10-19T03:27:00.000-07:00

For our fifth assignment, we were given 6 themes/emotions of which we must chose 4 to portray. Without using any animals, humans and dolls/mannequins, we have to be successful in portraying the emotions we chose.

Chaos

Aperture: f/22 Shutter Speed: 30.0 sec ISO: 200 Focal Length: 17.0 mm

Progression
Aperture: f/3.5 Shutter Speed: 1/4 ISO: 125 Focal Length: 6.3 mm

Loneliness
Aperture: f/32 Shutter Speed: 1/5 sec ISO: 200 Focal Length: 85.0 mm

Happiness
Aperture: f/3.5 Shutter Speed: 1/35 ISO: 125 Focal Length: 6.3 mm

I hope I was successful in portraying the emotions I chose. However, I intend to retake some shots. So do check for more updates!

Blog Assignments: Singapore Biennale 2008

2008-10-12T23:20:00.000-07:00

Overall, I think the Biennale is a huge success. It shows diversity and gives tribute to the international Art scene. As you know Art is very much underrated in Singapore, hence with the increasing emphasis recently, by the government, to promote the local Art scene, it is giving the local Arts a voice in the international platform.

In the Biennale, the art pieces all have very strong concepts behind it and through the use of different techniques. The artist’s concepts are conveyed through surrealistic and conceptualistic approaches. They invoke us to question the world through their art and at the same time aesthetically entertain us. The process is both an enriching and entertaining one. Furthermore, the exhibitions brought us to local venues we would have not visited at all, such as the inside of City Hall and South Beach Development building.

There are many successful works in the Biennale, such as the Felice Varini Project: “Drill Hall” and the ‘I’m Not Expensive’ installation. And the most successful, in my opinion, is the ‘Bachelor - The Dual Body’.

In a dark room with nothing but a book floating in an aquarium of blue water, it catches anyone’s attention and blows everyone away with the impact of this installation. Everyone would be entranced by the book dancing around in the tank. I was blown away by it when I first sees it and my impression of the meaning behind it would be something like, the book epitomizes the past literature art while the blue tank symbolizes the modernity of it. I thought it meant that art is still present in the present but it is floating around loosely without anyone fully comprehending it. Furthermore with the fading text, it shows that art is losing its ground in the modern world.

The artist’s interpretation was something not too far away. The philosophical book is loose from its bearings due to the waves of globalization.

On the other hand, there are always some not very successful installations, such as the ‘Flight’ and ‘Lightlines’. But I guess the least successful one would be the three channel video installation ‘El naufragio de los hombres (The wreck of men)’. Without reading the description of the exhibit, one would be confused with what the artist is trying to portray with the images. The place was eerie and the shadow figures moving on screen are creepy.

Even after reading the description of the exhibit, it does not seem to help much in understanding the images. I think the artist meant to portray the problems of global warming with the solitary figures standing on ice bergs and in a vast empty landscape. Overall, the images was not very impressive and when you thought more would be shown to further enhance the experience, you are given another same shot and you just further question, why the need to stay in that room any further.

Blog Exercise: Analyzing a Picture

2008-10-05T21:59:00.000-07:00

Picture taken from justjared.com

This commercial photograph is for a Marc Jacobs advertising campaign. Victoria Beckham, the new spokesperson for Marc Jacobs, is shot in a series of pictures depicting her as a doll in all forms of Marc Jacobs merchandise and shopping bags. The photographer’s intention is to depict the consumerism lifestyle of society. How everyone wants to be like their favourite celebrity. It mocks at all the attention focused on the lifestyles of the rich and famous. As the other pictures from this campaign shows, Victoria Beckham is acting like a doll in all the Marc Jacobs’ shopping bags. To further make her look more vulnerable and doll-like, the top down camera view is used. The photographer makes the viewers look through the picture (Realism), at the picture (Formalism) and beyond the picture (Expressionism). Being a style icon, everyone wants to be like her, hence the portrayal of her in a shopping bag. The lighting is over Victoria Beckham, shedding little and less obvious shadows. The picture is also slightly over exposed to give a humorous shock effect. With the appropriate pose of Victoria Beckham, it shows how Victoria Beckham is caught in the act of trying to escape from the shopping bag. Her darker skin tones and hair colour is used to give contrast to the almost white picture. This brings the viewer’s eyes immediately to Victoria Beckham, which is the subject of the picture. Her awkward poses are also apt since people have the impression that dolls have stiff joints, further enhancing the doll persona. The framing is obvious, with the key subject in the middle. The lack of colour gives it a more serious and posh appeal, however if the images are shot in black and white, then the impact would be lost. The texture is obvious, giving it a more catalogue feeling. It makes the viewer feel like he/she is flipping through the magazine and saw these pictures.

