A Quiet Sound

12 MORE DAYS

2009-09-15T11:09:00.000-07:00

Despite what most think, exactly because it is a private institution, it prides itself on taking things seriously. Waaaaay too seriously in my opinion.

Just in case, if you think is just a simple matter of outputing an animation (which is really not simple considering how indie animation film "9" took four years on a home computer for a graduate student), I have to also put these in order:

1. Development folder - this details my thought processes - how the idea grew, developed, took shape etc. Sketches, animatic poses, characters, landscape developments, mood board, colour tryouts etc also go in here. Other than detailing the creative processes, the main reason is really to ensure that I don't just rip off things off the Internet and other artists. Also, the proposal for the client - yes, typed out in full, not point form - will take centre stage here.

I just finished one A4 ring folder and I am not even half way through.

2. Packaging - since this THE project, and I am also doing it for a pseudo client - I will need to package it like in a real pitch. So this means cd casing, label and booklet - this is the very basic that I have to do. I could, of course be more creative, and also throw in bookmarks, pamphlets, stickers, info kits (Oh, character franchise!) etc except that I will have to justify the purpose of each communication medium, which means more work and less time to finish the animation.

3. Presentation slides - how nice if I can pluck in some ready made template and copy n paste some trash from the Internet! Wishful thinking there. Of course I mean to design something for the client, suit it to the theme, fit it in the main overall communication purpose, explain the concept, rationale, art direction, target audience BLAH BLAH BLAH.

ARGH.

Week 11 (what, already?!)

14/09 - 20/09
- Finished scene 5; scene 6 on the way (soon, soon!)
- Relook scene 2 and 4 (wah lau - this is like 50% of the main storyline)

Week 12 (last week)

21/09 - 27/09
- Stitch all scenes in premiere
- Fit in sound effects and music
- Print out allllllllllll my shit for development folder
- Mock up for cd packaging
- Prepare presentation slides

Instant fix: this totally made my day!

2009-09-07T01:35:00.000-07:00

Title: Where Peiling went on our picnic day?

Whahahahahahahahahahhahahahaa!!

uhoh - Week 10.

2009-09-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

Ok its week 10 now. *keeping an eye on panic levels*

Amazing - time really really really flies. But I am glad that it will all be over soon. That said, my progress is kinda - ahem* non-existent coz I am so distracted, restless and neh neh about this whole FMP thing. I am quite over it - letting it go already - and just trying not to look too far ahead but plod on till the end of it and just doing as much as I can. If I can't finish it - actually will have grace one lar! - then let it be then.

Quite chill. Plus I really don't like to sacrifice sleep over work. I like to sleep! *sulk*

Week 10 timeline:

1.composit scenes plus landscape development (oh yucks)
2. finish scene 4 animation by fri.
3. start on scene 5 landscape development

You can see I am squeezing a hell lot more things this time round because I hope to finish everything (all animation) by 20 sept. That will leave me one week for editing, sound, cd-packaging, development folder, presentation slides, mock ups and whatnot.

(Riiiiiiight. Thats alot to squeeze in one week lar!!!oh crap.)

Ok on second thought, I better try to move things up a bit more.

I am digging this video - ang moh version of our wayang kulit (sp?)

Self encouragement

2009-09-02T21:40:00.000-07:00

Enough said.

Especially when you see your ~~friends dropping dead like flies next to you.~~ friend quit school, while in the midst of it. Sigh.

Ok - after these few weeks of animation - I realised this, I really still just prefer paper and pen. I just want to drawwwwwwwwwwwwwww or shoooooooooooooooot.

I want to switch mediums already and I am not even done?!

Week 9 - surging ahead?

2009-09-01T01:48:00.000-07:00

Animating scene 2 - old colonial Singapore.

After compositing all my scenes, I realised, to my horror, that I don't have enough flesh for scene 2. This means going back to the storyboard again and see what I can add in.

The end result is an addition of 4 more mini scenes (each scene probably lasting only 3 seconds max - oh groan) to give it more meat.

I am only at the easiest part though - animating rickshaw pullers - so I wonder if I even can make it for the deadline to finish scene 2 by er....TODAY?!

Ok, realistically, I need to readjust my deadlines for week 9 (oh, 3 more weeks to end of FMP! CANT WAIT!!!):

- Finish scene 2 and 3 (is that even humanely possible?)
- Possibly start on scene 4

On top of this - I owe Matilda a new set of wedding invites ( I really want to try a series in my own personal style) and corporate identity for a freelance proj.

