Assignment 5 : Creep

Assignment 5's Theme: Creep. One subject three intentions: Realistic, formalistic and expressionistic interpretation. Select appropriate subject under given theme. Create three images (photographs) exploring three aesthetic intentions of a photographer.

----------------------- Snails`-----------------------

The theme for this assignment was creep. I thought of many different interpretations and decided to make snails my subject. This topic was inspired by the fact that most people refer to snails as slow moving creatures. I think it has a bad name to it because of that. But, my perceptions towards snails have gone beyond that because of a song (by jay chou) I've heard about snails a few years back. Inspired by the song, I wrote an essay on it during my jc days and thus, my choice for this topic was something I could relate to.

----------------------- Realism`-----------------------

Realism is the notion that the photograph offers a straightforward "transparent" view of the world, subscribing to a tradition that considered pictures to offer "a window on the world': close to what we would have seen had we been there at the time the photograph was taken.

This was one of the first few pictures I took of the snails before the concepts saturated my brain. That's why I chose it for the realism photo. I had a similar close-up shot of this picture. However, I chose this because i think including the background would give viewers more knowledge of the context which the photo was taken. I had some qualms about whether zooming in on the subject would still portray realism.

----------------------- Formalism`-----------------------

Considered the photograph as an aesthetic object. The view holds that while the photograph may offer a limited view of the world, it is primarily a flat surface that supports a pattern of light, shade and colours. In this context when we look at a photograph we are always aware of the properties of the photographic medium.

For this photo, I thought the patterns on the snail's shell and the fence provides a nice soft mood for the photo. I think I have lots to learn about taking macro shots. I suppose there is another type of lens suitable for taking macro shots? The lens that I was using didn't allow me to take closer shots of the snail. I did wanted to try out just taking the patterns on the snail's shell for the formalism shot. I could visualize how it would look. Unfortunately I couldn't implement them. But still, this shot was one of my favourite formalism shots because the colours of the fence and those on the snail's shells compliments each other. It could be the colours that tied them together, as well as the lines formed by the snail's shell and the fence. It was through taking these pictures that I realize why we were always told in class to take as many pictures as you can. Sometimes you end up realizing there's something interesting that you could have overlooked.

----------------------- Expressionalism`-----------------------

Implies the use of the photograph to express the feelings or ideas of the photographer that may go beyond the initial appearance of the image and its material qualities. In this context the photograph may express the photographer's emotional feelings or a strongly held political viewpoint or social comment.

No matter how slow you are moving, even the slightest progression you make can bring you to the top one day. For me, what I wish to express could be intepreted through this 3rd picture. I thought of how to express the desire to reach a destination and I thought the bottom-up view could best portray it. Just to share, during my JC days, my maths was quite bad haha and my maths teacher, Mr Chia gave me extra lessons and said something to me I always remember, especially when I feel I'm making little progress about something I do. He said "slow and steady wins the race". Haha sounds a bit cliche to you? Though it's not a new metaphor about how slow moving animals like the tortoise or snail are often used to encourage people not to be disheartened and that every bit of progression makes a difference, I just thought there's something really encouraging and warm about it. Hopefully this photo could be inspiring to others as well. :)

----------------------- After thoughts`-----------------------

Sitting in critique session this week was rather mind boggling. Mainly because of the 3 concepts. The 3 words kept recurring in my mind and looking through tons of pictures really drained me to fatigue level. I guess it really wasn't easy to identify the intentions of a photograph. I would say because of the unique experiences everyone of us have, each photograph would be interpreted in a different way. For me, it was my candid expressions towards the snail and because of my perceptions that I already have in mind, that was the best way I feel could portray my views.

Remember I said I had some qualms about whether zooming in on the subject would still portray realism? Some of my classmates said that my realism photo showing the background could portray realism better. Mr Reddy said zooming in on the subject could still show realism. If you look at some other pictures I took, there is a close up shot of the snail. How I thought realism could be portrayed is that the picture is mainly on the subject-the snail. The snail is realism. Haha I hope you get what I'm trying to say. It's so hard to put my thoughts down in words sometimes. Anyway, I guess it wouldn't be possible to take a photo that is 100% realism. Like what some of my peers said, then wouldn't framing a picture, changing the colours or even simply adjusting the shutter speed already take realism away? I feel it's a compromise, nothing is perfect or absolute. Even realism can be unreal. Why are we given such a difficult task? haha...... but anyway, it's good brain exercise.. I have never thought of something in this manner.

----------------------- Peer Evaluation`-----------------------

For my group session, I thought Ivy did a nice rendition of the 3 concepts. She really notices things that sometimes others wouldn't, like the multiples of 3 and the prison bars. It might be abstract because I wouldn't have noticed the multiples of 3 especially but, I give her full marks for her interesting rendition of the 3 concepts. I really wouldn't have thought how vandalism on the wall could depict creep like how she did.

I thought Jasmine has taken a series of very emotive pictures, STRESS CREEPS; HOPE SEEPS. I like how she talked about newspapers soaked in rain were not as strong as bundled papers. Soaked and drenched gives me a sombre feeling. Maybe that's why her three photos are expressionalism to me. Nonetheless, I give her 9/10 for the nice and thoughful exploration of her three photos.

I like Mike's expressionalism photo. I enjoy such photos of depicting life in a gloomy environment. It was a very nicely taken shot! Love the colours, especially the crisp green of the leaves in contrast to the tiled monuments. I give him 9.5/10. Maybe because of the melanoid colours, it also gives me a sense of expressionalism for the other photos.

I liked some of the individual photos of some of my classmates. I like Paul's picture of the angels. As always, his nicely taken pictures have an allure and makes people think beyond what they see. Meimei's picture of the heart shaped-part of the leaf that was eaten away, she could actually spot that. Interesting. I think ever since we started doing photography, we notice tiny details that we normally wouldn't. Stephanie's state land photo really speaks aloud about her feelings about the people who made her granny sell the land for a miserable few thousand.

From the other class, I notices Huiling's (chee) series of the creep of second-hand smoke. I thought it was really very interesting. Especially for the expressionalism photo, I think her perspective really shows how the smoke creeps to the unknowing people nearby. Really nice concept :) For the great concept, I give her 9.5/10. I agree with her that formalism pictures are difficult to take. A little more would have an inclination towards expressionalism. Just a suggestion, maybe just taking the patterns formed by the smoke can show formalism better? I think there is a good potential for her series of photos. :)

----------------------- Self Assessment`-----------------------

I was glad that some of my classmates like how I showed the concepts with the three photos. Thank you for the encouraging comments some of you gave me.

I would give myself 10 for effort, 9.5 for creativity/concept and 9 for techniques. Total of : 9.5/10

The 0.5 marks/10 left for improvement would be for better photo taking techniques, more understanding and experimentation of the three concepts. Though I think I did manage to show the 3 concepts quite adequately, I feel there is still room for better understanding. And Mr Reddy mentioned a small part that can be improved for the expressionalism photo would be to show more of the sky. I think by showing more of the sky it would give more space for the viewer's eyes.

-----------------------Other pictures I took`-----------------------

This is the close-up realism photo I was talking about. Is it still realism to you?

----------------------------------------------------------------

I tried to show formalism with the twirls on the snail's shell.

----------------------------------------------------------------