Monthly Archive for April, 2004

depressing songs?

Published
by
acroamatic
on Thursday, 29 April 2004
in Musings
. 0 Comments

Ruth started with an entry on the most depressing song she knows: Mad World by Gary Jules (actually, by Tears for Fears… it’s a remake). I heard the Gary Jules version while watching Donnie Darko. The movie and the song go hand in hand. Qinyi goes for Gloomy Sunday.

But this is my pick. It’s not outright depressing. In fact, it’s funny/charming/happy/sad/tragic/sweet all at the same time. The wonders of irony, of juxtaposition. And the music that goes with the lyrics… if you don’t pay attention to the words, you’d think that this is the happiest tune in the world! Which makes this song even more tragic. You really have to listen to the song to get the full effect… (no… i never said to go download it… ;P )

Me and You versus The World

Written By Scott/Griffiths and Space

I first met you hanging knickers on the line.
From that moment on.
I knew that there could only be one outcome.
Me and you against the world forever.
You had no folks and I’m just a joke.
But we made a vow.
That we would never sell each other out.
A lie detector wouldn’t make me doubt you.

Now we know that it’s us versus the world now.
Me and you against the world now.
Look up there in the sky now.
See those stars well they’re shining just for us.
Hey now, me and you against the world now
Look up there in the sky now.
See those stars well they’re shining just for us

We hitched a ride that would turn out suicide
I had my ‘45 replica gun.
I didn’t think we’d ever need it.
Didn’t know he had a real one loaded.
You went in first, took the worst.
Couldn’t hear me shouting you.
To stop above the busy traffic passing by
We promised that together we would die.

Now we know that it’s us versus the world now.
Me and you against the world now.
Look up there in the sky now.
See those stars well they’re shining just for us.
Hey now, me and you against the world now
Look up there in the sky now.
See those stars well they’re shining just for us.

I went in next
Took a bullet in the chest.
So I hit him with the only thing that was anywhere near me.
A tin of baked beans and a woman’s weekly.
I grabbed the cash
Picked you up and made a dash.
Didn’t get too far
Made it to the parking lot.
40 cops in front of us.
Guess who got shot…

Lying there dying in each others arms.
Oh you said to me.
Don’t worry about a thing my little sweetheart.
We’re together we shall never be apart.
You took a chance on a loser like me.
But you never let me down.
And whether we’re in Heaven or Hell
I know it’s better than separate cells.

Now we know that it’s us versus the world now.
Me and you against the world now.
Look up there in the sky now.
See those stars well they’re shining just for us.
Hey now, me and you against the world now
Look up there in the sky now.
See those stars well they’re shining just for us.

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photographic memory

Published
by
acroamatic
on Wednesday, 28 April 2004
in Personal
. 0 Comments

been going through all my photos to see what i can use in my portfolio. i’ve almost forgotten some people, places and events in the photos. yet some others are permanently etched in my mind - no need for photos. it’s quite a task on one level, just ploughing through all them. for example, i have 27 rolls just from the yep expedition to hainan. on another level, it’s an emotional rollercoaster - people, places and events that bring a smile, a tear or both. and it’s not just the image depicted in the photo. i remember what i was feeling when i took the photo, what i was thinking, who i showed it to and when - the whole context that surrounds the photos’ conception, creation and display. i even remember photo opportunities that i never captured on film. times when i was too slow to encapsulate the moment or or when the weather was just too horrible or when i just thought it best to leave it as a memory.

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five basic photography principles

Published
by
acroamatic
on Wednesday, 21 April 2004
in Advice and Photos
. 0 Comments

read this on offstone and found it interesting… it’s instructional, inspirational, comforting and humbling all at once.

5 Basic Photography Principles

1. Photographers are not primarily interested in photographs. They have a focused energy and enthusiasm which is directed at an outside, physically present, other. They bring to this subject an exaggerated sense of curiosity, backed up by knowledge gleaned from reading, writing, talking, note taking.

2. The photographer transmits this passion in “the other itself” by making pictures, therefore the subject must lend itself to a visual medium, as opposed to, say, writing about it.

3. The photographer must assiduously practice his/her craft so that there is no technical impediment bewteen realizing the idea and transmitting it through the final print.

4. The photographer must have the ability to analyze the components of the subject-idea so that a set of images not only reflects the basic categories but also displays visual variety. Intense, clear thinking is a prerequisite to fine photography.

5. The photographer is aware that, like all difficult endeavors, to be good at photography requires an unusual capacity for continuous hardwork and……….

Good Luck!