GULP.

Sometimes I wish my drink can be this exciting:

The other two of the campaign here:

I like "this same group of people that goes to Paris repeatedly but fail to see the Eiffel Tower..."

Phew-groan-phew-groan

2009-08-27T06:22:00.000-07:00

I think animation can be basically summed up in this way:

"phew(it's over)-groan(oh my goodness, another new frame)" repeat n times.

puke.

anyway on a different note, thank god!!!!!!! John is finally out! After 8 weeks of deliberating-redrawing etc etc, finally the main character looks "yeah!" to me!
But that means I have to redraw John and all the action sequences.

Timeline check:

1. Finish scene 4 landscape development ( I am lacking one more)
2. Fine tune scene 1 animation (this is haunting me bad!)
3. Finish scene 2 animation (oh no! so behind time!)

Ok, I think I have to switch on the "panic" button already.

Since I am feeling optimistic about the world right now, here's another reason why I love animation despite my lack of skills-patience-tenacity etc:

My favourite part got to be when "Here comes the sun" kicked in. WOAH surrealism!

2009-08-22T23:58:00.001-07:00

I am doing all that I can to not throw in the towel and quit.

Animated scene 1/ animation is a bitch.

2009-08-19T20:04:00.000-07:00

Having abit of problems with the opening - skipping ahead; now I am trying to close scene 1.

Not very satisfactory coz dun know how to make actions smoother. I m sure there is a damn way to make it work except tt I dun think I have the time to explore AE so much, which is a shame really. Maybe i shld try?

aiya see how.

sick of animation - and I still have 5 more scenes to go.
kao.

on another note, what is wrong with singapore?! every darn video i want to access is restricted due to darn copyright restrictions?? and only in SG? FUCKED UP.

ok chill, woman, chill:

let yourself feel. from Esteban Diácono on Vimeo.

Animation!

2009-08-18T12:50:00.000-07:00

Finally I am animating some shit.

Quick ones:

1. having trouble keeping a consistent look and feel - i attribute it to an intense dislike for the current style I have to adopt to make it target audience sensitive. sometimes it is good to do shit that is self masturbatory - i.e. panders to no one but my own personal enjoyment. inner voice: designers are commercial, you know....
yes yes, let's move on.

2. still wondering if i should try to zhng john a little. he is really UGLY. i hate drawing cartoons.

3. have to re-paint the entire underwater scene. see point 1.

Timeline:

Think I am still on time for some stuff - hopefully I can get the majority rushed out before next Monday when I have to go to work.
This means:

1. completion of scene 4 (landscape development)
2. finish animation of scenes 1-3 (.........)
3. interim filing and organisation of development folder

Have a penchant to watch movies on my own - you don't really do much in a theatre except to fixate your eyes on the screen, so what does it matter if you have company or not? - but my point is this actually:

Azur and Asmar. first movie that i caught on my own at the PictureHouse some 2 years back. Wondered why it took them this long to export it to the US? Oh wait. They dubbed it in English. LOL~ I wonder if this is French pride at work? :)

Week 7 - Scene 3

2009-08-17T23:08:00.000-07:00

Scene 3 is relatively easier to draw as opposed to Scene 2. I mean, underwater world vs old colonial singapore? that's a no brainer.

Anyhow, I am quite done with Scene 3 (at least the opening scene), just need to put in two (maybe three?) other perspectives and I can move on with animation tomorrow.

Was surfing around when I saw this video - very nice, reminded me of Disney, esp. the sequence in beauty and the beast and cindrella.

Week 6 - opps! its already week 7!

2009-08-16T20:09:00.000-07:00

Week 6 flew by in a frenzy - not in the i-am-working-my-butt-off-for-the-project kinda way - but in the "I am screwing FMP and going out to play!" way.

My birthday week was hectic fun! it was shopping, dinners, drinks and more! Had a fantastic treat at Jaan par andre too. Extra sweet round up to the week :D

Alright - reality check time:

Still trying to finish the landscape development for scene 2 (i am only at scene 2. yikes)
settling all the perspectives, characters and backgrounds.
(I am late for this!)

Week 7 - need to do up landscape for scene 3
settle all the perspectives, charas etc
Finally - must start animating at least the first 3 scenes - try out and see if there is more work required. I foresee alot more tightening and streamlining though. hmm.

