Question of What and How

(Camera: Ricoh GX200 with DW-6)

Last week the author spoke with a local graphic designer who is famous in Hong Kong and China. Actually, he is a recognised master and sought-after speaker in the industry. Another lesser known talent he has is drawing cartoon characters.

So the brief conversation also touched on creativity. Some parents, admirably in his eye, gave the freedom for their children to draw on one theme for years. We agreed that such a single-focus approach is a fruitful way to train up one's ability to see things in multiple perspectives. The gist of creativity lies exactly in that ability, said he.

The same can be said of photography. To excel in photography, the aspirant photographers may try to work on various subject matters. Fact is, it pays to nail down to just one or two themes. Instead of devoting a good deal of time to setting different themes now and again, the photographer should focus on what to express on a particular theme and how. Then keep working on it. Over time the person will be adept at and bolder in trying novel attempts in the forms and styles of expressions.

If you come across a scene fit for a photographic theme on a daily basis, why not start with it to sharpen your creativity? As for the author, the working persons in the street make a handy constant theme to work on.

Comments

A Real Hero

(Grip On Reality: This photo was taken on my way to work. I was walking past trucks parking on a cul-de-sac when the ropes caught my attention. The light was right, the colour was right and the criss-crossing pattern was perfect and I held up my GX200. People passing by checked me out and wondered what could be made out of such a boring scene. To me, the fun in photography is that the photographer makes something interesting out of what is not obvious to most at the scene. The ropes tied in knots somehow reminded people I know who are in the grip of the recession) You must have also known a friend or two, or even yourself, being baffled by the spiral downturn of the economy. Bank went bankrupt and the rich was faced with a shrinking wealth. A friend of mine has just had his salary cut by over 10% and some of his colleagues started to be shed. But, wait. Was this done really for the sake of continuing the business? Or is there a factor or greed in it? I wonder whether the

New Low Prices

The window shopping some hours ago has almost provoked my AgIDS illness. Just in case you’re in Hong Kong or are coming here, and have the money to burn (All in HK$/ body only): GX200 = $3,280 GRD2 = $3,380 LX3 = $3,180 G10 = $3,280 Prices are available form a gear shop on the 1st floor of the Mongkok Computer Centre. Besides these new low prices, I found that Wing Shing Photo (55-57Sai Yeung Choi St., MK Tel: 2396 6886/ 91-95 Fa Yuen St., MK Tel: 2396 6885) is offering a Sony A700 + Carl Zeiss Lens package for HK$9,980 (hopefully, a bargain will make it some hundreds cheaper).

Eye Contact

(Leica D-lux 5) The digital era may make it easier to end up with fave shots. Even lousy photos may be turned likable after a few clicks in the post-processing workflow. But if digital advancement or amendments have any bearing on the cultivation of personal style, no photographers will need to discover his or her own photographer’s eye. Undoutedly, this is out of the question. Only with a trained photographer’s eye can we give a thinking gaze and capture an eternal moment, in our unique style. Style is the soul of a great photo. A few posts have been written in GXG to touch on the topic of photographer’s eye. Instead of finding an answer, which would require academic discussions, the posts are intended to give my general reflections and spark interests in moving towards further exploration of the topic. The posts can be viewed after the links: 1) Photographer's Eye: Storytelling 2) Photographer's Eye: Little Show of Observing 3) Photographer's Eye: Sight-Worthy 4

GX GARNERINGS

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