It basically also means alien and foreigner.

Life is ironic. We depend on one another but we refuse to know one another. We are supposed to be educated NOT to be racist, but we still are racists in our hearts at times. We are taught NOT to [...]]]> The meaning of the word stranger can be easily found HERE.

It basically also means alien and foreigner.

Life is ironic. We depend on one another but we refuse to know one another. We are supposed to be educated NOT to be racist, but we still are racists in our hearts at times. We are taught NOT to judge a book by it’s cover, but yet we judge all the time.

In portrait photography, I discover the joy of knowing people.

I am well trained for years in photographing wedding couples (since the 1990s), posing untrained “models” for pre-wedding portraits, catching them in their best angle and in their most natural but flattering state. I took pride in my ability to photograph ordinary people cause I think they are much harder than trained fashion models.

To me, there’s ONLY one word in portrait photography: Communication.

You can use the best equipment, a F1 portrait lens BUT have absolutely no positive communication with your subject.

It’s hard, cause it drains emotion, it drains energy, it tests your true sincerity in photographing your subject. Sometimes, when I am emotionally tired, I just can’t do it the way I want it.

In wedding jobs which I have done for years, I must say there were times I knew I just didn’t “make the mark” I wanted, BUT I did make the mark the clients wanted. Whew! (I have since quit being a “hardcore” wedding photographer since 2009 and am concentrating on developing my photography passion afresh)

In street photography, we are actually photographing strangers all the time (unless you have made some friends on the streets you regularly go to). Now, this is even harder, cause they don’t pay us to photograph them, and many of them do not even wish to be photographed.

I am still learning and I think this learning will never end.

It’s NOT just photography I am learning. It’s 90% communication, 10% photography I am learning.

Each time I go out on the the streets for a shoot, it’s a test to my sincerity, a test to whether I am genuinely interested in my subjects.

I meet them FIRST as a person, and second as a photographer interested in making some good portraits of ART. When we put ourselves in the shoes of our subjects, we will naturally NOT do to them what we do not wish others do to us.

There are generally two approaches to street portrait photography: one is to photograph unobtrusively, at times “stealing” shots without really asking for permission, AND another is verbally or non-verbally (the use of body language) asking for permission before shooting. I do both.

Shot in Penang.

It is interesting when Strangers are turned into acquaintances when you give yourself a chance to put down your camera, have a chat with your subject, get to know them, or even help them… before you pick up your camera to take a shot again.

An old man in Ipoh, with one eye blind. He used to live in a rented wooden house with a broken roof but his son has since fetched him home.

So, the next time you pick up your camera, think of yourself FIRST as a person, second as a photographer. Take some time to care for your subjects before rushing to take a shot. It’s a totally different experience!

The images are shot at ISO3200, with noise reduction and noise filter [...]]]> These are the images I took during the Penang PEN workshop which I conducted. Images are shot with the Olympus PEN E-PL1 and the 14-42mm kit lens. We had a fun 45 mins’ time of shooting before heading back to the classroom for photo critique.

The images are shot at ISO3200, with noise reduction and noise filter OFF. Some are slightly adjusted for brightness, that’s about it. No manipulation of colors are done.

Tourists in Penang, intended camera shake and tilt.

Sleeping

I actually contemplated to post process them into black and white since I am recently on a personal project on “Portraits of Strangers” which is done on black and white film BUT after seeing the original colors from the Olympus digital PEN, I decided to keep it that way… my usual style… NO CROPPING, NO UNNECESSARY MANIPULATION.

Old Cinema Exterior, man walking pass.

Portrait of a man outside the Cinema

I am a strong believer in “getting it right” at the time of shooting, and not crop pictures afterward. Cropping during post-processing should be kept to the minimum… like hip shots, when the expression of strangers is all that counts!

Kachang Puteh (peanut snacks) Seller outside the Cinema

Cinema Ticket Booth

The world is moving really really FAST in technology, and it’s been about a year since I first knew my E-P1… and now we have the E-PL1, two models after the E-P1. Before we could really experience a camera and review it, a new one is out, forcing reviewers and geeks alike to abandon the old one. Of course, the current curiosity will be about the Sony NEX-5 as well, which boasts of a larger sensor.

A really friendly tourist

He even took off his shirt just to let me photograph his tattoo!

I am First a Photographer, second a geek… in fact, I think I have gone back in time… back to larger and larger format films… oh, there goes my geekiness…

I love shooting, love making images, love expressing myself through images, love capturing others’ lives into images… so my focus will always be on creating better and better images rather than playing with new toys.