I am especially worried about the action bits coz i m not sure how it will work out. especially the transition between each scene?(this reminds me alot of my robot circus for 3d animation)

Lets see. Back to the grind.

Ok its official...

2009-08-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

I don't know what the hell I am doing anymore - I think I need to put all the scenes into AE to at least have a look.

But - laters. Think I am going to move on with landscape development... ah, old colonial Singapore.

Darn funky.

Oh fyi, I hate John - bloody neh neh main protagonist. damn U.G.L.Y!! But I need to move on already... plus all the animatic poses of ugly John are out - no time to change or redo character. argh.

Characters are running?

2009-08-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

Did up all the animatic poses yesterday - trying to finish up in Illustrator.
(now I am wondering why I have 3 monsters given that my storyboard has changed?!!! That makes a total of 4 main characters = 4 x 8 poses = 32 frames = 1 sec of running. For 1 sec of animation = 1 day of work?! @.@)

Did a mini output in GIF and AE to see if the poses fit together nicely and well, though far from ideal (coz too slow in AE; retarded in GIF) the feel of it is there I guess. Aim to finish scene 1 before class, if not really got nothing to update my progress man!

TOO SLOW!

Road safety

2009-08-06T06:03:00.001-07:00

Interesting use of mood and colours eh.
I am not sure if its for kids though, coz somehow these gives me the creeps.
Think coraline or simply ghosts standing at their spots...

I just completed the background for scene 1 - i am screwed coz it takes me way too long to nail the look!

now i m trying to animate john's walk and run cycles plus finish up all the perspectives for scene 1.
All these and I am not even animating yet.

..............

Going to chart my progress here - FMP 5th week

2009-08-05T00:59:00.000-07:00

Totally disliked drawing "manga"/"cartoon" styled characters - they are butt ugly. Pardon me, but I think I do realism pretty well. (ok, not that well....YET. ahem.)

But for sake of ease of things - i don't have that much time (helloooo animation!?) - i will have to stick with something that I really don't have the hots for.

So John is finally out! After two/ three weeks of character development and ploughing through tons of manga/anime (ok tats just an excuse to read trashy manga), John finally looked ..... agreeable to me.

Though I think he can still do alot more development work - except that I have no friggin time anymore!

Now its onto the medium - poster paints, oil pastels, watercolour or good ol' vector??
Thank God for the light box!

Also, side note about the style - target audience is for kids age 6 to 12 years - so goodbye to my kind of style (mixed media, pencil and watercolour etc etc) and hello - everything bright, happy, vibrant and literal.

GROAN - but ok la, ENJOYING!!!

side note: totally inspired about learning corel painter. WHAHAHAHAHA!!!

illustration: "Dreams are made of this..."

2009-04-22T22:32:00.000-07:00

I was busy for awhile, trying to finish up this illustration. Can't say that its fantastic - maybe cause I have been staring at it for a while - but oh well, it is done! Horray, now I can move on to my next creative proj. Fun~ But I can't decide between the two colours... I guess I must really output it to see how it will look like on print. :D

Nearly died doing the feathers on the birds(?)penguins (?) coz every single stroke was done using the friggin mouse. OMG. I want a tablet!

Theme: Dreams are made of this....

Oei - two of you, hurry! I am moving on already!

I like film...

2009-04-16T01:10:00.000-07:00

but Lomo is pretty sad. Third batch of prints: 6 hits out of 12; out of 6, only 1 makes it.
I want my Yashica Electro. :(

Why we procrastinate

2009-04-15T01:11:00.000-07:00

Read article here

Killer Mondays/ Uncle Macbeth

2009-04-06T18:52:00.000-07:00

I hope my future Mondays will not be a battlefield. That is really the last thing I need - a nagging, middle aged, over-achieved, friendless, too f--king rich Uncle barking at me to have a "vision". Spare me, please. What's wrong with just wanting to complete my dip and eventually become a designer? I think that's a mighty fine vision; in fact, I think it is more feasible, tangible and something that I can count on realising. Also, how I look and whether D. wears shorts or not, has nothing to do with the class, subject matter or the pseudo-wannabe-major fail(!!!!) lecturer.

I think it is foolish to give said Uncle airtime here, really. I hope this is the last time.

Give me strength please.

