ACE | In search of light and darkness

ACE In Search Of Light And Darkness

DUC ANH NGUYEN

hi

i don’t always know how to explain what i do or why i do it

but,

maybe

it’s not meant to be explained

,

but to be felt

nevertheless, let’s give it a shot!

let’s talk a little bit about how i edit my photos. i have always been careful of how i crop my pictures. i remind myself over and over, that composition is king. Lebron is not, composition is. composition, composition, composition. everything else must come after.

in my photo library, i have thousands of images that i can’t share because i have failed to crop it, and it will probably forever remain on my phone, my camera, my computer, as a personal visual memory bank. either i was hasty when i took the photo or realizing my incapabilities to crop it to the impossible idea of perfection, it just can’t be shared. i would be too conscious about sharing any bad work. they shall not be posted or printed anywhere, mostly because they are not good enough. frankly, i am ashamed of how careless i was when i took them. just for just a second, though. mistakes must be forgiven.

so, what is the composition that i am looking for? the rule of third? the symmetry of elements? the playfulness of the objects? the internity dance between light and shadow? the organization of unexpected objects within the frame? i. don’t. know. but it just has to look right. in the back of my mind, i would have an idea of how i want people to read the image, listen to the image, feel the image. i want them to say wow. i want them to say that this photo is fire. i want them to go into silence and stare at my photo thinking of their time standing in front of the same building. i want them to suddenly feel empty, blank into the numbness of all their senses. i want them to feel how i feel when i was there, taking the photo, thinking of them. but then, this is where the contradiction begins. it is realistically impossible to tell the whole story through an image, or even a series of images. the story that is told through these images is coming from the storyteller. it is, even with the slightest touch, restructured, curated to the best version of that 2d image. the viewers were not there. they did not feel how chilly was the wind, how funny was a random drunk guy across the street yell out how much he loves life, or how distracting is the halal cart in the corner. they, simply, were not there. they will never feel exactly how i felt at the exact moment. therefore, what i should do isn’t conveying all of these real-life elements through some photos. but, maybe, i should make them aware that these images are highly curated, cropped to “perfection”, and left with an infinity of blank space around it. this is my way of telling my viewers, “ hey, this photo is just a tiny little fraction of all of the 3d, real-life awesomeness. so, please! please! please! feel the energy that i am transferring through these images, but don’t forget that there are more to this.

oh, i think the images are awesome, double tap that sh*t.”

stop here and finish r

then l

reading this sentence. wait 5 seconds.

let the journey begin.

this is not about light and shadow. this is about light and darkness, where one would eat another whole. they are both beautiful. alone. they are beautiful together. right or wrong. this relationship, just like every other delightful, adventurous, and elegant relationship is nicely contradicting. and that is why it is so god damn beautiful.

this is not about light and shadow. this is about light and darkness, where one would eat another whole. they are both beautiful. alone. they are beautiful together. right or wrong. this relationship, just like every other delightful, adventurous, and elegant relationship is nicely contradicting. and that is why it is so god damn beautiful.

i wanted you to stop. i wanted you to look at both pages, back and forth. i wanted your eyes to wander, your mind to run free, and your heart suddenly feel empty, but oddly full. and i sure hope you did.

say hi, drop a comment ducanhnguyen.ace@gmail.com instagram: ace.nda

thank you! and let’s keep in touch.