Saturday, July 18, 2009

Street photography tips - by KFJ

(I c&p these tips from Abedib's FB, written by KFJ).

By Khairil Faizi Jamian:
Some quick tips for streets photography AbeDib, something that I have been trained & learned from some professional photojournalists/ documentary photographers:
1) Clothing:
- "Neutral color": khakis or dark pants, white/ black grey shirt – comfortable for the time of the day
- No glaring colors – this will attract attention
... Read more
2) Equipments:
- Minimalist: bring only what you know you will need – wide angle lens/ prime/ maybe zoom lens would do the work for some people. Speed lights? (Well…maybe not!). Battery grip? Depends on your shooting style.
- Make sure your batteries are fully charged & place at the fast access compartment of your bag / pants, so you would not take much time to replace the used unit
- Memory cards – fresh & empty. Bring extras & place place at the fast access compartment of your bag / pants.
- Sling or backpack – up to you but as minimal as possible – you need to move fast and slow, fast & slow, so you need energy to bring lotsa load, so go figure!
- Water bottle might help if you are working long hours in areas where bottled water supply is hard to get
- Small towel & extra t-shirt just incase you have to work longer hours for that extra “uumph” shots!
... Read more
4) PLAN your work:
- know what you want to get, sketch it.
- know your route (and escape route if it’s not a friendly neighborhood)
- if you are working in groups,2 is the acceptable count, 3 is the max, anymore than 3, is a circus.
- respect the subjects & community – it’s not about you with your expensive equipments but it’s about you knowing them and doing something for them.
- be friendly, very friendly, read their body language – positive or negative & act/ re-act accordingly

Happy hunting AbeDib!

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Empty Cup

I received an email in a yahoogroup, but I don't remember which. It contains the following summary:



Someone wrote:
The empty hole in the center
of a cup is the useful part.

Brad replied:
Not while it's empty.

Lynda asks
Isn't it still useful while it's empty?

Pat states:
Yes it is, as it is a possibility.

Peter says:
Everything has value and worth..even space...
depends on one's orientation to seeing value
and worth in life and the Universe and "in space."

Doug continues:
An empty hole is useful. An empty glass has
nothing to offer. An empty glass can be filled.
What you fill the space with can be beautiful
or haunting

David Adds:
What makes one assume that a hole is really
empty to begin with? It may not contain
something we can see but this does not mean
it's really empty. Maybe we can look closer
to see that something is there?

Vic Challenges:
It's the same pattern as a road. The empty road
can be seen as more useful to travelers than a
full one. And a full road or full cup is being
used to capacity. It's a change of definition to
make a cup into a baseball or a road into a
parking lot. The hole or empty part of the cup
enables it to be useful as a cup. The emptiness
pattern in the road allows travel.

Brad reinserts:
All with emptiness.

Francis adds:
Full, half-full, half-empty. empty with a hole,
empty without a hole. Realizing the state of
the container, is the first step to doing something
positive about it. The first step. Many of us
are unable or struggling to take that first step.

Doug questions:
The cup can be equivalent to life purpose. Whatever
is added to the cup takes the shape of the cup or
life purpose. Some discuss the difference between
half empty versus half full. My question is: are you
pouring or are you drinking?

Dale offers:
I am the cup.

wah yuen expresses:
You have to pour first before you can drink.
Those who try to drink from the cup of life
before contributing towards it will only taste
emptiness.

Francis reflects:
I have decided that I have to act on the
given situation. Am I a taker or a giver?
Do I think of myself and act for my benefit
only? Do I think of others (friends &
colleagues- to be appreciated) without a
thought for myself or my loved ones. Do I
share what I have with all.

Vic mentioned elsewhere:
Silence can be like the hole in the cup. The
most useful part.

Neha jumps in:
Well, are we discussing the empty space or
the cup? The empty space is empty because
we see it that way, it still has air! You
see what you believe. If you see it FILLED
with air...its not as empty...:-)

Rey adds:
The cup runneth over.