Two favourite things

2009-03-25T20:43:00.000-07:00

Looong hiatus.

Check out the video - great, stunning visuals and fantastic track.

M83 - We Own the Sky from David Altobelli on Vimeo.

Star Wars

2009-02-19T20:44:00.000-08:00

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

This is hilarious! A girl who has never seen Star Wars gives the plot of the 3 original movies and they animate cutouts and tiny explosions in a very comedic manner. Nice animation, not cheesy at all!

Someone, please strap me to my seat.// Excuse me while I go bersek.

2009-02-01T07:28:00.001-08:00

We love Tuesdays' class:

See? Intense concentration, how rare and refreshing! :D

Tuesdays' classes are so enjoyable! Well, that's because we get to unveil a whole new world of PHP syntax and Prado - Oh Programming! Week after week of encountering this mysterious and exciting landscape, we find ourselves increasingly enlightened:

Daphne is obviously loving it:

Look at her range of emotions; so expressive!

Oh what sweet glorious joy! :D

Lomo

2009-01-14T06:35:00.000-08:00

Second batch of lomo prints:

I got a little too experimental here; I mean Velvia + Colour flash? No shit.
Scary saturated reds.
(mental note to self: use ONLY white/blue flash with Velvia.)

Shudder.

Bai-lingual//Hanoi bride love you long time time!

2009-01-06T09:22:00.000-08:00

eh Kenny, can you don't move at the speed of light?
KAO. Stay nua!

har-nah. give you.

When I totally gave up posing.

Processing first! I don't want to treat the whole class char siew baos and drinks loh!

Conceptual Photog....?// Creative Proj ...? //Rant

2009-01-03T08:25:00.000-08:00

Final-fucking-ly!

After all that planning came to naught for the "Bride" (I fell sick on the day before the shoot last year), la_vue and I finally pulled off one mini conceptual photog project today! WOOT! Yay, one mini creative benchmark hit. :)

Couple of things learnt:

1. I am a super-duper-cannot-make-it model.

Angst? More like constipation.
Melancholia? You mean stoned.
Attitude? Sigh, ah lian la.

One word: FAIL.

I suck when I try to pose; and when I am natural, I am all wonky and pretty much behae like the siao char boh that I am, day in day out. No problem except that it isn't really part of the concept.

So damn hard. Modelling is hard! Argh.

This is going to be the last time I am posing as a damn model. I just want to photograph; why is it so difficult?!

2. Always have at least three people for a shoot.

One chief photographer who will do the main shoot and all; one art director to well, get the model poses, costume, makeup, hair and locations right; and one more to basically help out with miscellaneous random stuff and also photograph.

I will want to do another mini project, but the next time, I am going to photograph and direct at the same time. Yup, I am going to be in the director's seat. TMD. I ain't no fucking lambeh model! RAWR!

3. Always have insect repellent.
I count...2345356464756756 mosquito bites on me.

4. Always have extra flash unit and/or back up lighting, even if its going to be a outdoor shoot.
The weather today sucked big time; it was overcast most of the time; and when there was sun, it did not last long. We played hide and seek waiting for the sun to do its un-hiding and even then, results were fairly haphazard. You are either heng or suay.

And for most of the time, we were SUAY.

5. Always take pre-shoot planning seriously.
Get the right equipment, props, costumes, compositions, mood board, artistic direction, story boarding etc early. Concertize it on paper, do a bit of research, go for a site recce, test out equipment and settings before the shoot. Details do and really matter.

6. Ignore #5 when everything is failing; instead throw everything out of the window and screw pre-shoot planning!

It was really enjoyable when we both just gave up and literally stopped trying.
Despite that, we got some pretty decent taiko shots! LOL. YAY. It is true after all when they say that beginners have all the luck.

I am glad I am an amateur! :)

Photographs in the process of DI-ing. I hope I get them out soon!

P/s: In exchange for being model for a day, la_vue's going to help pack my room! WOOT! Sweet lar, I love maids. To la_vue: A must to come in an apron; foreign accent and bad hairdo optional. :D

That said, I need a model for an outrageous idea! Maybe an extra photographer too. So....if you are keen, enjoy sai kang, don't mind spending abit of money, have something creative to contribute, or know people who are like that, please please let me know. :D

My heart skipped// New Year Resolution

2009-01-02T08:47:00.000-08:00

Watch this first:

Then watch this:

I believe I finally found the voice for what I have been feeling all this while - my obsession with being the best, the perfect, the 100%.

