Youth Category, Honourable Mention

Caption
I desire and hoped to be remembered for the excellence I put in my craft. When people see these images, not only does it look good in colours, but it takes courage, patience, and discernment to produce a beautiful canvas filled with organic emotions.

Inspirations

• Tell us more about what inspired your entry?
  My habits when shooting streets is preferably using a tight telephoto lens (70-200mm) for a less confrontation shot. But on that day I decided to attempt something unusual, which is to photograph using a single focal length 45mm, that really forced me out of my comfort.


• How does your entry connect to you personally to the theme This Is My Story?
  To find freshness in the mundane, attempt to recreate something that’s out of the norm. These shots are my reattempt to go closer and nearer to the subjects really upclose and personal just like confrontational photography. It demonstrates my growth as a photographer in being more daring and confident.


• Was there any external inspiration behind your shot that you have used as reference?
  No external inspiration, all shots were taken in the moment of spontaneity. The techniques used were silent shutter and LCD viewfinder, to be as unassuming and discrete as possible.


• Why did you think that a series of photos would work better than a single photo?
  I choose to use a series as I prefer using more photos to set a context of the story, every photo is unified with a common focal which is the ‘people’ interacting with one another.


• How did the use of post-processing enhance the storytelling ability of your entries?
  It has helped me to eliminate colors there are distracting while retaining colours that are complementary and soothing to the eyes. Post processing shouldn’t be taken as the absolute determinant factor for a good photo, it is also about the emotions and composition.


• If you had the chance to retake your shot(s), what would you do differently?
  I would have dedicated my focus in developing the characters of the first picture. Just staying focus in documenting one individual.

About the Photographer

• When, how, and why did you get into photography?
  Secondary 3 I started photography, and my mother bought me my first DSLR Canon 60D. But I never really took this hobby seriously, until mid 2018 when I sustained a left humerus fracture which left me immobilized for 2-3 months, my morale was at an all time low then I felt lousy about myself too, so I decided to try going back to photography to find meaning and purpose. I never looked back since. It had to happen.


• Do you define yourself by any particular style(s) of photography? If so, what are they and why?
  My editing style of photography is low to medium contrast, I like to see a lot of fine details in my images. My to-go baseline settings will be -100 highlights and +50 shadows. Then I will decide what form of editing will best accentuate the photo. There is no one size fits all pre-set I follow. I shoot a blend of everything, from portraits, weddings, streets, urban and night photography, I do not confine myself to a particular genre, keeping my options open.


• How has your photographic journey been affected by COVID-19? Are you more inspired to take more photos? Have the restrictions hindered, or conversely enhanced your creativity?
  Precautionary measures do affect us somehow in the way we photograph subjects, for instance street photography can’t be done in close proximity now, we must adhere to the distancing rule. The thought of always thinking about complying to these measures also consumes some of our mental capacity hence it does restrict our ability to think freely.


• What are your photographic goals after Montage 2020?
  Continue to pursue photography in my own time as university rigour is intense. I’d find more time to grow in areas such as flash portrait photography, helping my peers to take professional headshots for linkedin profiles (i have a couple of requests already haha). So lighting is something I desire to venture more into, as it significantly adds into the outcome of a professional look then we just depend on ambient light and post production.