First Day of the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival, here's a little camera shake as I was walking while shooting. I like the man's expression.

First Day of the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival

As for the “camera experience”, we NEED time to explore each and individual camera to experience it. Today’s reviewers can be just TOO QUICK to come to conclusion on each new camera they review.

Portrait of a Trishaw Rider, he works in another job during the day.

He's born with a "lazy eye" condition but has since gotten used to it.

After using the mirrorless system and the E-PL1 for a while now, this is what I feel currently:

1. I do miss the mirror sometimes. NOTHING can replace the feeling of having an optical viewfinder OR the sensation of the mirror flipping up and back. Perhaps if Olympus can make the digital PENs like the Leica M8 and M9, a TRUE rangefinder with an optical viewfinder, and design the looks based on the old half-frame PEN FT, wouldn’t that be sooooo-attractive??? I would really love it! The M8s and M9s are mirrorless! Is there no one else in the world that can build mirrorless digital rangefinders like the Leicas? I wonder…

And for that “sensational mirror experience” reason, I think the mirror (DSLR) system should stay in the future…

Taxi Booth

2. If you are one who grow tired of kit lenses easily, and like to venture into vintage lenses, manual focus lenses, old but legendary Olympus, Nikon, Canon, Leica, etc.. lenses… there’s ONLY one way to manual focus with confidence and speed at the current moment: the EVF-2! It’s a MUST! (Read HERE!)

And if you like to use the new 14-150mm lens, the EVF-2 will help stabilize your shooting tremendously when you zoom all the way in at 150mm! I just can’t do without it!

Carpark Booth

3. One thing I just couldn’t understand till now: a cheap RM399 digital compact can have “auto-rotate” feature built-in for it’s images BUT not the E-PL1!!! I am furious at this!

4. A consolation for Olympus PEN Users: if you do a check on www.dpreview.com for image comparison between the NEX-5, Canon 550D, Samsung NX-10, Panasonic G2 with the E-PL1… the E-PL1 is a clear winner!

BTW, one of my previous post did a comparison between the E-PL1 and the GF1 and the difference is clear.

Ok, before I start a “tribal war” here, I must say, I did enjoy using the GF1 for a short time and I don’t think the NEX-5′s menu interface is as bad as what some reviewers say. Color preference is totally personal and I prefer Olympus. You may prefer Panasonic or something else.

Peace!

Another Friendly Trishaw Rider

5. I find that Pop-up flash is not really that necessary since they don’t produce very nice pictures anyway… so I can do without it. I just refuse to shoot at really bad lighting situation. I simply don’t feel that I have the need to prove that my camera can shoot in super low light or no light! Image is gonna suck anyway, and I am not a paid paparazzi!

6. The E-PL1′s Image Stabilization loses out to the E-P1 and E-P2 by about 1-2 stops… so I ended up sometimes with blur images shot at 1/4sec when I could get it sharp with my previous E-P1 and E-P2. Arrgh….

A close up portrait of Steven, the trishaw rider. I just like his white moustache!

7. The high ISO of the E-PL1 is much smoother and the images are sharper than the E-P1 and E-P2 due to a thinner anti-aliasing filter installed.

8. I know that larger sensors are better in depth-of-field performance, so when I want that large sensor effect, I’ll fit on one of those F1.1 or F1.4 manual focus lenses to get the shallow d.o.f. That’s the way I overcome the small MFT sensor.

And as for enlargement capabilities, I have no issue with the PEN since I have ever printed 30 by 50 inches prints from the E-P1′s files. Of course, we can’t say the quality is better than a full frame sensor… BUT is it good enough??? You bet it is!

For a small and portable camera which produces high quality images, my other choice will only be the very expensive Leica.

It’s funny that in today’s world, people like “overkills”.

When photography should be centered on making better and better images: images that speak… we tend to focus on how expensive and how good our equipments are instead.

9. As for the “missing dials” in the E-PL1… I mean the dedicated dials for aperture and shutter speed… I still like to have them back… I really hope the next PEN will be “the one”.

10. The lovely Art Filters… oh… this is something Olympus has exclusively! And its’ a wonderful feature. However, I only like to use the Pin-hole Art filter and sometimes the Diorama Art Filter… but the Grainy Film Art filter, it can be too contrasty for my taste at times, with details in the shadows and highlights clipped! As for the other Art Filters, I hardly even use them.

11. I also discovered that the Panasonic 20mm F1.7 lens when mounted on the PEN, does not give 100% reliability in nailing the focus.