This sets the tone, mood and attitude for my 2009. My thing.

"I want to do something great and wonderful but I must start by doing little things like they were great and wonderful."

Die.

2008-12-27T02:07:00.001-08:00

Death by AE.

We are all wrong; lulled by the promise of two dimensional dreams, we misunderstood 3d. Actually - what seems the easiest is always the most misleading.

Inspiration

2008-12-20T06:29:00.000-08:00

I rarely share artists I like because I am selfish that way: I like to keep all the good things to myself. But its xmas and I am feeling a wee bit generous. So, I present (with a flourish and a bow), Yu Jingyoung:

plus her recent exhibition "Family in Disguise" is too good to let up.

Subby love

2008-12-14T07:38:00.000-08:00

First batch of lomo. Reminds me of Parkway in the early 1990s (laugh).

One Velvia and an Ektachrome to go. Sponsor me some rolls of film please.

Taming of the Shrew

2008-12-02T08:13:00.000-08:00

For Kenny, who is so adamant on match-making me: I have decided to write a personal ad! Just in case that you, despite all your best intentions, misconstrue all that I said - we don't want any misunderstandings and broken hearts, do we? At the same time, I hope I will save you some trouble because now, you can simply circulate the notice around! How convenient. (That's //ilng's number 1 virtue for you!)

So here goes nothing:

Seeking a life partner for //ilng

I am not a stickler for outer appearances. I know where I stand on the "good looking" spectrum. Though not necessarily a perfect 10 out of 10, it doesn't hurt either if my partner is tall-ER, well-built and good looking. Of course that said, s/he has to be oblivious to my physical imperfections, my complete disregard for personal hygiene, impervious to my grooming habits - I mean the lack of - and my penchant to cultivate phalloides, or simply mushrooms, in the most unlikely of places.

S/he has to be articulate, eloquent, expressive and intelligible. Linguists have an advantage, especially if they are trilingual. Japanese is a huge turn on in bed; French caresses my skin like silk; while husky whispers in Spanish push that oohm factor alot more than hot passionate kisses (well, I am not complaining about that, mind you).

Mathematicians are also welcomed, especially if they can recite the full value of pi in between kisses. The last time I checked, the value is computed to 10¹² digits, which makes it roughly.... more than a trillion? If that is ever too daunting, then I guess the truncated value works too. Though only up to a miserable 50th decimal place, s/he can always supplement it by explaining the limit of a function at infinity to placate and soothe away post-coital blues.

S/he has to be smart, intelligent, perceptive and quick witted - a most important trait to have so that I don't confuse s/he with my pet goldfish, something that I tend to do very often. The absence of a working brain will receive a quick boot out of the door; that said, a boring, uninspired and dispirited one will not keep me intrigued and curious for long either. A thirst for knowledge and a ravishing desire to learn is a must - I am not patient enough to stay around and wait for s/he to catch up. Academics are especially favoured in this department; my daily conversation pieces are not simply about television programmes, stock market, economic recessions and what not. I love (informed) discussions on philosophy, psychology, sociology, literature, politics, languages, history and.... rocket science too! (I am joking about the last one.)

S/he must possess depth, magnitude, sagacity and wisdom for matters that exist greater than her/himself. Possessing strong, opinionated and informed stances on social issues and demonstrating genuine concern for injustices and discrimination towards the marginalized, invisible and weak are important, crucial straits. While concerns about the next installment on the house, car or credit card are fair and valid, they are not going to make me think twice when I pack the suitcase and walk out of the door. I am no romantic renegade or rebel - I am too practical for my own good - and I don't expect a social activist for a partner either; I am only asking for an individual with a big heart; not a tiny spot that frets and complains when the forces of the universe does not conspire and align to please her/him.

Finally (can there be a finally?? I am not even half done!), s/he must possess strength of character. By that I mean, knowing when I am pms-ing and giving in to my inane whims of buying you tiao at Geylang at 3am. Seriously.

Supportive, encouraging, mature and ever patient, s/he will understand and be accepting when I need to go out in the world to explore, venture and experience. While acknowledging and respecting my space as an independent and strong willed individual, s/he knows when exactly I need an extra boost of confidence, a firm hug when the ego is bruised and to nurse me when I am feeling vulnerable and lonely. Of course, other character traits - worldliness, charisma, generosity, an even temperament - apply as well.

