N A R R AT I V E REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
B E LY N D A W O N G 1602715C
photographed by Nguan
CONTENTS
OCL WEEK
– –––––––– 04
CONCEPT
–––––––– – 06
RESEARCH
––––––––– 14
INSPIRATIONS
– –––––––– 16
REFLECTION
– –––––––– 19
PROGRESS
– –––––––– 20
OCL WEEK Task 1 Research the work of 4 different narrative projects done by a well known published photographer. You can visit www.lensculture.com, www.magnumphotos.com, http://www.vice.com/photo, http://vimeo.com/paperisbeauty. Gather information and photographs and include in your research journals. Analyse the work of these photographers and think how these tell a story.
Task 2 Please watch episode of the genius of photography Ep4 – Paper Movies. The total playing time is of about 1 hour. After watching, please reflect on the different stories in the photographers’ projects in this film and also in the different styles and approaches used by these photographers. Do you find any similarities between you and them? What/ who do you feel more inspired by?
PHOTOGRAPHERS RESEARCHED ON
Sian Davey
William Klein
CONCEPTS:
brainstorming At the beginning, I went through four concepts and eventually settled on one regarding rushing and I wanted to title it The Human Race which had a play on the word “race”. To elaborate, I wanted to show a physical and emotional aspect to it. The physical part would’ve been portrayed by people rushing to catch the bus or squeezing into crowded trains, rushing to class or for assignments and also queues. The emotional aspect, I figured I could take the people’s expressions to these situations. For example, the nerves of waiting for the bus, the frustration on their faces after missing their bus/ train and what they do when they’re late or what they do as their backup plan.
#1
“Look at us. Running around, always rushed, always late. I guess that’s why they call it the human race.”
idea of people rushing in general Is it visual?
yes.
Is it practical?
yes because it is something I have to go through every day.
Do I know about it/ want to
yes.
know about it? Is it universal?
yes, I feel that it is universal because everyone has, one way or another rushed to get something done.
physical:
emotional:
•
rushing to catch the bus
•
•
rushing to class
the nerves of waiting for the bus that’s taking very long to come.
•
rushing for assignments
•
•
rushing to squeeze into the train
the frustration after not being able to squeeze in.
•
•
queuing for things
their backup plan— what they do when they can’t go through with their normal route.
•
the clumsiness/ carelessness that follows the rush of work.
CONCEPTS:
brainstorming The next concept I thought of was about a specific community and how it thrives. I wanted to document the community I grew up in because it is a place that not only I got to experience but also my parents when they were growing up. The community i chose is Yishun, Not only is it somewhere I’m familiar with but it is also a place that not many know much about unless you’ve lived in the area. I feel that it is really underrated and a lot of events have tarnished how people portray the place. Thus, I would like to show them how it really is.
#2ng
community & how it thrives: Yishun
Is it visual?
yes.
Is it practical?
yes because it is something I have to go through every day.
Do I know about it/ want to know about it? Is it universal?
Yishun: •
secondary school
•
wet market
•
coffee shop
•
houses in the neighbourhood
•
playground
•
4D shop (queue)
•
community centres
yes.
though this may sound like it is personal, I want to capture the essence of a community as a whole so it would be relatable to others
I was thinking that I could take some portraits of specific people e.g. the lady who owns the noodle shop which I always buy my favourite wanton mee from.
CONCEPTS:
brainstorming The third concept I thought of was of cleaners; not only in schools but at coffee shops, roadsides and even in shopping malls. I wanted to capture the behind the scenes, what these people that often go overlooked actually do & feel. I wanted to capture them out of their jobs as well, e.g. during break time or when they’re going home. Sometimes I see them while I’m on the way to school & I actually pass them more than once but every time they alight at the school bus stop, I would be confused wondering why they were there. I would’ve never thought that they were a cleaner if I didnt bump into one of them in the toilet in school.
#3ng cleaners: behind the scenes Is it visual?
yes.
Is it practical?
yes.
Do I know about it/ want to know
yes. I want to know more about
about it? Is it universal?
their lives in and out of work.
I feel that it is universal but it alos depends on how I portray each shot that will capture the audience’s attention.
capture them before work: I would’ve never thought that they were a cleaner if I didnt bump into one of them in the toilet in school.
capture them during work: examples include taking photos of them prepping their supplies, in action cleaning, during breaks etc.
capture them during break/ after work: take photographs of them resting, sleeping, having lunch/ dinner etc
CONCEPTS:
finalising and developing After some consultations and thinking, I settled on the concept of commuting. This concept was developed from the first brainstormed idea of people rushing. For commuting, I decided to target different stages — rushing, waiting, commuting and even sleeping on the transport. I was contemplating capturing the emotional aspect to commuting but decided against it due to time constraint.
FINAL:ng commuting
progress
CONCEPTS: research and inspiration
Inspirations: Bernard Russo- Face to Face
Bernard Russo uses the reflective surface of a wall outside the train stations to capture random people commuting but he waited there to get them at the exact moment they were symmetrical to their reflection. When I first started shooting, I found a good place to replicate such an image. That was City Hall MRT but unfortunately, the staff had asked me not to photograph anything. I think because its located in the CBD area, the security is extra tight.
Inspirations: Bruce Davidson- Subway Bruce Davidson’s style of approach people and snapping them as shown below, is something I admire. Much like William Klein, I aim to have their boldness when approaching street photography.
I N S P I R AT I O N : in general Sian Davey Sian Davey tends to capture very raw and candid photos, most of them are in the moment with the exception of a few that have the girls posing. However, even with them looking at the camera, she captures their genuine expressions and not fake smiles and peace signs that we see in the photos nowadays. She tends to capture very raw images of family and friends and these photos are also very intimate resulting in the story having more depth.
Nguan Nguan is by far one of my biggest inspirations and also my favourite photographer. His use of overexposure as well as the pink tints is something I tend to take away and use in my own work. As for my own project, I attempted to have some pink tint in it to give a more vibrant yet soft look and feel. The fact that he uses film also acts as an inspiration because I, myself am starting out on film too.
I N S P I R AT I O N : in general Sally Mann Sally Mann’s project on Immediate Family struck me because of the rawness and innocence that she had managed to capture. I learned that this project had recieved a lot of backlash as people saw it as child porn because of how revealing her children were being portrayed. However, I feel that because of the raw, innocent yet intimate way she photographed them, it showed us a different way of viewing childhood and family.
REFLECTION Narrative photography has given me a whirlwind of emotions. There have been times where I thought I was doing fine and other times when I realised I wasn’t performing up to mine and Isidro’s expectations. Sometimes consultations hit me hard because of how critical the comments were but I’ve learned to take them with a grain of salt as this is a glimpse into how the real world would be like. I actually enjoyed the outcome of my project though I’m not sure if Isidro would. The process was undoubtedly interesting as I’ve gotten told off many times by SMRT staff for taking photos in the premises and to add on I’ve even had an overstay fee charged to my ezlink card because of the amount of travelling there was. All in all, I feel that this was extremely relevant in teaching me the process of telling a story with my photos and to top it all off it made me realise the kind of photographer I’m leaning towards being.
PROGRESS
PROGRESS
first set of progress