imouyang photos

2010-10-27T12:24:00.004+08:00

UBC Wreck Beach: Beauty Close to Home~

Who says you can't capture beauty close to home?

Well~ We often take these things for granted, things that are so close to us.

So I decided to celebrate their beauty in my very own way.=)

2010-10-21T04:25:00.001+08:00

"Pampering" myself before midterms~

2010-10-17T16:10:00.003+08:00

As the title suggest~ =)

2010-10-08T15:21:00.005+08:00

~8000 miles from Home...
The power of MSN... You get your photos published back in singapore when I am ~8000 miles away at vancouver=)

Article by NG Xian Hui
*This photo has been posted on FB too!*

2010-09-01T15:18:00.003+08:00

Day 1 to UBC~!

Took a series of three flights to Vancouver. Managed to get a window seat for my second flight from tokyo narita to san francisco so I decided to take some photos! This photo above was taken off the coast of Japan as the aircraft leaves. What's interesting is the "sunset patch" near the aircraft wing tip, most probably due to the high altititude of the flight I guess...

Today's series of flight was rather amusing. First flight: I got to sit at a "Economy Plus" seat, basically economy seat with more legroom (cost more also!) cuz they ran out of normal seats. Then there was an old lady sitting next to me at the centre row. She requested to sit at the aisle so she can go toilet more easily but that never happened. End up she went to sit at a normal economy seat -_-. What a twist of fate.

Anw, checking into the residence was disasterous. I can't find my way and it was raining-_-. End up my jacket was all wet and anything paper (incl my luggage tag) was almost gone too-_-.

Finally sign off with two of my crazy friends who came to visit my room:P

2010-08-30T12:17:00.002+08:00

Snippets of Japan: Preview!

Rainy days are always bad for travellers, I guess~ Haha.. But it was fun walking in the rain!

2010-08-04T13:42:00.003+08:00

Leaves

Intended to be read a a noun and as a verb... =)
The noun is literal, the verb is hidden and approaching.

2010-07-15T22:54:00.002+08:00

Some Qualities of a Good Photojournalist

A short presentation on some qualities that I think a photojournalist should possess.
* Best viewed with someone explaining (some stuff are vague by just looking)
* All photos are taken by me except "Behind the Gare St. Lazare" by the famous Henri Cartier-Bresson.
* Done for Media Club in Xin Min Secondary:)

2010-06-02T23:55:00.001+08:00

Moulding the Future

Moulding the shape in pottery is a very delicate art, just like nuturing the next generation.

Quoting from Naruto, "Our teachers have entrusted many things on us. Now is the time for us to become the ones who entrust."

Hope that one day, all those who I am mentoring (in SPH or NUS) will take on the legacy that I leave behind~

2010-05-23T23:33:00.003+08:00

Life is like a piece of paper

Many times, people tell you that you should do something in your life and not to waste it away. If not, your life will just be like a blank piece of paper. That's why there is a saying "不要把生命留白".

Well... I feel that these people also need to know something else too. If you want to do too many things in your life, your life will be like a piece of paper too. A piece of paper with lots of paint strokes.. So much so that they paper is all too wet, crumbled and torn..

Live your life in moderation. Do what you can, with what you have, right where you are.

2010-04-05T21:00:00.002+08:00

Sunsets are Short-lived so are Opportunities~

夕阳无限好，只是近黄昏。。。

Beautiful sunsets are always so charming but often short-lived. By the time, I got my DSLR out, the splendor is no more. The same applies to opportunities i guess~

Shot on iPhone.

2010-03-23T23:23:00.001+08:00

Qiang Mai Portraits Part 2: The City Hall Page

Well, for the 2nd and last stop of our Qiang Mai Portrait shoot, we go to another place bustling with the urban presence, City Hall! For this shoot, I have to say that some people are best shot naturally in a fashion as candid as possible and well, here I have one such model.

When you get models that gets very conscious over every command you give, then the best thing is to go with the flow and stop commanding and start waiting for the right moment. Since you can't generate the mood through commanding, it's up to the environment to do the job. For the cover photo, with dimmy yellow lights and lots of passerbys walking past and trying to see what's happening, the model naturally gets into a 看设么看？！state and you have to seize the moment. It's such a short-lived moment that even I wonder if i captured it when i clicked the shutter~

The shot is another shot of patience and waiting as well. Now not for the model, but for the background. Waiting for the stunt cyclists to be in the "clutches" of my model was not easy and often the model has to be always ready when I shouts "Get ready" as the backgound gets into position~

Funky places give funky portraits i guess?