Overall I think the photographer has done well in executing the images and portrayed his intended messages.

Assignment 4: Urban Fantasy (Take 2)

2008-10-05T01:30:00.000-07:00

Hi, as some of you might know my theme is consumerism. Hence I would like to stick to it and make it more surreal... Basically what I am trying to say is the brands and labels glorify your image (the angel wings) however they tie you down as well (explaining the ribbons) and also the brands are acting as a second skin on you...

Anyways I wasnt sure what kinda of background I should use... the initial plan was to make everything black and white.... but when I added the 'Blue Label' ribbon at the bottom, the effect would be totally lost in black and white... hence I decided to stick with color... however a plain white background might look bad... hence i decided to use some other pics or paint my own background... so suggestions pls...

Feedback: Anyways here are some of the feedback I got. Basically it does not seem surreal enough. Some commented maybe it might look more surreal if the picture was turned upside down. Another comment was this was more suitable for the Final Assignment. Hence it might be better if I start afresh or work and improve on my previous concept on Princesses.

Blog exercise 2

2008-10-01T21:33:00.000-07:00

Credit: http://www.art.com/asp/sp-asp/_/PD--10315524/SP--A/IGID--847209/Honey_is_Sweeter_than_Blood.htm?sOrig=CAT&sOrigID=24105&ui=46F944D6BD594671A13A884512BB3B25

Created by renowned Spanish artist during the Surrealist movement, this portrait evoked the imagination of all who lay eyes on it. Titled ‘Honey is Sweeter than Blood’, this image is both beautiful and haunting.

Using the naked body of a woman, it showed the narcissist in all humans. How we all strive to look good and achieve a status of the gods, eminent in the heavenly backdrop of the image, regardless of any price we might pay. The skeletal left hand and the imperfect abdomen, signify the ugliness in these beautiful pursuits. The stand supporting the body underneath the right underarm, also signify how earthly roots how we need to be grounded despite in such a holy world.

Her head and her left shoulders are fading most likely signifying the loss of the individual self and identity in the endless pursuit of material satisfaction. The centaur looking figure at the top right hand corner of the image with his back facing the woman might signify the lack of social support in this new industrial age. Everyone is together physically but not socially. The laggards would only be left behind with the passing of time.

The trees on the clouds signify the reality in this abstractness. Reality right now might seem like a dream but it is impending if nothing is done to prevent it.

However I might not be accurate in trying to portray what the artist originally meant. But I guess that is where he is successful in his surrealistic portrait. The image is so well drawn, that it resembles a photograph. The artist is a genius in his work and social insight.

Assignment 4: Urban Fantasy/Surrealism (Take 1)

2008-09-28T06:27:00.000-07:00

This week's assignment was on Surrealism and the theme was Urban Fantasy/Urban Phenomena.

My interpretation of Urban Fantasy was magic in an urban real world. Hence the first thing that came to mind was Disney's Princesses. I wanted to use them to portray consumerism in society. Snow White came to mind first. I used the Apple iPod to replace the poisoned apple that killed Snow White. The song playing on the iPod is 'Toxic' by Britney Spears but it seemed to small to be noticed but I generally wanted to use current brands to portray consumerism and using the princesses's signature scenes to beautify it.

However I am disappointed with my picture. It seemed to lack the wow factor. And I think it looked alittle boring and abstract for some people.

