My thoughts are coming in rather quickly now for some reason and I need to record them down before I forget.
The identity of a person could be appropriated by someone else online and be spread globally. Due to the vastness of the web, one could be anyone. It was weird seeing my name being listed on several well-read blogs for the articles (or rather the photographers I've uncovered) that I have posted. I had this surreal feeling that I was someone else...and someone else was being me.
Last night, while acting as the backup photographer for a friend, I became uncharacteristically flamboyant and overly friendly with the guests. It was weird seeing how I acted from a third-person point of vew. When I got back, I felt kinda guilty about my behavior because the guests thought that I was the main guy while my friend was hiding in the shadows taking (I believe) fantastic photojournalistic shots.
So that brings me back to this surreal feeling of being here, not being here. Even sitting down and typing this, I feel two opposing forces acting in my head, one processing the thoughts and the other looking at it.
Totally weird.
Saturday, September 29
Thought Process(es)
Today during the weekend-long conceptual photography class, we were asked to piece together pictures from magazines to create new meanings to the images by placing them into different context. I made a startling discovery about myself, as well as a brief look at how different people's minds worked.
I realized that I am very interested in the symbolism of things behind images, placing them semiotically. Maybe that's why my works often contain hidden references that may be hard for viewers to ascertain what's really going on.
A friend, T, who was in the same class seemed more preoccupied with the aestheical qualities of images. He was interested in color, shape and texture.
Other classmates' thought processes were also interesting to note as you could see their own experiences come through in their selection of the images. Very Freudian exercise, I would say. It's interesting what people can come up with.
I realized that I am very interested in the symbolism of things behind images, placing them semiotically. Maybe that's why my works often contain hidden references that may be hard for viewers to ascertain what's really going on.
A friend, T, who was in the same class seemed more preoccupied with the aestheical qualities of images. He was interested in color, shape and texture.
Other classmates' thought processes were also interesting to note as you could see their own experiences come through in their selection of the images. Very Freudian exercise, I would say. It's interesting what people can come up with.
Empty
Somedays, don't you have this empty feeling inside? It's as if everything else doesn't really matter and you're just living because you had to?
Maybe it's the lack of sleep but it's been a really busy week.
Maybe it's the lack of sleep but it's been a really busy week.
Wednesday, September 26
Fighting Monks
Okay, reports of the monks being attacked by the military in Myanmar are all over the international news. This may be a prelude to some intense fighting and bloodshed if nothing is done to curb the soldiers.
So it's the men in green vs the men in orange/red. I just hope that the whole situation would be resolved in a peaceful manner. Was thinking about cracking an inappropriate joke about Shaolin monks but I guess it'd be more prudent to say it next time, if things go well.
So it's the men in green vs the men in orange/red. I just hope that the whole situation would be resolved in a peaceful manner. Was thinking about cracking an inappropriate joke about Shaolin monks but I guess it'd be more prudent to say it next time, if things go well.
Tuesday, September 25
That Strange Country
Note: This post contains political elements that are purely based on heresay and my own comments.
I have been observing the news in Myanmar for the past few weeks - the peaceful demonstrations by the monks and the subsequent actions taken by the UN and the Burmese junta.
I spoke to a friend from Myanmar in class just now. He told me if I heard anything about his country and obviously I said yes. I thught that the monks were doing something great for the nation. As religious figures in a largely Buddhist-dominant country (and region), the monks are considered untouchable. The government can't do anything against them...until the announcement this morning that they would use force if necessary.
My friend mentioned that it all started with several incidents. 500 monks were allegedly poisoned and 3 abbots were beaten up or something. That led to an outrage across the nation, with 100,000 of them participating in the walking demonstration over the weekend. The house-arrested Aung San Su Kyii could only look at them marching past without a word.
Now, he cannot call back home as communications with the outside world has been cut off. The junta's leader is hiding somewhere in Thailand and a tight apprehensive air hangs over the country. The UN sanctions may cause the junta to behave but the situation is so tense that a slight movement by the monks could get some of them wiped out. The burning monk event in Vietnam 44 years ago comes to mind. Would they resort to shock tactics like that to bring their point across? ASEAN's awfully quiet now. The meeting a few weeks ago pushed for greater democracy in Myanmar but I think it's only bullshit. Seriously, this ASEAN thing is getting kinda draggy.