If you know someone, other than GOD, that fits the bill, do let me know. Otherwise, I am better off single.

P/S. If it is not GOD, an angel will be good too.

P/P/S. If you know someone that has a face that can stop traffic two blocks down, androgynous looking, has legs that stretch on for miles, has beautiful clear, fair skin, and soulful, puppy eyes, and owns a white unicorn horse with wings, please pass her/him my number.

P/P/P/S. If not, the filthy rich ones work too.

Hoping for good news from all of you soon!

XOXOXOXO
//ilng

Oh! Demons Loving

2008-11-30T23:12:00.000-08:00

Because of Kishi Keisuke's "Ministry of Mystic Machines" (Check out Archangel, 1997 at the Japanese Media Art Festival)

Furin, 1998

I was promptly reminded of:

which I had wanted to catch looooong ago. Cel shaded animation - no shit.

I finally did this morning, and boy. What demonic fun. All the characters are lovely; the children:

Especially digging the demons:

Kimotori (肝取り) The liver taker

Chitori (血取り) The blood taker

My favorite:

Aburatori (油取り) The oil taker.

Small packages do pack mean punches. ^{I love how the characters are at the same time, distinctively Japanese (think Edo Ancient Japan) and yet, displaced and futuristic.(check out their names in Katakana - Japanese alphabet that is usually reserved for foreign names, which at once suggest the children's alien origins.) Very "Japanese ethos" if you will, given the unique and recurring combination of the old and traditional with the modern and scientific. A theme that is not just visited in Kakurenbo, but across all animation, like Howl's Moving Castle for e.g. Of course the modern and scientific is often the main staple in alot of Japanese animation: Chobits, Steam Boy, Ghost in the Shell, Gundam etc etc. Given the dominance of that particular running theme, it is no surprise that Kakurenbo takes on a similar track. Like all of its predecessors, the effect is all at once, schizophrenic, creepy and very entertaining.

Character design is dope lar. So is the very complicated technique of cel shading. Ya la, you just got to give it to the 3DCG artists.

Watch it already!

Next on the must do list - oh the deadlines the deadlines - Tekkon Kinreet and Mind Game. Watch Tekkon if you haven't. It re-defines the meaning of "visual porn". Paprika doesn't even quite cut it. -smirk-}

Two dimensional dreams

2008-11-23T00:53:00.000-08:00

NUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

I.so.don't.want.to.touch.3d.

Polaroid Polaroid! - Post Halloween -

2008-11-21T23:02:00.000-08:00

Shoot was cancelled 'cause I am down with the flu bug - all the weeks of planning *sigh*
Accidentally deleted my gallery modelling files - so long hard work *double sigh*
Pending deadlines and my Jlang exam - ......... (this is beyond words)

To cheer myself up:

The revival of old school Polaroid charm with this niffy application: Polaroid Image Maker
(sorry, Mac users only)

FUN!

2008-11-18T09:21:00.000-08:00

Busy

2008-11-13T20:34:00.001-08:00

Have been horribly busy - it's a good thing I guess - so have not been updating as much. Photography is always in the process and I am in the midst of trying to roll out a project amidst all the other ones that I have to do.

(Side note: It sucks when I have to prioritize in face of so! many! interests! It really sucks when I cannot give each and every thing my 100%. That really really gets me irritated.ARGH.)

Just would like to share this:

"Do I point my camera outwards to the existing world or turn it inward towards my soul. Am I taking photographs of existing reality, or creating my own world, so real but non existent. Results from this two opposite approaches are notably different and, in my opinion, conceptual photography is a higher form of artistic expression that places photography on the level of painting, poetry, music and sculpture. It employs the special talent of intuitive vision.
By translating the personal concepts into the language of photography, it reflects the possible answers to major questions of being: birth, death and life.

Creating an idea and transforming it into reality is an essential process of conceptual photography."

Misha Gordin

Do check her out if you have time. Her images are really striking and provoking...reminds me of Dali-esque landscapes and dreamworlds. See "Shout" , "Doubt", "Shadows". Enjoy.

One picture a day

2008-10-27T01:18:00.000-07:00

A slight deviation from Korea>>

Because I did not want the rented lens go to waste, I went out anyway to take photos, hoping to get lucky with some portrait shots. Luckily a colleague suggested Little India (thank goodness for Deepavali!).