Final Picture!

Snow White

Picture Breakdown:

Here is the second picture for this assignment. I call it Cinderella because she inspired this picture. I originally wanted to put both Snow White and Cinderella together in one picture but I worry and think that it might be too messy. Hence I decided to seperate them. I think what I am missing is a clock or something that is more significant for Cinderella.

Cinderella

Picture Breakdown:

Assignment 3

2008-09-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

For this assignment, we were to portray certain techniques through our photographs.

Perspective

Aperture: f/4 Shutter Speed: 1/13 sec ISO: 1600 Focal Length: 17mm

This shot makes the bridge looks longer than usual. However I think this picture lacks something to elongate at the centre.

Zoom Shot
Aperture: f/22 Shutter Speed: 2 sec ISO: 200 Focal Length: 17mm

This is a shot of the newly erected Christmas tree at the top of Vivocity.

Close Up
Aperture: f/14 Shutter Speed: 1/160 sec ISO: 800 Focal Length: 60mm

This was taken at the Botanic Gardens with a 70-200mm lens.

High Key

Aperture: f/29 Shutter Speed: 1/20 sec ISO: 200 Focal Length: 38mm

This was taken at the new NUS Guild House. It was one of 10 short white statues against a white wall.

Low Key
Aperture: f/4 Shutter Speed: 1/100 sec ISO: 400 Focal Length: 135mm

This is my favourite shot so far. Using a 70-200mm lens, this shot was taken at night on the roof top of Esplanade building. I took multiple shots but only a few turned out well. This is one of the very few that turned out good.

After all the technical aspects of photography, we were given our very first conceptual photography assignment this time round too. The theme: Symbolic of the Sun.

Symbolic of the Sun
Aperture: f/32 Shutter Speed: 1/160 sec ISO: 800 Focal Length: 60.0 mm

Basically I wanted to use a common tool, the umbrella, to depict that we not only use them during rainy weathers but also under a bright hot sunny day also. The umbrella symbolises the Sun, and the rain.

Assignment 2B: CNM class activities

2008-09-11T07:30:00.000-07:00

Aperture: f/4.6 Shutter Speed: 1/30 sec ISO: 400 Focal Length: 17.0 mm

Aperture: f/5.0 Shutter Speed: 1/30 sec ISO: 400 Focal Length: 17.0 mm

Aperture: f/4.6 Shutter Speed: 1/30 sec ISO: 400 Focal Length: 17.0 mm

Aperture: f/5.0 Shutter Speed: 1/30 sec ISO: 400 Focal Length: 17.0 mm

Aperture: f/6.4 Shutter Speed: 1/30 sec ISO: 400 Focal Length: 53.0 mm

Basically these are my 5 best shots from the class activity. It was Miss Jing's NM2208 class on Monday 12-2.

Overall I think the problem encountered was the space. The classroom constraint our movement. We could not move around and take pictures without interrupting their discussions held at the back and front of the class simultaneously. Furthermore the majority of the crowd is seated quite a distance from the presenter therefore there are some difficulties encountered trying to capture both the audience and the presenter into one picture. Thus framing problems were encountered.

Most of my pics are taken from the front because I was in a corner and trying not to interrupt the class discussion with my movements, I took most of my shots there. Most of the shots see people walking up close to the boards and discussing among themselves. These were taken after the class when they were allowed to walk around to discuss and view other people's work.

The lighting was rather bad as well. Hence much was done to the pictures to bring out a better contrast. I also wanted to put in more emotions into the pictures, hence my best 5 shots show a form of emotion.

Assigment 2A

2008-08-30T22:31:00.000-07:00

This week we were taught the uses of the Aperture and the Shutter Speed for taking pictures. They are also interdependent, as in, when one gets bigger, the other becomes smaller to complement the light coming into the camera.

Like 'The Fan' below, to capture a motion blur, the shutter speed has to be slow. While to freeze an action like freezing the rain drops in 'Droplets', we just need to increase the shutter speed.

The Fan

Motion Blur

Aperture: f/7.1 Shutter Speed: 1/4 sec ISO: 200 Focal Length: 35.0 mm

Droplets

Freeze Action

Aperture: f/5.6 Shutter Speed: 1/200 sec ISO: 800 Focal Length: 85.0 mm

Regarding the use of apertures, the size of aperture depicts the depth of field of the image. For example, a wider aperture would give rise to a shallow depth of field, such as the one in the first 'The Orchid (I)' image. On the other hand, a smaller aperture would lead to a deeper depth of field, showing a much sharper image at the background. 'The Orchid (II)' is one such example.

The Orchid (I)

Shallow Depth of Field

Aperture: f/5.6 Shutter Speed: 1/80 sec ISO: 800 Focal Length: 66.0 mm

The Orchid (II)

Deep Depth of Field

Aperture: f/20 Shutter Speed: 1/6 sec ISO: 800 Focal Length: 66/0 mm

Assignment 1: Basic Elements

2008-08-24T00:46:00.000-07:00

Our very first assignment was to capture the five basic elements, Shapes, Color, Texture, Lines and Form, in school compound. Hence after travelling far and wide, and taking lots of pictures, these are my five final shots.

As expected, everyone will end up shooting the same/similar objects to portray each of the individual elements. Hence I was brainstorming hard how to do it without any one else's work being similar to mine. Therefore I went hunting for a smooth surface for Texture.

Texture

Venue: NUS University Hall

Aperture: f/5.6 Shutter Speed: 1/100 sec ISO: 200 Focal Length: 85.0 mm

I am quite happy with this picture but I think I could do better with the composition to make it look smoother and more liquid looking.

Shapes

Venue: NUS Guild House

Aperture: f/5.0 Shutter Speed: 1/1250 sec ISO: 200 Focal Length: 44.0 mm

I knew I had to capture this for Shapes as soon as I laid my eyes on it. The composition of the image is to focus mainly on the bigger triangle at the centre then you fan out to view the other shapes surrounding it.

Lines

Venue: Science Faculty

Aperture: f/29 Shutter Speed: 1/30 sec ISO: 400 Focal Length: 85.0 mm

I like this picture the most because this is somewhat abstract in portraying Lines. Not many people agree with me using this picture, some said it is not considered as lines while some said there is too much white space on the top of the picture. However, I personally feel like the entire point of art is its abstractness and not everyone would like what they see and furthermore i think the white space at the top makes the picture look better as well.

Form

Venue: NUS University Hall (inside)

Aperture: f/5.6 Shutter Speed: 1/4 sec ISO: 400 Focal Length: 85.0mm

This picture was taken within the building. I am not very sure what this object is but I liked it because it screamed Form when I saw it. It took me awhile to get down to taking this picture because I was hoping to see something else that portrayed the element Form. This picture was painstakingly difficult to take as well. It was on the ceiling and my shaking hands did not help either.

Personally I find Form to be the most challenging element to take.

Color

Venue: NUS University Hall

Aperture: f/5.6 Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec ISO: 200 Focal Length: 78.0 mm

I was initially trying to capture Texture when I took this picture and thought to myself that this is a good representation of Color. The color of NUS is blue and orange and therefore what better color to portray NUS but the orange Coi's in the water. This was another difficult picture to take because the fishes swam away whenever they see me approaching. This is the best shot.

Blog Excercise: 1

2008-08-17T22:48:00.000-07:00

I'm not too sure how to interpret pictures. For me generally, if the picture is composed of good lighting, colors, sharp image then it is a good picture. The depth involved in pictures might be too abstract for me but I shall try cos I'm very impressed with artists who put in alot of effort and emotion into their art works.

World Press Photos

For this competition, I am more interested in the stories than the individual pictures. I wondered what kind of stories they could tell with the pictures they have. And to my amazement it was jus a series of photos that represent a certain story/ an issue they would like the world to know about. A picture speaks a thousand words and as a phtographer, they chose to represent such controversial issues for a global event like this. I'm impressed.