Another shot that requires the background (in this case the foreground) to be in place~

Hope you guys like these portraits~ I definitely enjoyed shooting them~:)

2010-03-12T16:30:00.002+08:00

Qiang Mai Portraits Part 1: The Raffles Place Chapter~

Hey all! As promised, here is the Qiang Mai Potriats! The theme for this year's shoot is "urban/city" so naturally, our first stop would be right in the heart of the CBD at Raffles Place!

For these environmental portriats, you have to take care a lot of things, out of which, I find location to be the most important. I particularly liked the location for the first shot in the lift. It took quite some time, mainly geting the background right~ The floor we are on changes the height above ground and affect the background and also it took some time to get the "moving" metal column at the position we wanted it! (we took the lift maybe 20 times up and down?)It was really lucky that no one else was using the lift~

Trying to find good locations depends on how familiar with the place as well. To me, I have been to Raffles Place quite often so it is still not that bad. I had wanted to shoot at these tunnels near VCH for quite some time but circumstance always do not allow me to do that until the shoot day! Combining the vanishing effect of the tunnel with a well-placed light, I liked this photo a lot~ And this photo took some time as we have to wait for the tunnel to be "cleared" of people before we can even take a shot~

As usual, I like to play around with lighting~ For the shot above, the flash was "screaming" at me throughout the shoot because I kept on firing it at full power~ The light bounced off a thin strip of "ceiling" to my right and gave this really soft shadow which I like a lot~ Good job, flash!

Lastly, I would say that for such shoots, it's good to have a lot of assistants around~ Be it as mobile human lightstands or even as part of the background=P

2010-03-08T22:22:00.002+08:00

Preview Post! Qiang Mai Portrait Shoot!

Hey folks! It has been 3 weeks since I last had a blog post! Sorry because I have mid terms and piling school work. But I have been still shooting! Here is a sneak preview! So who is Pei Xuan doing makeup on? :P

Who is Pei Xuan videoing? Hmmm.... Stay tuned to find out~ Answer will be revealed in a few days time!

Note: For people who are not in SPH, Qiang Mai is an internal singing competition within the SPH student correspondent club which I am active in~ As part of their publicity, they will be taking nice portraits~ SO stay tuned!

2010-02-15T12:47:00.004+08:00

摄影小品：“动”
Motion

Just realise that these photos have something in common... Haha... Happie CNY! More photos coming!

2010-01-26T11:40:00.003+08:00

Immortality?
There is a new muesum special exhibit at Nat Muesum on Immortality and Egypt culture~ If ya interested in that, do go take a look~! Took quite some photos there but school is real busy! Will upload more photos!

Signing out~!

2010-01-15T20:30:00.000+08:00

Simple Portrait

I loved simple portraits~ Shot with a simple background, using the simple yet good old sunlight~ Cracking some jokes to make them feel at ease and then ask them to put on a simple smile~ These four people then naturally fell in place and after shifting abit... Tata, done~

Sometimes, it's just good to do things in a fashion as simple as possible~

Less is more.

2010-01-11T22:22:00.001+08:00

Favourite Portriat Shoot of 2009 Part (II)

Well... As promised, Part (II)! This time round shot at Marina Barrage with a more lively theme, which truly suits the character of my gf~ ;)

Baring your feet and happily sitting on the grass~ A shot that I always wanted to shoot. The shot was first conceptualised a few years back when I visited my gf at NTU.. Her hall was next to SADM (Sch of Art Design and Media) and they had a really nice grass patch there and this shot came to my mind.. But after so many years, the picture in my mind slowly faded until I went barrage one day! And lucky me! I have shot it:)

Lastly, to end off this portriat set, I feel that what is most important after a shoot are not neccesarily the photos but making everyone happy in the shoot~

Signing out~!

2010-01-10T00:00:00.001+08:00

Favourite Portriat Shoot of 2009 Part (I)

Nothing beats shooting your loved ones~ My gf has always wanted a portriat shoot and tata, she has it!

The shoot was done at town area, mainly around the old supreme court. Included a lot of background in these portraits which is not my usual style of tight photos~ But well, that's the whole point of going outdoors to shoot: To have the background in! Haha...