With the 85mm f1.4

For the rest of the photos, click here

Shooting myself

2008-10-23T22:31:00.000-07:00

Because sch is turning out to be this seriously pmsing bitch, I wanted to get it off my head and out of my hair by doing some random photography therapy.

So I rented the fabulous Nikkor 85mm f1.4 lens.
Its insanely lovely with the bokeh, very sharp, nice colours, great depth of field and obviously very good for portraits! But the only set back -

I have no fucking models. And it is raining outside.

Fuck me hard.

Korea in series: Scenery/Highlight

2008-10-20T01:24:00.000-07:00

Some things just stand out among the rest. This was one of those moments/highlights:

The Munkyong Rail Bike:

They were original spur lines that used to run to Mungyeong-eup and Kaeul. However they have been discontinued and part of them have become bike paths, with rental rail-running bikes running on the original tracks - an obvious attraction that no die hard tourist and back packer included can resist.

My mum and I pedalled like mad - no thanks to the lack of exercise. But of course, the scenery, fantastic (sweat glands? what, sweat glands?) weather and company more than made up for it.

Photo taking was particulary trying though: Pedal, balance my cam bag, change lens, pedal somemore, balance again, take pictures, pedal somemore. You get the picture.

Next - Korea in series: Wine tunnel

Korea in series: Memorable shot 1

2008-10-17T10:03:00.000-07:00

I froze my ass off to take this:

7 degrees at the Dragon Peak Valley, Yong Pyong. (For other butterfly photo, click here.)

But I was a happy tropper at the end of it all:

Korea in series: Skies

2008-10-11T00:41:00.001-07:00

It is easy to take beautiful pictures when the said country is already so arresting in all its natural splendid glory.

Korea is a country that rightly belongs to the women; the skies are a clear testament.

Flight over Seoul:

The weary travellers' morning blues at Seoul-Incheon:
(Shin chun, near Ewha Womans University)

Sunset at Jeju Island:

slowly drowned in magenta:

Flight to Pusan/Daegu:

Sometimes it is cotton candy:
(right outside the Persimmon Wine Tunnel)

Other times it looks like sweets:
(at Dongwahsa Temple)

that threatens to turn angry right away:

It rages and the hills burn:
(evening at Daegu)

with unabashed magnificence:
(on the road to Yong Pyong)

that always leaves it a little lonely right after:

More of Korea in series: Scenery

End of term

2008-09-28T02:50:00.000-07:00

I can't friggin wait to proclaim, "ORD LORRRR!" But that will have to be in another year's time. Damn.

Till then, couple of class photos:

M_K will be leaving Singapore for good and soon! I guess I will miss him and his lessons. I really did learn stuff from him unlike T_M. (Aiyo, that one.) I guess the inspiration and motivation did come from him and I am glad I made the switch to multimedia. I am looking forward to motion graphics next term - Hopefully I can make my own MTV video, woot!

Brokeback 3: check out Beng's expression!

Presentation night: All of us (ok, sans S_M) were all sian. I started off being pretty enthusiastic about the module until I got so sick of my subject!

S_t_ng at the back, Jack and Beng in front - YUM.

S_t_ng was really nice as a lecturer but even better as a bitching partner! LOL! The long running joke between him, Jack and Beng definitely was THE gossip fodder for all our post class supper nights. Hilarious.

Two more weeks to go before another school term; I wish Sem will be good for animation and Raymond to be lenient for motion graphics!

Singapore is really too hot.

2008-09-28T02:18:00.000-07:00

Photo outing with la_vue! Was really sweet; got to experiment with her babies:

fish eye lens and a pretty funky filter. The results:

accidentally lomo-ish! We both loved the last one; la_vue mused that it could really pass off as a photo taken straight out of Paris (?) sans the Uniquely Singapore balloon. The vignette coupled with the brilliance of the blue sky, plus the couple by the bridge made it pretty romantic.

For the Korea trip, especially rented the wide angle lens for landscape shoots at Cheju (landscape, please be beautiful!); Nikon 12-24mm:

My favourite: I love the accidental stream of light (I imagine it to be disco strobe lights!) -looked like the church was really in sync with the club beats in the background.

Apparently you are not allowed to take pictures around Chijmes because according to the pesky security guard, it is private property (?!). Yeah, right.

la_vue just took it off from her belly (the guard was super bio-ing us); perfect (taiko) symmetry minus the hands. Sometimes NOT looking through the viewfinder can pack in nice little surprises like this.