My interest in Myanmar is due to the fact that I was planning to go up there in December, to explore the country. It's one of the last few places in South-East Asia that I have not visited. But given the current state of things, I think that could become quite impossible. I do not want to risk another incident like what the South Koreans experienced in Afghanistan. I would be responsible for the people whom I'm bringing up with me so I can't risk their lives and mine.
Shrugs. A trivial question remains, where else could we go?
I have been observing the news in Myanmar for the past few weeks - the peaceful demonstrations by the monks and the subsequent actions taken by the UN and the Burmese junta.
I spoke to a friend from Myanmar in class just now. He told me if I heard anything about his country and obviously I said yes. I thught that the monks were doing something great for the nation. As religious figures in a largely Buddhist-dominant country (and region), the monks are considered untouchable. The government can't do anything against them...until the announcement this morning that they would use force if necessary.
My friend mentioned that it all started with several incidents. 500 monks were allegedly poisoned and 3 abbots were beaten up or something. That led to an outrage across the nation, with 100,000 of them participating in the walking demonstration over the weekend. The house-arrested Aung San Su Kyii could only look at them marching past without a word.
Now, he cannot call back home as communications with the outside world has been cut off. The junta's leader is hiding somewhere in Thailand and a tight apprehensive air hangs over the country. The UN sanctions may cause the junta to behave but the situation is so tense that a slight movement by the monks could get some of them wiped out. The burning monk event in Vietnam 44 years ago comes to mind. Would they resort to shock tactics like that to bring their point across? ASEAN's awfully quiet now. The meeting a few weeks ago pushed for greater democracy in Myanmar but I think it's only bullshit. Seriously, this ASEAN thing is getting kinda draggy.
My interest in Myanmar is due to the fact that I was planning to go up there in December, to explore the country. It's one of the last few places in South-East Asia that I have not visited. But given the current state of things, I think that could become quite impossible. I do not want to risk another incident like what the South Koreans experienced in Afghanistan. I would be responsible for the people whom I'm bringing up with me so I can't risk their lives and mine.
Shrugs. A trivial question remains, where else could we go?
That Sticky Issue
Whenever I talk to people who enquire about my rates, I get the typical responses, "No way! That's too high! We can't afford you!" Then they put in some niceties and I will never see them again (ever).
So I raised my rates this year and well, my volume of sales has gone down (really really down) but I was optimistic about getting some in to cover the lost opportunities. I waited. And I waited. And I waited. 5 months have passed and I have been rejected from quite a number of jobs. Exasperated at that, I was pondering if I was charging too high with nothing to show. But I maintained the stand that I'm worth that rate and I will stand by it (till maybe when I'm really desperate).
While talking to another photographer friend, who shares a mutual friend with me. (Said person could be a potential source of income) She said that our friend asked her about my rates and wondered if it was exorbitantly high. The friend was rather shocked when I told her what I charged a few weeks ago.
Well, my friend's answer was that the real pros charge much more. Even she did (and at a much higher rate). Given the kind of work I produce, I should ask for more, she said.
I'm at the lower end of the market where demand is strong and relatively elastic, supply is high and very elastic too. However, I'm positioning myself towards the higher end of the supply chain where demand is conversely lower. My main aim is not so much about getting the money in but propelling myself towards the next tier (hop over to a new graph) where supply is not so high and I can afford to charge much more.
This market positioning may not be worth it in the short run, where clients are fickle, always flitting towards the lowest cost producers. In a cutthroat environment, nothing else but money (ah! the M word) speaks...quality of work is disregarded, pride is cast aside. And how can a person move up the supply chain if you do not evolve and produce better work? Stress felt during a large project (many dollar signs involved) could actually be beneficial.
For example, if you paid me like $5 to take a picture of a product, I probably would just shoot it with my handphone and MMS it to you. But if you paid me like $5,000, I would probably hire a whole production crew just to make my work stand out. And the clients I meet don't understand this. All they want is an image and for me to scot off.
To add to that, I was talking to H from school, whom I shot earlier in the year. H is a part time model and he was involved in a photoshoot last Friday that I was asked to send a bid to. He wondered why I wasn't shooting it, since the student body involved was the same one that got me to do the last job. They had no budget and the money promised was only sufficient for my taxi rides to school. He complained about how this other person was so unprofessional and didn't know what he was doing, appearing very amateurish. The moral of the story is that you get what you paid for. Granted that this applies to a student body, which doesn't have much money (but they have one of the highest budgets from school), I would still think that it could be extrapolated into the real world.
That said, in order not to appear like some soulless money-grabber, I would gladly do something for less if:
1) a very good friend asks me to
2) it would be fun and new for me
3) I get to do the entire conceptualization to make it uber cool
4) it would be good for my portfolio
Photography should not become just a tool to make money. I still love it and I just hope to be more inspired to do my own thing (with expenses covered, of course).
The ability to combine both economics and marketing in one post is rather amazing, eh? At least I'm learning something from school.
So I raised my rates this year and well, my volume of sales has gone down (really really down) but I was optimistic about getting some in to cover the lost opportunities. I waited. And I waited. And I waited. 5 months have passed and I have been rejected from quite a number of jobs. Exasperated at that, I was pondering if I was charging too high with nothing to show. But I maintained the stand that I'm worth that rate and I will stand by it (till maybe when I'm really desperate).
While talking to another photographer friend, who shares a mutual friend with me. (Said person could be a potential source of income) She said that our friend asked her about my rates and wondered if it was exorbitantly high. The friend was rather shocked when I told her what I charged a few weeks ago.
Well, my friend's answer was that the real pros charge much more. Even she did (and at a much higher rate). Given the kind of work I produce, I should ask for more, she said.
I'm at the lower end of the market where demand is strong and relatively elastic, supply is high and very elastic too. However, I'm positioning myself towards the higher end of the supply chain where demand is conversely lower. My main aim is not so much about getting the money in but propelling myself towards the next tier (hop over to a new graph) where supply is not so high and I can afford to charge much more.
This market positioning may not be worth it in the short run, where clients are fickle, always flitting towards the lowest cost producers. In a cutthroat environment, nothing else but money (ah! the M word) speaks...quality of work is disregarded, pride is cast aside. And how can a person move up the supply chain if you do not evolve and produce better work? Stress felt during a large project (many dollar signs involved) could actually be beneficial.
For example, if you paid me like $5 to take a picture of a product, I probably would just shoot it with my handphone and MMS it to you. But if you paid me like $5,000, I would probably hire a whole production crew just to make my work stand out. And the clients I meet don't understand this. All they want is an image and for me to scot off.
To add to that, I was talking to H from school, whom I shot earlier in the year. H is a part time model and he was involved in a photoshoot last Friday that I was asked to send a bid to. He wondered why I wasn't shooting it, since the student body involved was the same one that got me to do the last job. They had no budget and the money promised was only sufficient for my taxi rides to school. He complained about how this other person was so unprofessional and didn't know what he was doing, appearing very amateurish. The moral of the story is that you get what you paid for. Granted that this applies to a student body, which doesn't have much money (but they have one of the highest budgets from school), I would still think that it could be extrapolated into the real world.
That said, in order not to appear like some soulless money-grabber, I would gladly do something for less if:
1) a very good friend asks me to
2) it would be fun and new for me
3) I get to do the entire conceptualization to make it uber cool
4) it would be good for my portfolio
Photography should not become just a tool to make money. I still love it and I just hope to be more inspired to do my own thing (with expenses covered, of course).
The ability to combine both economics and marketing in one post is rather amazing, eh? At least I'm learning something from school.
Rejuvenation
I've been suffering from a very dry creative spell for quite some time now. And today seemed like just another day where I dragged my feet to school, hoping that the week will be over soon. Serendipitously, my first class at 12pm ended early. And a good photographer was around the area and we did some catching up. I went for my class at 3:30pm and guess what, we were let off early. My prof felt that it was stupid asking us to create design assignments in class every Monday when people were not learning anything. WIth that, I took some time off to study for my test tomorow and was actually able to attend a talk by visiting photographer Mauricio Alejo, from NYC.
He talked about his life in NY, how he managed to get there from Mexico and how his work got discovered. I really digged the stuff he showed during the talk; all I could find online were lousy web reproductions. Anyway, after seeing his stuff and talking to some people I haven't seen in a while, my spirits were uplifted somehow. I have been thinking recently about choices in life and you know, sometimes practicalities stand in the way of passion, thus causing a shift in a person's priorities.
Due to some spillover effect, I may have an assignment this Friday to break my five-month long dry spell (finally!). I am attending the rest of Mauricio's talk this Wed and his workshop on Friday, to learn more about conceptual photography...and it definitely makes me happier than going to school for classes.
Perhaps after this, I would be able to be reinspired and create some new work. It's been a long time since I did an extended series...save for that short little shoot two weeks ago for my other blog. Alright, guess it's back to the books for me.
He talked about his life in NY, how he managed to get there from Mexico and how his work got discovered. I really digged the stuff he showed during the talk; all I could find online were lousy web reproductions. Anyway, after seeing his stuff and talking to some people I haven't seen in a while, my spirits were uplifted somehow. I have been thinking recently about choices in life and you know, sometimes practicalities stand in the way of passion, thus causing a shift in a person's priorities.
Due to some spillover effect, I may have an assignment this Friday to break my five-month long dry spell (finally!). I am attending the rest of Mauricio's talk this Wed and his workshop on Friday, to learn more about conceptual photography...and it definitely makes me happier than going to school for classes.
Perhaps after this, I would be able to be reinspired and create some new work. It's been a long time since I did an extended series...save for that short little shoot two weeks ago for my other blog. Alright, guess it's back to the books for me.
Monday, September 24
Humility
I met this really irritating person on Friday who taught me an important lesson in life. He couldn't stop boasting about his achievements, how he revolutionalized an organization and how his company was doing quite well. He also talked about himself all throughout the conversation. Midway, I regretted asking questions about him, trying to be friendly and all. He just couldn't stop talking...how he could charge his rates because he provided the very best equipment, the very best this and that. Argh.
The worse thing was that we (my friends and I) were so turned off that we wanted him to stop. We talked among ourselves, peeking at each other's screen and avoiding his eye. BUT he still kept going on and on. He could probably win the Duracell award for the Most Irritating Person to Talk to. Even though he made me feel rather jealous about what he has done, it suddenly dawned on me if I had acted like him before. And I'm afraid that I have (though not to such an extreme).
Hey, in a conversation, the other party is important too! Any exchange of knowledge is made better if there was free movement of thoughts, instead of one person dominating the entire conversation. And gee, stop being so arrogant and full of yourself. (Once again, I'm guilty of that.)
Nevertheless, I feel that it is time that I become more humble...the Zen master does not boast about his enlightenment. He merely shows the light to those who come before him. My successes/failures in life serve as stepping stones, to guide me towards greater goals but I shall never publicize my mini-battles as if they were victories in war.
The worse thing was that we (my friends and I) were so turned off that we wanted him to stop. We talked among ourselves, peeking at each other's screen and avoiding his eye. BUT he still kept going on and on. He could probably win the Duracell award for the Most Irritating Person to Talk to. Even though he made me feel rather jealous about what he has done, it suddenly dawned on me if I had acted like him before. And I'm afraid that I have (though not to such an extreme).
Hey, in a conversation, the other party is important too! Any exchange of knowledge is made better if there was free movement of thoughts, instead of one person dominating the entire conversation. And gee, stop being so arrogant and full of yourself. (Once again, I'm guilty of that.)
Nevertheless, I feel that it is time that I become more humble...the Zen master does not boast about his enlightenment. He merely shows the light to those who come before him. My successes/failures in life serve as stepping stones, to guide me towards greater goals but I shall never publicize my mini-battles as if they were victories in war.
Thursday, September 13
Shooting Star
Whoa. It's the first time I have seen a shooting star from home. I was just typing stuff on the computer when something bright in the sky caught my eye.
Amazing. I hope that my wish comes true! Haha. I love shooting stars for some reasons...they always make me very excited, no matter how many times I have seen them!
Amazing. I hope that my wish comes true! Haha. I love shooting stars for some reasons...they always make me very excited, no matter how many times I have seen them!
Wednesday, September 12
Tomatoes
Yesterday in International Economics class, we were discussing about the US/EU agricultural subsidies.
Prof: So if you allow the cheaper goods from developed countries to come into the less developed countries, wouldn't everyone be better off because of trade?
Me: Well...You must consider the effects on the poor farmers who do not have the necessary skills to move on to become industrialized
Prof: Let's say this country can only grow tomatoes but cheaper tomatoes come in from the US, what would you as an advisor say? The farmers only know about growing tomatoes. Now everyone can get cheaper tomatoes, what should you say?
[Prof was getting very excitable at this point because the class was unusually silent]
Me: Make tomato juice.
[Laughter]
Prof: You're serious aren't you?
And yes I was...the poorer country may have a comparative advantage in making tomato juice and could sell it back to the developed country. But of course, this is a purely hypothetical situation, without concern to economical, technological, political factors and most importantly, how were the farmers going to afford the tomatoes and machinery to make tomato juice in the first place?
Prof: So if you allow the cheaper goods from developed countries to come into the less developed countries, wouldn't everyone be better off because of trade?
Me: Well...You must consider the effects on the poor farmers who do not have the necessary skills to move on to become industrialized
Prof: Let's say this country can only grow tomatoes but cheaper tomatoes come in from the US, what would you as an advisor say? The farmers only know about growing tomatoes. Now everyone can get cheaper tomatoes, what should you say?
[Prof was getting very excitable at this point because the class was unusually silent]
Me: Make tomato juice.
[Laughter]
Prof: You're serious aren't you?
And yes I was...the poorer country may have a comparative advantage in making tomato juice and could sell it back to the developed country. But of course, this is a purely hypothetical situation, without concern to economical, technological, political factors and most importantly, how were the farmers going to afford the tomatoes and machinery to make tomato juice in the first place?
Thursday, September 6
The Joy of Blogging
Wee! My other blog got plugged today at Conscientious, one of the more influential blog on photography. There's a spike in visitors, almost reaching 800 hits since his post.
I think that is a small success in my decision to blog about photography in Asia. And the stuff I have been digging up...they're really awesome. Writing is hard but I think I will try to write like a few posts on my days off from school and publish them daily. Hope that will lessen the workload. Lol.
I'm a happy geek today. =)
I think that is a small success in my decision to blog about photography in Asia. And the stuff I have been digging up...they're really awesome. Writing is hard but I think I will try to write like a few posts on my days off from school and publish them daily. Hope that will lessen the workload. Lol.
I'm a happy geek today. =)
Sunday, September 2
Progress
A guy pissed off with the current Odex vs young kids saga decided to stage his own protest...using toys and tiny placards for a photoshoot.
It seems harmless, right? I mean, what harm could a nerd and his anime compatriots do?
Well, the police activated four anti-riot vehicles to the scene, to supervise the entire going-ons. They even filmed the processed and took down all the participants' particulars.
It scares me to think of how authoritarian Singapore can be.
Four anti-riot vehicles for a small gathering of geeks? What were the police thinking? That the kids could somehow cause a rift in our society with their awesome manga-reading super powers? Is this our so-called progress, where the fabric of our peace and posperity is so fragile that "disturbances" should be contained to such a large extent?
I don't know. It just seem so frickin' ridiculous that it's laughable and sad at the same time.
It seems harmless, right? I mean, what harm could a nerd and his anime compatriots do?
Well, the police activated four anti-riot vehicles to the scene, to supervise the entire going-ons. They even filmed the processed and took down all the participants' particulars.
It scares me to think of how authoritarian Singapore can be.
Four anti-riot vehicles for a small gathering of geeks? What were the police thinking? That the kids could somehow cause a rift in our society with their awesome manga-reading super powers? Is this our so-called progress, where the fabric of our peace and posperity is so fragile that "disturbances" should be contained to such a large extent?
I don't know. It just seem so frickin' ridiculous that it's laughable and sad at the same time.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)