Played around with some flash lighting as well~ Like this shot with the purple backlight and soft front light~ :)

One thing I have to say is "Sorry Dear!" I planned this shoot to be more on the emo and serious side due to the place chosen and that's totally not my dear's character so she had quite some difficulty trying to 入戏(get into the mood~).. Must have been quite tough on you =(

2010-01-08T23:55:00.001+08:00

Sneak Post~

Sneak preview photo of an upcoming blog post on a portriat shoot on a "pixie"~ Stay tuned!

2010-01-02T10:00:00.000+08:00

New Year Message: Let's Move on.. To a Better Future!

Nonetheless, My message to all my loyal blog readers is to "Move on~!" Well, most ppl see these two words in a rather negative tone but well I don't! In photography, this concept is very important: You miss a good shot, you stop thinking about the blunder or else you miss more shots! Move on! Get a even better shot! It applies to life as well, I guess... ;)

Also, "Move on!" Even when you made great accomplishments this year! People who live in the past do not have a future. So throw away your complacency as well and work even harder this year!

Happie New Year!!

Note: Quite a few of my friend's blog are having new year blog posts so I decided to have one too! Altho I am one day late due to (1) I am still configuring my new Windows 7!; (2) I fell sick on the 31st:(

2009-11-14T23:33:00.003+08:00

Life Goes On, Just like the Sun

Well, today, I finished a module with a presentation. I wouldn't say I am very impressed by myself. But I dun wish to condemn myself too.. Just let it be.. Haha..

Live goes on, just like the sun sets and rise everyday regardless of rain or shine~

2009-11-06T22:45:00.000+08:00

Short-Lived~

It has been 6 weeks since I last went out to shoot proper! Coming to think about it, I love shooting sunsets actually. Although short-lived, sunsets are beautiful sights that sometime make you lament that time flies. Just like how school time flies. Well, a few more weeks to exam and a activity-packed December! Hope to get nicer photos!

Done in 10 minutes in Adobe Lightroom (Pardon the quick edit)

2009-10-21T20:45:00.002+08:00

Aerial Photo of the Sulphur Streams

Well, school is too boring and I have gone into aerial photography~ Do you believe? =P

Well, it's actually one of the compounds i synthesized in lab.. Most of them are white or dirty white so this yellow fellow is quite eye catching~ Btw, there is NO sulphur content in this compound... Just happen that the yellow colours resembles sulphur so thot of this random lame title=P

Anw, sch is busy for uni student.. No time to get used to my new lightroom software.. Seems like photos need to wait.. Haiz

2009-09-30T00:00:00.002+08:00

Answering Your Own Questions...

This post is less about photography unlike the previous ones but I just wanna talk about some things in life. Let me tell you a short story...

About a week back, I went to meet my student mentor for a research module I was taking this sem. At some time, he asked me if I have been reading research papers and I said yes, reading the ones the prof gave us. He suddenly said something that struck me. "Your prof got those research papers to answer his own doubts, his own questions. You have to answer your own questions."

It applies to life in general, I believe. In life, everyone has their own questions and doubts at some point in time. Asking people for advice may be useful but at the end of the day, their answers may not be your answers. And in life, we tend to be bothered about things that truly dun bother us. You dun have to answer other people's questions. Even if you want to, answer your own ones first~

So.. Seek out what are the real questions in life you have and what are the real answers you are looking for...

2009-09-29T22:00:00.000+08:00

On Photography and Life...

Well, I guess this photo came a bit too late as the Getai period is over, getting replaced by mooncakes~ Just wanna share this photo that reminded me of my childhood. Most of my frens would know that I love to eat and this habit started since young. I still remembered that I always pestered my mum to buy me something to eat when she dragged me along to watch getai. And i will always look out for icecream if not muah-chee stalls. Those were the good old carefree days...

Photography, especially photojournalism, is about potraying life, bringing out the best/worse in human life. Adding your own experiences into a photo gives it more story and meaning i guess. Create your own images, images that may mean a bit more to you and perhaps others who share the same experiences.

Sidenote: I am switching from DPP(Canon's raw file editor) to Adobe Camera Raw! Still gettiing used to it and will be doing the mayday photos using it so wait a while more:P

2009-09-26T10:30:00.001+08:00

Hot off the Track!

