Assignment 3: Change - Photo Essay

Theme:

We live in a country where only thing which is constant is change.

Photo essay: Create 8 to 12 pictures essay on above theme. Select appropriate point of view which addresses the theme. eg.
- Economic changes and human condition
- Age, relations and rat race
- Geography and time
- Cultural invasion - unified world etc. etc.

Thing changes, but nothing changes.

my little sister (she's a real sweetie(: ) made a scrapbook for my birthday last yr, if i can post it online i would really do so to boast it to all of you :) but anyway, i was flipping through it (again!) when i saw the phrase in the book "Things changes, but nothing changes." It was meant to show no matter how fast we grow up and move in separate paths, we'll always have the love we have when we were young. it touches me very deeply, and inspired me to work around this theme.

initially, i wanted to do a "documentary" depiction of the growth from kids to teenagers to adults to the elderly, with the constancy of the presence of love for each other. the love mentioned here represents siblings love. the plan was to have 2 kids holding hands looking out into the sea. the feel should be a soft, peaceful and comfortable one, without any noise, disruption; just them and the calm sea. the next photo would be of 2 youths, holding hands, standing at the similar place, in the same position, holding hands. repetitively, 2 adults and 2 aged people will be doing the same thing. i really love this theme, but it wasn't carried out in the end, which makes me quite sad. the only problem is getting the 2 kids, without which this whole photo essay would lose its meaning. so anyway :( it didn't work out. am just posting it here to make myself feel better.

yes, so this is my finalised photo essay. i'm equally happy with it as with the concept i had in the beginning. so yes, all's well :)

in this series, i'm depicting that while things around them (the old generation/people) changes, becomes distorted and corrupted, modernized and in a sense, scary, these lovely old people still stay the same. they go through their lives as usual, doing what pleases them, not being affected to join the ugly races that this new world has created. i have also inserted photos of things that are gradually lost over time, such as the coffee flask+sock, the ancient incense paper burner, the letter box made out of red old plastic container, the temple which no one visits anymore (with its gates closed always, yet a pious old lady would without fail place 3 incense sticks there daily).

F/6.3, 1/20, 18mm

F/4, 1/40, 20mm

1/60, F6.3, 31mm

F4.2, 1/60, 30mm

F4.5, 1/30, 32mm

F8, 1/80, 18mm

F4.2, 1/50, 28mm

F4.2, 1/50, 30mm

F4.5, 1/30, 26mm

F4.5, 1/60, 34mm

F4.8, 1/30, 35mm

i took alot of time and effort to do this assignment :) proud of myself! haha. the first was the trip to the market. i didn't sleep the night before just so i can wake up at 630am to make my way to the market. i can't even wake up early enough to reach class on time :/ so yes.

i went to take some photos of the aunties practicing qi-gong/martial arts. however, the photos didnt turn out well as i was late and missed the class. (can you believe it they started at 530am?!) but the auntie was very cute! she kept wanting to pose for me haha. i requested for 2shots of her doing her qi-gong, but she insisted to stand really near the camera, "bi jiao hao kan lah," she said. hahaha so in the end i took them to please her:), and even say she's pretty 'cos she said she's old already:(

walked a bus-stop dist to the market nearby..it's at ginza (if you know where it is, it's very near sch!). i was very scared actually, i had never taken photos of people and movements, and i'm not skilled enough to be able to take good voyeuristic photos haha. anyway i tried to take some secretive photos, turned out bad though. but i kept one of the for my presentation (backview of old man with towel ard his neck), not particularly cos it's a good photo or anytg. it was overexposed in fact. but it reminds me of the fond candid moment that commence my heartwarming morning at the market. the old man suddenly turned around and said "hor hor! ni tou pai wo de zao!" (tsk,tsk, you are secretly taking my photo!") haha so adorable right! he said it with a mischevious grin, that of a li'l kid. and i do like the feel of the photo, the way he looks out into the market (and at his wife in the background tending the store), the way his presence contrasts with the concrete floor of the slightly more modern wet-market. it represents how things change, but some things just stay the same (i.e. the old man and his passion for his meat stall/his relationship with his wife).

it was really a heartwarming morning at the wet market. i intended to stay only for an hour or so, but in the end i was there till 12pm, and thus i missed the chess session at the block opposite. didn't matter tho, 'cos this is really the best photo-taking moment i had. (yes i know i keep repeating that haha) the happy old man (the old man mentioned before) announced my presence to everyone around the market with his twinkly laughter, and he brought me to his best friend's stall :) he was selling pork too (see the lack of competition in them!), and i was asked to take him posing with his meat haha. he then led me to the stall selling preserved and dried products like herbs, sausages etc. (the bright photo with a red shirt auntie) the colours, the lighting and the light-hearted auntie fills the photo with happiness and energy. p/s: she even wants me to be her daughter-in-law, she told her brother! haha. i understand hokkien leh auntie heh :) it was really sweet, it feels warm and fuzzy, tho i just got to know her.