Anyways as I was saying I liked the "People in the news: 2nd prize stories". The images portray a certain sense of despair and it's calling out for help. It shows the plight they are in and the captions further explains and tells the story. I like how the pictures are captured. The color composition and the whole gloomy and yet bright look of the pictures are just amazing. It gives a very hopeful feeling to me when I see them.

I also liked the pictures from "Contemporary issues: 2nd prize stories". It is about how some people are speaking out about their sexual violations from people around them. How keeping quiet is no longer an option and they are now lending their voices to give suport to other victims and raise awareness to people who might underextimate the damage these crimes of abuse can be.

I liked another one which was quite gloomy it's from "

Away from the darkness of humanity or modernisation, I also liked this series of photographs from "Sports action: 2nd prize stories". I liked how the pictures are shot and especially the one with the tennis ball and a blurry image of a hand lifting it into the air. I also liked another picture of a female long jump. The image was impressive. This series of photographs were very symmetrical and truly showed the beauty and grace of these sports. The content of this series might be the reason why it came in second behind the bungee jumping series. Cos these are everyday sports common to people while the other one is something different, and might be unknown to some. It had a more educated and out of the box idea going on. Which is what art is all about also. Which is creativity that makes your work stand out and different from others.

Away from the stories categories, I also liked another picture from the Nature category. I liked all the 3 winners of this category. I personally like animals in still shots. They are just beautiful. I like the second prize winner the one with a polar bear. I thought it was a little saddening to see the polar bear slumped like that on his own grounds. The image seemed very doomed to me. I feel sorry for the polar bears and yet helpless in his plight. I like pictures of nature especially in places far away from civilisation untainted with concrete structures of mankind. I am deeply concerned with how our actions are killing the creatures and damaging the environment. Hence I think if the damage goes on, then images like these would no longer be available. Hence STOP POLLUTION!!!

Arte Laguna

I liked the first prize winner. I thought it's a very well thought out picture. Amazed with his photographic skills and ideas. However I also liked the second and the third winners. The Second prize winner's pictures looked very portrait-like. Very artistically done and also abstract. I liked this image the most cos of the symmetry involved and the meaning behind it. I'm not sure if I am right with the underlying meaning of the image but I thought it felt like she was trying to say that the protagonist, the woman in black, is accompanied by a pure soul (her moral self) and she steps on the darkness of this world(the demon beneath her right leg) and the two globes attached to her seemed to represent the duality of reality and the inner self(a sphere that reflects her like a mirror). She is constantly trying to balance between what the world wants her to be and who she is deep within. This tug of war shows how conflicted she is between good and evil.

I also personally like the third winner for this competition. Like how he place the girl at different parts of the train station and how the train stops at the end of the picture. It showed fluidity, a moving sequence even though it is on a still picture. And the completion of her wait. Love the way the artist seamlessly put the shots together, something I seriously need to master.

Digital Camera Photographer of the Year 2008

When I was shown the picture of Martha, I was shocked, astounded, in awe of the clash of beauty and horror. The picture totally portrayed the meaning of modern day's perception of beauty. How we all deem thin to be beautiful and how many people, the young especially, are starving themselves to look BEAUTIFUL. To want to lead the lives of the glamorous and fame and fortune. Earth shattering piece.

I also like the 3rd place 'Everybody Hurts' picture. So simple and clear. So cute.

The landscapes are jus too surreal. It gives a sense of falsity, like how isit possible to capture something like that. It could be the technique the artist used but wonder how much is actually not photoshoped.

I personally like the 'White Tiger' alot. It captured the beauty and beastility of the White Tiger. An endangered species. It looked like it is pounching out of the picture to eat us or something. So pure and beautiful.

I also like the 'Sunset' in the Botanical section. So gorgeous! Too beautiful for words. The timing was great and the angle was interesting. Never thought of looking from that angle. It looked so raw and unedited unlike the 'Small but Beautiful' and 'Autumn Leaf'.

Overall, I love all the pictures in all 3 websites. I inspire to be like them one day. A man driven by creativity and passion to speak through images and inspire others to action regarding certain issues.