Driver: Lewis Hamilton, McLaren Team

Well... From the picture, you can most probably guess three things~
One: I am at the F1 track!
Two: I din pay for tickets!
Three: That's not my camera! (But i took the shots of course~)

We were shooting behind some bushes and this results in the black patches in the photos. However, they do provide a very nice framing backgound that we made use of~ I love this shot above~ Seldom do u see two cars so near each other on a practice day (Fri). Well, you should be able to see more of such scenes tonight or tmr~ SO grab your cameras and shoot F1 if ya free~

Actually, we initially are not very geared towards shooting F1 cuz it was simply too fenced up this year. We actually went wondering around at suntec and millinea walk. Here's the proof~! Some "i think very expensive" specs at millinea walk:)

2009-09-22T22:00:00.000+08:00

MayDay Concert (I)

This year's MayDay concert passed about three weeks ago but thinking back still makes me feel "high" sometimes.. It was a brilliant concert, filled with sincerity, lots of interaction and special effects~

It's both a nice experience as a photographer and as an audience~ I will give a more detailed breakdown over the next few days~ School is tiring even during recess week~

Photo notes: The green laser is reflected onto the guitar and as the guitarist moves and strum his guitar, the laser gets reflected all over the place~! It even blind himself some times=P

2009-08-29T12:00:00.000+08:00

I love Mayday! Teaser!

Hey all! I shot another concert again and I have to say this is one of the best I attended so far. The crowd is "high" and the performance is superb~

Due to press restrictions, I shall hold the better photos till wednesday when the article is published~ Meanwhile, stay tuned to this blog.. Especially if you love mayday!

2009-08-19T12:00:00.001+08:00

Korean Food III: Snacks
2009 Holiday Special Food Part 7

After looking at tibbits and groceries which may be boring to some, we move onto something that looks more appealing: snacks! We have various small side dishes above that Koreans usually serve in their meals~ In fact, Koreans are a generous bunch of people and this can be seen from the fact that in most korean restaurant, these side dishes are given on a free flow basis~ So it's really a blessing for those who love these small dishes such as kimchi etc~

Korean pancake are among another favourite among Singaporeans~ And the pancake at this shop (Full House) is very nice. They serve seafood pancake and the ingredients simply compliment with the pancake itself in terms of tase and texture~ Go buy it~

Korean Sushi are very popular as well~! One interesting fact abt them is that they are not served cold~ Unlike normal japanese sushi which must be refrigerated, Korean counterparts are being made warm and eaten warm! So when you get to eat Korean sushi next time, dun think it is unfresh because it is warm!

Also, rice and grains are often use by Koreans to make snacks. And they actually have a long history of making food from rice and other grains. Many grains are being in use (as you can see above) as well as beans.

The taste of these rice-made snacks are rather unique especially this one above.It consist of red bean and pumpkim mixed with rice to give an unique taste and texture.However, ou do get full quite easily as these things are really filling~ And they are healthy too!

Lastly, we can see these lovely rice cake being arranged in such a nice fashion. The history of making rice cake is so long in Korea that they are being used in ceremonies such as weddings! Korean culture is amazing...

2009-08-18T12:00:00.003+08:00

Korean Food II: Groceries
2009 Holiday Special Food Part 6

As I mentioned in yesterday, we are looking at quite a few aspects of korean food, including the raw ingredients themselves! Today, we look at some groceries unique to Korea such as the Korean instant noodles above. I believe more and more people are learning how to cook korean food such as bibimbap and Korean groceries are indeed popular among Singaporeans.

Similar to tibbits, Korean icecreams have very cute and colourful packaging to attract the youths as well. And I have to say that they are yummy too!

Korean cosmetics are also getting more and more popular. Perhaps people think that if they use Korean products, they will get as pretty as the Korean actresses they see in their favourite Korean drama?

Lastly, you may want to guess what is this? ;)

2009-08-17T12:00:00.002+08:00

Korean Food I: Tibbits of Korea
2009 Holiday Special Food Part 5

Hey folks! Sorry to keep you people waiting if you expected a daily update yesterday! Was too tired to blog after an orientation camp. Haha. From today till thursday, there will be a 4 part series on Korean Food which I shot during May. It covers quite a lot of things from snacks, tibbits to restaurant food!