I am very taken with the wide angle lens; as compared to the macro 60mm one, I love this one so much more. The only gribe I have with it is the limited/lack of zoom; a 12-300 mm one would be super duper sweet, but of course that is only if I have the moolah (and strength) for it. Another one on my list after the Sigma will be this! :D

One more post before Korea!

KNNBCCB

2008-09-21T03:05:00.000-07:00

Why.must.do.presentation?

Polaroid Love

2008-09-13T07:54:00.001-07:00

A Polaroid A Day

Photography with the Wizards

2008-09-13T05:19:00.000-07:00

Azhar is the sweetest lecturer ever. Seriously. Thanks to him, we got the rare chance to experience a professional photography shoot, complete with lighting, backdrop etc. We also got to play with expensive equipment - a 120mm Mamiya (eh, $40,000 for a fucking digital back; twice as much as my darn dip) - and also try our hands at styling our products for the project. SWEET.

me and the mamiya:

daphne was the poor model for this and an another shoot. She was looking so FHM-ish in one (I am so tempted to post that slutty pic up) and then, totally constipated for the other. LOL.

jack:

my favourite:

P/S: I am going to rent a wide angle lens for the Korea trip :D I am so looking forward to the nice scenery in Cheju! In the mean time, I just need to get over the darn deadlines!

Projects

2008-08-30T07:46:00.001-07:00

>> photography + mates

Three semesters into this and I realised one thing: that the most crucial isn't about creativity or technical skills but STAMINA.

Two hours in front of the computer is all that I can take before my shoulders and neck start screaming that I rest them right away. So like it or not, I have to take a half hour break away from my project though I really need to work through it hard.

I need a massage.

One more before the deadlines

2008-08-28T09:57:00.000-07:00

Two more weeks before the deadlines - I am stressed that I am actually not stressed about the projects that are due.

One more for the road: this sunday, I am going to try out the D70s and the 60 mm macro lens. (: One last outing before the crunch.

Road Trip in Pairs

2008-08-28T01:20:00.001-07:00

+ light

+dark

Sharing the love

2008-08-22T22:17:00.001-07:00

Love the reds, the bokeh (!), the film. You still owe me two photo mounting boards.

Present from Mykel.
There, go ahead. Click on his link on the right of my page.
Go, go view his photostream. :)

a*musement

2008-08-22T11:34:00.000-07:00

600 photos.
Only the best shots.

//part one: Sentosa

+ plants

Sentosa
+ kids

I must have done something good

2008-08-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

I totally don't deserve a Holga Colour Flash! But what a sweet sweet sweet birthday present. Thank you. Now I have to think of how to top your buy. Damn.

On a side note: within two weeks, I accumulated 600 photos from all those crazy outings. No shit. I am going to start editing now!

Introducing La_vue

2008-08-15T10:40:00.000-07:00

Because film purist la_vue is so generous, she has given me this pic. Since she has given me the permission "to do whatever I like to it", I thought I will share it with everyone:

Two other works:

I think credit should be given where it is due, no? It is even more endearing when la_vue is so modest. (: Check out all her other photos on my links column. She is under "To write love".

la_vue: Photo outing on the 22 Aug (woot!); let's try to make our photos look like they are out of Singapore!

Retreat| Post Birthday

2008-08-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

Had a field day at Sentosa on Thursday! On top of the fantastic luge ride (x 3), I lugged home a shit load of pretty decent photos (x 281). Sentosa had such good photography material: kids, plants, animals etc. (: My ego was pretty stoked by the end of the retreat (feelings of worthiness x n), so that made me a happy (albeit heat exhausted) trooper.

Somehow glad that C. postphoned the photo outing to Sat. I probably will take another week or so to load the photos; it's the middle of school now (I am pretty fucked for web design) and maybe a month for the upcoming Little India one.

We will see. (:

On a total unrelated note, THANK YOU beng, jack and daffy for the best birthday surprise I ever had! And of course, the very useful present! Next time if you see a warm glow emanating from my face, or hear me let out a girlish giggle, you know it's all thanks to (instant orgasmic heaven) love bullet!

Oh happiness. Aaaaaah~

Piktorial + C

2008-08-06T11:18:00.000-07:00

My favorite: