OddStuff's odd stuff

Today's seminar wasn't about how to shoot good pictures but to decide when to take that picture of the moment. An additional half an hour overshot the original schedule of 2-5 pm led to a premature end - the CS3 workflow couldn't be covered and yet I couldn't witness any signs of disappointment when Jeff announced the release of the auditorium back to National Science Centre. By and large, all were immersed into his speech that stimulates "photographic" thinking.

A humble CY Leow delivered a direct and straightforward seminar which had the audience configured into a laughter mode. In one instance, somebody asked if it was Leow's intention to shoot his pictures blur, suggesting a possible creativity, at which point he responded with his finger pointing to the projector above. There were a few challenge questions in which he brought up the issue of ethical photos and whether or not they should be published in the news, and during which time he had the opportunity to listen to  audience viewpoints. Triggered by the question from the floor of what may constitute his fear in photography whilst on assignment during his early days, his answer directly led to his reason for moving to "Middle Earth."

With his new Mac, he showcased his favourite collection of photos which he deemed "decisive" - unique photos that capture the moment and yet not captured by anyone else; and photos that capture that particular millisecond when the moment happened (and where the next shot can be an entirely different story), for example, the water splash that was about to wet two persons.

Right after the slideshow, Leow went on to describe his photos, slide by slide, on how and why he took the shot. The photos speak inspiration, and he was so passionate in elaborating that moment; many are historical in nature. There are many elements he talked about - the lenses he used (mostly f/2.8) and fish eye lens, exposure, focusing (manual), scanning, angle, framing, foreground and background, composition, film photography, and setbacks he encountered during work. By far, the motor drive is one of his highest dependencies. His shots are generally people-related, including landscape, street, portraiture, sports, kids, candid and journalism. He later shared photography works of Henri Cartier-Bresson, whose photos were only in B&W, many of them highlights those decisive moments.

Earlier, he pointed out two important aspects of photography in the form of straightforward quotes by two gurus, Jonathan Swift and Robert Capa - a learning point for everyone... read on. He further quoted that training will not make one a good photographer; rather, one needs to have that "X" factor to be able to take good photos. No exact formula was given and one should assume in order to have that "X" factor, he or she should develop the vision and make that decision... quick! Well, that's my assumption. Cameras ain't important, as he went on - this was easily understood. Finally, the part on shooting good pictures - Leow quoted the use of a great tool... Google, and one can easily get 20,000 hits when one searches on "how to shoot good photos." 20,000 is an understatement; you are likely to get them by the millions!

A good tip for those who does archiving and backup: The CDRs and DVDRs normally used for the purpose do not last forever, as the dyes will wear out over time, and data disappears. While there are no obvious solutions to archiving, Leow more or less hinted we should consider alternative archiving solutions. Seriously!

The seminar ended with a group photo and desktop calendars for 2008 were given away. The event was sponsored by LG and Leow will be given a Viewty for shooting.

For the benefit of those who couldn't make the session, here are the two points.

"Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others" - Jonathan Swift

"If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough" - Robert Capa

Event details here. The initial blog by Jeff is here. I was there with my gears but no action from me. Neither did Jeff Sparrow, who has recovered by a giant leap.

Latest (23rd Dec): Photos by LensaMalaysia are now available.