NM3223 Blog

2008-08-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

Hi all I'm Lim Hern Khoon aka Kern. I used this blog previously for the NM2208 module and since it is ok to reuse this for NM3223, I decided to reuse it. However to make the blog neater, I removed all the previous NM2208 stuff so now it is purely NM3223! haha

Oh photography is somehting new to me so it's interesting to see what kind of works I can produce... Hopefully it is nice enough haha... I think it is very easy to tell the character of the person through his works so read and understand me through these pictures! haha

Sushi/Swakoo tee design

2008-07-20T09:52:00.000-07:00

Was asked to design something for my OG's tee shirt. We were called Sushi so I drew a sushi with spectacles (this is in response to the new name for arts Orientation week, we were called Swakoo) So here are some images. The heart on the third picture was designed by a fren. Jus incorporating her design onto mine.

Logo

2008-07-19T09:56:00.000-07:00

My own logo...

Competition (part 2)

2008-07-18T09:48:00.000-07:00

More pictures for the competition. I think my use of photoshop improved alittle while doing these pictures. I also applied some of the things I learnt from NM2208 like abstraction and such.

Competition

2008-07-18T09:42:00.000-07:00

Participated in some competition for a contact lens cover design. Here are some of the pictures I submitted.

EMO (part 2)

2008-06-18T10:07:00.000-07:00

Emo

2008-06-18T09:58:00.000-07:00

Me Myself n I (Retake)

2008-04-05T23:19:00.000-07:00

I am Kern n I like my eyes

The EYE

2008-03-28T22:01:00.001-07:00

jus some random sketches... which is better? black or white?

Assignment 4: Save, Prevent, Kill (final product)

2008-03-22T22:37:00.000-07:00

ok i think this is e final product unless i got time n is able to redo it... which i hav an idea on wat to do already...

Random stuff

2008-03-21T04:05:00.000-07:00

Assignment 5: Love Card (colors)

2008-03-21T02:46:00.000-07:00

YAY finally able to crop the image haha... here is e final size n shape i wan it to be now i gotta go learn how to put it onto an A4 paper thing...

Assignment 5: LOVE (Part 2)

2008-03-19T02:29:00.001-07:00

Ok it seems like the MAJORITY likes the cupid comic strip... so I think i'll jus work on it n here it is redrawn... hopefully its better =) cos usually i cant replicate the art a second time...

Ok i think i know why the resolution is not as sharp... Before I print it out i saved the image in paint n stuff... can someone hele me with this problem?

someone?

Assignment 5: Love

2008-03-17T09:04:00.000-07:00

The objective of this week is Color. Using colors to show your message. And the theme this week is "LOVE".

I embark on this week's assignment not wanting to use too much red or pink. I then thought of using 2 different colored papers to for a checkered weave with the words printed on it. However I think i made a mistake when weaving it or something so it didnt turn out as expected so i'll be using this week to improve on my work and hopefully it'll be better. This is my fav one of the two so I'll use this and work on it.

Ok since we are supposed to present 2 cards this week, I decided to draw a comic strip. However, when i scanned it, some of the lines were not visible and this caused me to paint the entire thing in PINK! haha i m not very skilled with photoshop or illustrator so i jus tried to edit it as much as possible and this is a glimpse of wat it should be.

I created one more but I heard from someone that it looked familiar, like maybe someone has seen the card some where before or something. Therefore i decided to not present it in class. But it basically meant that 'U make my love complete' or something like that. Anyways here is how it looked like... (the inside is supposed to hav a jigsaw piece but i didnt hav the time to draw it so i only have the outside)

Carry on! COMMENT!!!

Assignment 4: Save, Prevent, Kill

2008-03-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

Ok this week's assignment is to create a poster using themes like "Save the Earth" or "Prevent Aids" etc. So I didnt want to do something environmental like trees or pollution etc... So i decided to do something on 'Abortion' or 'Sex'.