Today, we look at tibbits. They are things that you munch on when you study, when you watch TV blah blah. Most people love them (except for the calories). And Korea produces a lot of them (together with Japan). One characteristic of Korean tibbits is that they realli look colourful if not poshy and classy~!

The cute fonts on the wrappers of korean tibbits are also one big drawing factor for girls to just buy a pack and forget about the calories~! Some of them taste quite unique as well such as the topoki(辣炒年糕） flavour tibbits~ So buy them when you have a craving:P

2009-08-15T12:00:00.003+08:00

Canto Food II
2009 Holiday Special Food Part 4

Today, we continue on the cantonese food series~! Now, we have gone to another restaurant and tried some fusion cantonese food just like the one above. The green bits are spinach bits being contained in a spongy yellow base. Topped with cheese at the top and dipped with chocolate sauce at the bottom gives a rather unique taste. And I really like this photo quite a bit due to the reflection cast by the glossy chocolate sauce. Reflections are not common in food photography;)

Next, we have coffee and orange flavoured stir-fried meat. Yes, coffee! People who always start their day with coffee is bound to love the coffee-infused meat. One common problem with coffee-flavoured meat is that the meat usually gets a burnt taste if not the coffee taste just don't get into the meat. But with the chef's careful flame control (火候), the dish avoids both common problems and gives you a rich coffee-infused taste with a cripsy texture!

Lastly, we also had this forg leg soup. The frog leg is being cooked in the soup for several hours to give a ruch taste in the soup. The meat is also very well-textured from hours of cooking in the soup.

2009-08-14T12:00:00.003+08:00

Canto Food I
2009 Holiday Special Food Part 3
Hey folks! Sorry to keep you guys waiting! Yesterday was quite a busy day so it slipped my mind to update the blog daily! Anyway, today we will look at a 2-part series on cantonese food. Personally, I can't really distinguish between cantonese food and food from other regions but nonetheless, they are all tasty!

All these photos are shot at the Dragon Phoenix restaurant which have a long history of cooking cantonese food. The shop owner who is the son of the founder mentioned that the yam ring sold in their restaurant is the first in singapore. It used to be of a vegetarian nature but has now been adapted to have meat for more variety:)

Have you eaten black pepper crab before? I guess quite a lot of people has but what about white pepper ones? This dish combines both pepper crabs in just one dish. White pepper gives a more 鲜甜 taste while the black pepper gives a spicy punch to your taste buds. A must try if you love crabs!
Lastly, we also had "seafood shabu shabu" at the food tasting session. The seafood are very fresh and we love it too~!

Trivia: Dragon Phoenix Restaurant sells mooncakes during mid autumn festival season! And one of their most popular is cheese mooncake. So if you are thinking of buying mooncakes soon, can go there!

2009-08-12T12:00:00.002+08:00

Tofu Cheesecake
2009 Holiday Special Food Part 2
Today's post will be a short one on something not so commonly found on the market. Many people would have eatten cheesecake before but what about it's tofu counterpart? Tofu cheesecake is a new variant of cheesecake (60% tofu and 40% cheese) and is now getting more popular due to its special texture (not so creamy like cheese but more of a silky feeling you get from tofu). Yet it does not have the strong beancurd smell that may turn people off. Also, it's a calories saver!

2009-08-11T12:00:00.002+08:00

Muffins!
2009 Holiday Special Food Part 1

After about two weeks of sports photos, I guess every visitor to this blog must be quite sick and bored of them. So we move on to another section on everyone's favourite: Food! I personally believe that everyone will love food to some extent but not everyone eats like a glutton due to the calories~

Anw, this set of photos was taken for a recipe interview at Shatec Institute which provides training for future chefs. Here we have a photo of one of the instructors there who is demostrating the recipe.

Some trivia about muffin:

Do you know the chinese name for muffin? I bet most people dun~ It's called 松饼 in chinese!

Also, do you know that onions actually goes well with muffins? The muffin at the bottom in the first photo is actually an onion flavoured muffin. It is quite unique: Onion is generally sweet in nature but the texture of muffin is special as you chew on onion strips in the muffin~ And you dun see it often as well.. SO buy one when you see it, k?

2009-08-10T12:01:00.004+08:00

Singapore, Happy 44th Birthday!

Singaporeans simply just love fireworks.

And have you taken the pledge at 8.22pm yesterday?