then i was linked and brought around from one stall to another, i really covered every stall in the whole market, thrice. haha. the chicken seller said he wants me to take him assembling his chicken meat, saying he understands i need the natural element in my photo, really appreciate him alot! i particularly like the old clock, the alter and the red light it emits, the red banner, the fa-gao(some pastry presented to worship the god) in the background. it shows how the tradition always stays, as long as one believes in it, and they do.

other photos chosen from the market-day are the ones i call window into his never-changing life and the egg seller in the first photo, the small gap is the only view he has of the whole market. in that manner he works everyday, looking out only when customers come, working in his own world. it is a window INTO HIS life because i want to depict that while things change around, one can always find solace in looking into his life (just like the rest of the elderly), just like i did. the egg buyer was chosen cos my mum made the comment that she likes it alot :) and especially so cos this scene reminds her of her past as a kid, when this type of 'choose-your-own-eggs' stalls are still around. i'm really glad to have stumbled onto it :)

i also witnessed the scaling of fishes, more shocking, the killing of fishes as tall as me (bloood omg). the fishmonger also introduced me fishes that are yummy, how to cook them, and also this super special fish that only has one side, so it has 2 eyes on one side, and the other is pure white it is so shocking my tummy sank. (YES it exists! but i did not take any photo of it cos the auntie was v engrossed in telling me the folktale of the fish haha - ask me if you're interested!) so my day (yes my day, cos i went back and slpt like a pig) ended with a cup of tea and 2 eggs, which i ate in very bleary eyes but precious experience :)

1 day later, i realised im still lacking of photos from other aspect of un-change. i wanted photos of old men at chess, so my mum was so sweet to drive me to an aging hougang area (where the horrid fire accident happened), where i found my cobbler too! my mum warned me about the old people there, saying they are slightly more cranky so don't intrude too much. frankly speaking, i wasn't afraid, cos of my pleasant marketing experience :) i asked my mum to walk ard first while i take my photos. when she returned i was chatting amicably with all the uncles haha. only one of them refused to be in the shot, while the rest are very encouraging. they tell me which angle nicer, who more handsome, what are the games they are playing. it's so heartwarming to see them acting so warm, without wearing any guards or artificial emotions. even tho the world ard them has changed, so much so that everyone has their guards up almost all the time, and most of the time smiles are not as sincere as it is.. these lovely people stay the same way as they are, pure, sincere. in order not to alarm them unnecessarily, i gave a cause for my photo-taking - to depict old traditions that are dying out. sadly, their conversation reached the topic when one said (in hokkien) "take me, before i die out too.." it really breaks my heart, and to tell the truth i almost teared there and then. they are wary of the changes ard them after all, i'm just so proud of them to be able to lead the life they want to despite all these.

my mum then drove me to selegie rd, where it was a path into another world. those who have been there i'm sure you know what i mean :) neverending rows of trees, incense sticks on the sand, old playgrounds, letter"box".. which i took some of them to depict things that are gradually fading away from our lives, being replaced by modern inventions. however, they still exist in this small part of the world i've found.

i dropped by the farm, (owned by my mum's friend. there's horse and goats and chickens check it out if you're passing by there!) and took many photos of old charcoal stove, coffee flask+sock, trishaw, kitchen, etc. after that, i ended my trip with a visit at the deserted temple, whereby though the gates are closed, a pious old lady would still offer incense sticks daily. it is touching how such small actions usually overlooked by us are of so much importance to them who still believes, and thus for them, nothing changes.

yes i know this is an extremely long entry, and it's like a dear diary kind of text. but i really do want to bring you (if anyone is reading this i hope!) on the learning journey i've been on. it's so heartwarming, so eye-opening, i want to share it. hopefully it is for you too :)

feedback:
following are 2 other photos that i printed out, but was unsure whether to replace the 2 similar ones presented in class. made my decision not to do so after feedback :)


the chinese words in the 1st cobbler photo gives a better authentic, traditional feel.


this photo shows more of competitive chess, livelier, as one of my classmates commented. i do feel so too, and thus was quite lost as to which photo to choose. however after their comments, and my sister's comment that the 1st presented photo presents more of patience, i decided that it suits my theme more. so yes, thanks for helping! :)


evaluation:

yikang's work is the one that kept tugging for my attention throughout the whole presentation. (ever felt the urge to keep looking at a photo?) it exudes a mysterious feel, and seems to whisper that there's more going on in the photos and i have to take another look, and yet another closer look at them. he is effective in using depth to create the sense of viewer's presence in the scene itself. as i had commented in class, i really did feel like i was right there at the place, looking back at him staring back blankly. it is creepy to an extent, and sad too, cos i can feel the overwhelming decay and the life that it once held. and it does not disappoint, for upon closer look we can see yikang holding different objects, representative of the meaning of the place to him and his fellow pjc friends. the photos do bring a mellow feel to me, and im sure to many other viewers too.

i think he deserves a 9/10 (cos of the darkness of the photos, some details are lost. but i do understand the lighting was really bad, and it's impressive he could even make such beautiful shots under such condition.)

using his work as a perfect 10 standard, i rate mine as 9/10. for capturing the moments, for the efforts to travel different places (mostly unexplored), to interact and learn from the experiences of my subjects rather than a usual snap-and-go. and to be able to see things through their eyes.