I then decided to use ALL 3 words, 'Save Babies, Prevent Abortion, Kill The Urge'. I wanted to use a baby doll, a used condom and a pacifier and place them beside a black trash bag to signify the abandoning of the babies n stuff... and also everything else would be in black and white except for the 3 items to signify isolation and despair. However i can only find a barbie doll instead of a baby doll at home and thus decided to change the idea into "Save Yourself, Prevent Mistakes, Kill The Urge". The use of a gal walkin away shows that its to target young girls to show them that they can have the power to say 'No' and to prevent the risk of getting either pregnant or sexually transmitted diseases.

The class mentioned that the 3 items are not obvious enough (blend into the background) and also that the words/captions are too fixed at the corners (read off the page) . Another thing is there are too many words used (cluster).

However, the idea didnt translate well onto the product thus the very perfectionist ME decided to use another concept to show despair. I wanted to show 'the loss of a fren due to stupid mistakes' hence i decided to use a burning pic with nice memories(in black and white at the background) to show loss and nothing I do can reverse time.

The class responded that the caption 'Prevent Loss' does not coincide with the burning pic. This might be the fact that I was once again being too abstract for my own good. Using pass experiences unknown to people thye might not get my idea. They said the poster looks more like a 'Prevent Fire' poster to raise awareness of the dangerous red flame.

In conclusion, I will work and improve on the 'Abortion' concept and hopefully I can make it work!

Assignment 3: U C What I C

2008-03-03T07:02:00.000-08:00

OK here are the 10 frames in sequence... hopefully you can see the story and the twist...

Ok hope u DIDN'T expect it and hope you liked the story haha... ok i think i could do better with the 'fake' blood... was gonna use red paint but was afraid of break out on the face so i changed to ketchup... n yes the skinny legs are my fren's haha... well the class didn't say much about the pics so i assume everything is fine other than the inconsistent blood haha

overall, i'm very happy with my work and i'll try to improve if necessary

so kern out

2nd Assignment: Abstraction

2008-02-17T21:30:00.000-08:00

Tick Tock... ok here is my 2nd assignment... not very impressed with it myself but I m still liking it since I'm amazed that I could have something like this from such a complicated clock haha...

ok the initial plan was to choose something extraordinary or something complicated so there will be alot of stages for the abstraction... so I decided to choose this clock over my KuKu bird clock since its alittle tough to draw with e bird stickin out n stuff... (ok tat jus didnt sound rite)

N when I drew this it was e nite before submission so I was cramming Singapore Society into my head n stuff n drawing this... so I'm sorry but tats why I was so sloppy for this assignment... I promise this wouldn't happen again... i mean this is a learning blog rite? haha ok so tat pretty much explains e huge jump from e 2nd -3rd sketch... I know its not a good excuse for it but its true...

eh basically e comments i received were pretty similar, 1) to put mroe emphasis on the pendulum cos tats wat distinguishes it from other kinds of clocks. 2) to make to progression smoother by adding more in between skecth 2-3. 3) some also mentioned to put e square face instead to give it a more grandfather clock feel.

All very good constructive suggestions for me so yea will try to improve further and make it work!

ok Ku Ku (Clock) Kern times out

Week 5 (tutorial): Final Products

2008-02-11T04:22:00.000-08:00

After struggling much with Illustrator and Photoshop, I decided to heed my friend's advice by using the pen tool from Illustrator. It was tedious but I did get the effect I wanted and I'm satisfied with the product so here it is...

Hate to be Alone

I didn't want to overdo it and wanted to have the pencil effect on but didn't know how. So i decided to just stick with black and white to give it the 'lonely' effect. The class was generally OK with the product and some mentioned that its good enough already. Although I still receive comments for being too abstract, but I can't think of any other better changes or way to better illustrate my loneliness. Some also wasn't a big fan of the 'swing' (which was newly added on the second draft).

I Love cats

I do not know how to use the color and background functions, therefore I decided to go simple and stick to black and white to emphasise the feline with a spot light around the cat. A fellow tutorial mate mentioned that she liked the cat because it looked sexy and nice. That in case people didn't know was what I was trying to show in my drawings. That one of the reasons I like cats is the sexiness they have in their fluid movements and posture.

I'll try to experiment with Illustrator and photoshop to improve my work in the future.

Till next time,

ciao ciao

Assignment 1: Me, Myself and I (part 2)

2008-02-02T20:39:00.000-08:00

After tutorial:

I didn't want to use the typical Loves and Hates like 'I love animals' or 'I hate dogs' so I decided to go into the whole 'I hate to be alone' and 'I hate myself' direction. Some pretty abstract stuff but I just want something different from everyone else.

I Hate to be ALONE (1)

The initial draft of 'I hate being alone' was just purely using objects to form my name which was pretty tough and abstract like what some commented. My name was formed with the lamppost representing a 'K' with e umbrella, myself (a stick figure) as 'E', the cat as 'R' and the car as 'N'. Julian commented that the idea might be too abstract, and that people might not be able to see my name and the idea behind it.

Thus after spending the rest of the friday outside, the idea of using shadows of trees to form my name hit me. The initial idea was 'I love shadows' since I still lack a 'Love' sketch, however, the drawing grew and I decided to make it into another 'I hate to be alone' sketch.
I Hate to be ALONE (2)
The critics for it were that the name 'KERN' was not obvious enough but overall it received pretty good feedback. Some suggested that i add the birds or leaves only on the branches forming my name. Although I didn't add the animals or leaves to ALL the letters, but i did incorporate the idea and added on some to make it seem more realistic. In this draft/sketch, i also added a swing in the picture to make it seem more lonely. The swing is to represent the loneliness of the guy waiting for his friend to return. And I'm going to use just black and white to show the despondence of being alone.

I'm ashamed to say it, but despite all the warnings of not to have a 'love at first sight' phenomenon for our initial sketches, I still did for my tree sketch. Another reason why I had more 'I hates' than 'I loves' could be attributed to the sucky weekend I had. Something which I shouldn't dwell into since this blog is purely for academic purposes. So to sum things up, I was jus being emo over the weekend.

After doing so many 'I hates', I decided that its time to work on some 'I loves'. This time other than Victoria Beckham and being under the spotlight, I was stumped. I just can't think of what I really really love that separates me from the rest. So I decided to just start on something simple like, 'I love cats'. Although I might not LOVE them but i still prefer cats over dogs.

The second drawing with the cat on all fours is based on this cat image on my friend's jacket. I decided to use the idea and make it my own. The first image is purely my own. It didn't look like this initially but i decided to improve on it and this is e final sketch of it.

This is a more refined version of my initial drafts for 'I love cats'. The reason why I like cats is because of their grace and beauty. I think i represented these qualities into my drawing and my name, 'KERN' forms the body and tail of the feline.

I Love Cats (1&2)

Some of the critics I received are that the second cat i drew might look more like a 'I hate cat' than a 'I love cat' and the tail seemed awkward 'R' representing it. Thus i decided to further refine my cat in the first drawing and make it look more tamed, majestic and manly and use the letter 'N' as the tail instead in both drawings. Another comment was that the first few drafts of the first cat image, didn't look very much like a cat but maybe a rat or kangaroo. Thus i incorporated these comments and I'm most probably going to use the first cat and the tree drawings for the final refinements on adobe and photoshop.

Ok so since the sketches are out, the next thing would be to transfer them into the matrix of 1s and 0s.

So till then
ciao ciao.

Assignment 1: Me, Myself and I (part 1)

2008-02-02T09:01:00.000-08:00

Design process: When given the assignment, I had lots of ideas going through my head. I wanted to be different and yet not too abstract. Thus I kept on generating ideas that I could use my name, KERN, to create.

I wanted to use Posh Spice or Victoria Beckham to form my name (since i Love her), use my name and form a butterfly, cat, eyes, to be lost in a crowd, depict loneliness and one which is pretty extreme, 'I hate myself'.

From all the sketches, I chose two that I like and I created more sketches to refine its look.

To be continued...