Quoted from “On Being a Photographer” (2001) by

David Hurn/Magnum, &
Bill Jay/Lens Work

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girls of central mall

Published
by
acroamatic
on Monday, 19 April 2004
in Personal
. 0 Comments

i’ve been ill most of the past week and also busy with photography, so i haven’t had time to write in my blog. actually, i probably did have the time but wasn’t in the mood to write.

despite being ill, it was a good week. i managed to meet up with joy and felicia, who were back in singapore during the easter break. the conversations and company was terrific. =)

i was fortunate to get a job covering an event during the easter weekend. i took a kilo of shots - literally almost a thousand in just a day and a half. it was no joke colour correcting and tweaking the photos… especially when i was down with a sore throat, cold and cough. and headache.

i’ve also been trying to learn more about portrait photography (indoor and outdoor) and getting practice almost every weekend. i almost managed to get a product shoot job for a major store thro’ the event last week. that would have helped alleviate my almost perpetual empty pocket situation. i’m not overly disappointed that i didn’t get it; it was great knowing that i was considered!

since switching to digital, i have not been very pleased with my photos whether personal or commissioned. there was something about my photos in late 2001 and 2002 that really made them shine. perhaps i was improving through sheer effort - i did return home with more than 1000 photos that year. perhaps it was the people i was with. i thought switching to a consumer digital camera was what lowered my standards in 2003. partly, yes but switching back to SLR (albeit digital) this year hasn’t resulted in the return of that ‘pop’ in my photos.

whatever the case, i need more practice. practice makes perfect, and while there is no perfection in photography, there is always room to develop.

hmmm, a lot of ‘i’s in this entry somehow… anyway, here are some outdoor portraits from a morning shoot on good friday… it’s been a long time since i put my pintophotos watermark on my work!

(serena 01)
serena is a model with a glowing smile. she’s very bubbly and it isn’t hard to take a good photo of her.

(serena 02)
the original photo for this one had a very warm tone, with serena’s face bathed in red. the wall was originally red too. in order to get her skin tones down to acceptable levels, the rest of the photo had to be washed out. this was the best i could do but i like the end result. the washed out colours gives a dream-like feel to the photo, complementing serena’s look. and of course, you can see her reflection in the door. my favvourite of the lot.

(serena 03)
i like how the walkway converges, ‘leading’ to serena’s face. did a bit of tweaking ‘cos her face was slightly underexposed.

(leen 01)
leen is great at the “don’t mess with me” look. like serena’s second photo, leen’s face was awash in red. someone commented that i made her face too yellow, giving her a jaundiced look. it looks fine to me on my monitor though. and i like the contrast between the blue wall and her skin tone. her hair is a bit messy, but the ruffled look give interest to the photo. composition wise, i can do a tighter crop with her face more on the left of the photo.

(leen 02)
the weakest photo of the lot. not much to say.

(leen 03)
once again, i could have cropped this better. *gasp* no, she’s not naked…

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false dawn

Published
by
acroamatic
on Tuesday, 6 April 2004
in Musings
. 0 Comments

a poem i read on a forum i frequent:

“False Dawn”

`merdeka’, they said, pointed the way for all

to a new dawn of a better life and a rosy future.

on this all the party manifestoes concurred,

only on the road to be taken they differed –

for the anglicised-democrats, consult and negotiate;

the socialists planned mass grievances to agitate.

their mandate the people eventually gave

the party that promised their cause to fight,

and jobs, food and shelter all to provide.

the ‘Always for the People Party’ pledged

a more just and equal society to build,

regardless of race, language or religion.

so over three decades and more,

the people stuck true to their bargain,

voting in their Party to power.

they ne’er thought the ‘people’s champion’

would renege on the promises to them

whose backs he had used to climb to power.

then the people lost the rights they had

when they weren’t yet a people free - -

the right to speak up and be heard,

the right to gather and to ‘agitate’,

the right to vote as the conscience dictate - -

the rights and dignity of ‘a people free’.

they soon realized they’d been sold

on promises never meant to be - -

a greater sharing of the common wealth,

the fruit of the people’s sweat and tears - -

they’d never to meritocracy subscribed,

meritocracy fronting paradise for an elite-few.

deprived the freedom to think,

they think no longer and so lose,

the spirit of spontaneity and enterprise.

as globalization begins its toll to take,

the people slogged more for less, then told

citizenship assures them not a livelihood.

one people, one nation forevermore,

only in fulness of time to know nationhood

confers not on nation-building pioneers,

any greater claims to privileges or rights

than those freely gifted away to quitters

who’ve come from some foreign shores.

which mother knows not

the children of her loins?

what shepherd heeds not

the bleating of his flock?

what nation worth the name

cares not for her very own?

and what great champion of the people

their needs and dignity he trivializes?

the people no longer need to wait,

the time is now their lot to remake.

just make certain at the end of the day,

the people’s dream has come to stay.

tragic would it be for the people to find,

at the end of the re-making nation process,

many roads they could choose to travel on,

only that none of these could they choose

would lead them to a destination

they could truly call home.

Ho CS 02/04/2004

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