I am not quite sure if this is a communication issue between Olympus and Panasonic… NOT that it is a crucial issue, maybe 1 to 2 out of 10 shots (especially during low light) tend to miss focus… that’s all. But it can be a little disappointing at times.

Finally, to Olympus,

I believe you have heard enough NAGGING from faithful users around the world:

“WE WANT FAST LENSES! FAST PRIMES! FASTER AF TOO! GIVE US F1.4!!!”

I’ve got lotsa works to sort out. It’s about time I start compiling my works on the streets since March 2009. Being retrospective helps to study the progress I make.

It’s amazing how much a photograph can tell. It shows the state of mind of the photographer [...]]]> This is in continuation to my series on “Portraits of Strangers”…

I’ve got lotsa works to sort out. It’s about time I start compiling my works on the streets since March 2009. Being retrospective helps to study the progress I make.

It’s amazing how much a photograph can tell. It shows the state of mind of the photographer when the shot is made. If you can read further, you can literally read the photographer’s mind, his/her intention, his/her personality and how he/she looks at life.

I personally feel that women are better photographers in general. They seem more sensitive. Men are often bogged down by what equipment they use and all the technicalities of the camera. Worse, if they are shopaholics like me…  they end up having too many cameras to choose from even before they go out for a shoot. (I used to stare at my dry cabinet for more than 30mins before I could decide what to bring with me… haha)

It took me more than 20 years since I bought my first camera to realize that there is no perfect camera!

That’s the fun in photography, having fun with different cameras… but also this becomes the necessary evil at the same time.

It’s necessary for new inspiration to be injected as different cameras produce different results, but also an evil when it becomes too easy to turn us into Gadget Men rather than real photographers who are focused on producing better and better images.

It becomes a personal choice for one to choose sitting around in coffee shops comparing gears OR getting out there to shoot something. I walked through both stages.

So, if you have a camera lying around not used, take it out and shoot something. You never know what you can do unless you go find out. Or sell it to one who will actually use it to produce images that speak…

Photography is about shooting, NOT talking.

It was a spontaneous smile!

I have been very busy lately. But I thank God I still manage to walk the streets about once a week. Taking time to see what others do on the streets make me less self-focused. Human nature is selfish. Life is always about [...]]]> This is another portrait I did in the series.

It was a spontaneous smile!

I have been very busy lately. But I thank God I still manage to walk the streets about once a week. Taking time to see what others do on the streets make me less self-focused. Human nature is selfish. Life is always about “I”, “Me”, “What I Want”, “What I Need”… we hardly even mention “We” (our loved ones), and much less “He” or “She” who are strangers to us.

For the ones who are close to us, it seems natural to just take them for granted. In the airline I used to work in, the most fussy complaining passengers are the ones getting the most attention. Our loved ones are often like the quiet passengers who appreciate us silently, or even doing things for us without us knowing. (there were those kind passengers I knew who would just walk into my galley to throw a used plastic cup into the trash bin or get a drink from us without pressing the call button when we were so busy…)

Sometimes, the people in our lives are like passengers. They come and go. There are the nasty ones as well as the kind ones. Our loved ones are our faithful passengers (without much of a choice). No one knows when this flight will end. But we are all called to serve. (with cheer)

It is relaxing for me to walk the streets. I do not have to shoot to enjoy myself. Being there, sometimes chatting with strangers is already enough for me. For these are the strangers who make me realize the world is NOT just about ME.

I thank God for them.

I wish to know [...]]]> I’m having a super busy 2 weeks lately and thus, the lack of updates. Here’s one of the portrait from my “Portraits of Strangers” series…

I wish to know you more.

1. In 2 days’ time, I’ll be speaking at the 1-Utama Shopping Centre MPH bookstore, click HERE to find out more. This is for people who are interested in the PEN and those who need questions on which camera to [...]]]> Just some info on where to catch me in case you are not following Olympus Malaysia’s Facebook.

1. In 2 days’ time, I’ll be speaking at the 1-Utama Shopping Centre MPH bookstore, click HERE to find out more. This is for people who are interested in the PEN and those who need questions on which camera to buy to begin in photography. There will be PEN sets for loan to try out.

2. 8 MORE DAYS to sign up! The second Olympus workshop in 2010 is targeted at the PEN users, BUT all can join. Canon and Nikon users are encouraged to join too to discover the PEN and also for an enriching session of Pasar Malam Street Shoot with a Photo Critique Session (if weather permits). Click HERE to find out more.

As for those up North in Malaysia, keep 9 Aug FREE as there will be a workshop in Penang. More details will be updated in Olympus Facebook Page soon.