More photos after the link: http://imouyang.multiply.com/photos/album/96/09_Aug_09_Fireworks_Marina_Sq

2009-08-10T12:00:00.007+08:00

Table Tennis: Faces
2009 Holiday Special Sports Part 12 (END)

Sports is not just about action. Sports is about people.

Sports is about the desire of people to excel.

Sports is about fighting spirit.

Sports is about teamwork and sharing happiness.

Sports is about sharing woes together too.

Sports is about the sadness when hard work is not rewarded.

Sports is about the agony when Murphy's Law kicks in.

Sports is about bracing yourself to go on.

Sports is not just about action. Sports is about people.

2009-08-09T12:00:00.005+08:00

Table Tennis II: Everything Else of the Game
2009 Holiday Special Sports Part 11

Pictures that speak more than action gives another dimension to the sport. Getting arty is one way. Inspired by my buddy, I decided to try something unconventional. How about slow shutter speeds? Well, the motion blur tells us about the fast pace of the game.

A photographer who stop looking for fresh angles might as well put down his camera and sit back and just watch the show. One must be able to look beyond the surface and thoroughly explore what is really there for you to shoot. Strategizing is always part of sports and here we have a duo discussing in "private" as the opponent waits.
You dun need to see faces and expressions to show how tired or distressed a player is. Sometimes, a simple refusal to stand up tells it all.

YTSA=Young Team Singapore Ambassador... Go Team Sg!
Flinging the table tennis bat onto the table. Action speak louder than words?

A candid moment. Not often does a player smile before facing a tough opponent. Great Spirit~

Tmr will be the last part of the Sports Special before we move onto Food Special. I really miss the adrenaline rush when I shoot sports...

2009-08-08T12:00:00.002+08:00

Table Tennis I: The action of the Game
2009 Holiday Special Sports Part 10

Today, I will be talking about the last sports that I have shot during the holidays, Table Tennis! It's perhaps one of the most memorable shoot during the holidays as well. I was covering 6 days of AYG Table Tennis action at Toa Payoh Sports Hall. It's also my first long-term sports coverage and I really learn a lot and sweat a lot during these few days.
Shooting a multiple day event is a real test of stamina. Learning when to rest and teamwork now comes in. Shooting in a team of two (with my buddy;)), it's important that you place trust in your teammates and just rest when it is time to. If you think that resting is going to let you miss a terific shot, then I can say that you are going to miss more fabulous shots when your eyes and body give way to fatigue.
Shooting a multiple day event is not all about fatigue and teamwork but it also makes you critically evaluate and improve. After shooting for some time, we realise that shots are getting repititive as we understand the games and the players better. Players do the same action and we can have a few shots of players doing exactly the same thing but at different times. In normal one-off shoots, one will not feel like this because the time duration is simply too short. So how?To get more variety, we started exploring different angles. Going up into the balcony area, trying to shoot from the side. We tried waiting for more varied action but they dun always come. More importantly, we started looking for pictures that speak more than action...

[Continue on Part II...]

2009-08-07T12:00:00.005+08:00

Soccer (II)
2009 Holiday Special Part 9

Today, we will continue to look at soccer again~! However, we will be looking at the action behind the action. What do I mean by that? Sports photography is not just about capturing the adrenaline rush in action-packed shots. There is more to it...

If you frequent wired agency websites (eg. Getty Image, Reuters), you will definitely see a pletora of action-packed images. But more amazingly, the "not so action-packed" shots actually speak more about the sports and the people. You see people celebrating after a goal, the genuine smiles on their faces when their hard work payed off.

Sometimes, body language speaks a lot as well. Actions that speak of dissapointment can be more suggestive than the sad faces on the atheletes.

All these photos explore the very human nature of sports. Sometimes, to me, seeing these emotionaly stiring photos are more inspiring than seeing action-packed shots. Here, you have overexcitement in the form of slapping your teammates to tell them: "Hey, you are not dreaming! We scored!".

Here, we also do have cases when players really want to get the ball that they do weird things such as whacking their opponents. It may be coincidental, it may not be. Only the players know..

2009-08-06T12:00:00.008+08:00

Soccer (I)
2009 Holiday Special Part 8

Today, we look at one of Singaporean's favourite sports: Soccer! All the photos here are taken during the recent Asian Youth Games (AYG). Prior to the AYG, I have already shot some soccer matches before and Soccer was the first sports event i shot. From these many soccer shoots, it was where I first have learned a few important things that a sports photographer should know.

Like I stress in many of my previous post, knowing the sports is important. It allows you to anticipate how the players is going to react under certain conditions. Also, it allows you to make "more informed" decisions such as what are good shooting angles and what settings / equipment should you use. Just like you know a header might happen upon a free kick and you can prepare for the shot.

Knowing where to position yourself is also an important part. You learn this thru advice, your own experience and also thru the eyes of others by looking at their photos. Every possible shooting position will definitely have its pros and cons. For soccer, corner position are usually favoured, you can shoot winger action, you can shoot keeper action (above). The compromise? your opposite flank.

Another thing is to be alert during the shoot. It may be common sense but you really need the extra alertness. Usually, I would not advice photographers to review the photo during the match itself as you may miss important moments when you are looking at your LCD screen. But if you are rushing for time (the press always dun have time), then you have to compromise. If possible, try to keep you eyes on the players on the field and not on your LCDs.

One last advice to give to any budding sports photographer is that please dun save on your shutter. Bursting away is a necessity in sports most of the time (but don't overdo it als0) A frame before and a frame after can make a big difference. Just burst away when you see the action! Anw, no "fun photos" for today as I will be talking about soccer again tmr! But not about the action~ Dun get it? Just wait for the next post!

2009-08-05T12:00:00.005+08:00

Skate Park
2009 Holiday Special Part 7

Today marks one week of daily posting! I hope that there are still people looking at this blog! We will be looking at a sports that's rather unconventional: extreme skateboarding and biking~!

All these photos are taken at the new skate park at East Coast Park. On a saturday evening, you can see quite a bit of youths hanging around just like you see in the skate park at Youth Park. It seems that quite a lot of youths are in love with this form of sports and you can even see a few serious players who challenge the most dangerous pits around in the park.

One unique thing about these extreme sports is that there is no rules governing it at all! However, the lack of rules does not make the sports unpredictable. Player action is in fact highly predictable perhaps due to the dangerous nature which require constant practice of the same action. The guy above loves to pause on the slope after he does a more dangerous flip (1st photo)
Lastly, if you have not realised, for the last photo of every post, I try to get a "fun/interesting pic". Conclusion: Even seasoned players can get mistakes. Always be careful!

2009-08-04T12:00:00.014+08:00

Hockey
2009 Holiday Special Part 6

Here, we look at a field sports, hockey! To me, hockey bears quite some resemblance to soccer. First, the size of the field and number of players. Another thing common in photos of both sports is that you see "things" coming out from the shoes of the players..

In hockey, the "thing" is actually water. I doubt that most people including me knows that water is bring sprayed onto the pitch prior to the game starting, creating this effect. It's somehow similar to soccer when you see those black stuff which is "sand" afrom artificial pitch. You can see quite a bit of water here as the player firms his feet to block a ball.

Another thing worthy to mention is that it really hurts when the ball hits you. Throughout the game, you can hear lound and sharp sounds whenever the ball hits the edges of the field which is being fenced up. And the players really smack the dense ball hard so dodge if the ball comes in your way!

Again, we can see how hard the ball can get when it hits you from the way the goalkeeper is "dressed". The thick knee guard says it all~

We end off with a rather interesting scene here. Conclusion from the photo: It hurts when the ball hits, especially at the wrong spot!

2009-08-03T12:00:00.005+08:00

Volleyball
2009 Holiday Special Sports Part 5

Today, we look at another ball game, volleyball~! It's another game I am not familiar with but there mainly two types of action you always see in a volleyball game.

First, we have the one of the most signature moves that we see in volleyball matches which is diving to save the ball. During this match i shot, they seldom dive probably cuz it can get quite painful with the wooden floor. It's more common in beach volleyball where the sand floor is kinder.
Another classic manuveur is smacking the ball near the net. As players are in closer proximity, this is the time when emotions run high and you can see a variety of expressions on players faces.

Stay tuned to this 2009 Holiday Special series that will be updated daily!

2009-08-02T12:00:00.007+08:00

Netball
2009 Holiday Special Sports Part 4

In this next part of the sports special, we move away from racket sports and look at netball. Frankly, I know nuts about netball. My first impressions about netball is that it involves a lot of physical contact, somewhat like basketball. In principle, you can shoot netball like you are shooting basketball with the main difference being that you bounce the ball in one and you toss the ball around in the other.

Anw, shooting this netball match was not easy, given the lousy lighting conditions. You have to go up to ISO3200 to only get a decent shutter speed [Note: Decent not equal good=(] I guess that pre-focusing can help quite a bit in such situations as focusing can get a bit haywired in dim conditions like this. There are other ways to work around it too.;)

Lastly, one unique feature about netball is that players have designated positions and they have restrictions due to these position. You don't see cases in soccer where a defender can run all the way to the front to score a goal here. Having some knowledge about the designated positions can help better in shooting the game. This is the same with every sports out there: Learn the game before you shoot it;)

2009-08-01T12:00:00.016+08:00

Badminton
2009 Holiday Special Sports Part 3

Next off, we look at Squash and Tennis' distannnttt cousin: Badminton! (Here we have another girl with fluff up hair again=P) So why the distant? Well, a badminton player told me before that if you observe carefully, the serving style and playing style is totally opposite compared to Tennis~ Dun wish to bore non-sporty readers here so I shall skip the details~ (Can ask me personally if you want tho=))

After shooting quite a bit of sports, I have to say that Sports can get quite Unglam sometimes! Many a times, I see shirts flying off especially when they return with a hard smack. But who cares? As long as you win the point, getting a bit unglam is worth it, I guess~

Talking about glam or unglam actually leads to a very important thing in sports: Style! Most seasoned players, in fact all, play with a certain style, patterns that you can observe over time if you are sharp enough.. Players often move in a similar manner as they execute their moves. For example, our lady above loves to do taiji swordplay when she returns a drop shot~ Knowing these patterns can prove to be useful~ More to be said in later parts!

To end it off, I have another "fun" shot here~ Sometimes, you get a bit excited over getting the ball back and you trip and fall and sometimes the falling pose can get quite awkard. These are rare moments so snap it when you have the chance!

2009-07-31T12:00:00.006+08:00

Squash
2009 Holiday Special Sports Part 2
In this next part of the sport special, we look at Tennis' cousin: Squash! To some people, Squash sounds like a game that 孤独 (lonely) people play (But I am not one of the some people, k!;)) To me, Squash is a rather unique game, no other game allows you to play alone i guess.

Due to the unique playing style of Squash, wide angle shots are much more favoured over conventional tele shots. It's really rare that a sports allows one to shoot up close as getting close usually means danger. I was practically sticking myself to the glass when I was shooting.. Until the official tell me to back off a little... Haha..
Well, I have to stress again that Squash is unique, seldom does a sport allow you to have a chance to return a ball between your legs~ Looks a bit funny tho~ That's all folks.. Since I dun think everyone wants to see me blabber endlessly everyday, I shall try to keep my posts short~

2009-07-30T12:00:00.023+08:00

Tennis
2009 Holiday Special Sports Part 1

Let's start off this section with the sports that has the fastest ball on Earth: Tennis! I remembered that when I first started photography and later got exposed to DSLR, I asked my senior when will we be shooting at 1/8000th of a sec, the fastest setting on the camera? He told me i) You shoot a rocket takeoff (probably not in sg-_-) ii) a flying tennis ball! I was quickly reminded of this as I entered the Tennis court and many ppl tell me not to stand anywhere where the ball has a high chance to hit you~ (And I dun wan to try getting hit either)

Generally, many beginning sports shooter will first try to shoot the players serving as it is highly predictable. For tennis, players tend to stretch high and serve the ball, reason simply is to get maximum reach~ And it seems that players make the most effort (strength-wise and the 'urgh' sound i always hear) during serving as compared to other times where more agility is required.

Talking about strength, I believe that among racket sports, Tennis players have the most strength as it simply requires quite some effort to drive a ball that's not light at all. So you always see your favourite Tennis players with very toned muscles.. And these muscles simply strain up when they return a ball as we can see above~

A tennis player once told me before that a good player will control his opponent by making him/her run around. I believe that's quite the same for many other racket sports as well. But it's definitely not easy as you need excellent ball control to drive the ball in your desired direction~ I realise that in Tennis, players have a tendency to run left/right rather than front/back. Perhaps it's harder to control the strength (which determines reach) than the direction. But here is one of the few running forward shots~ (I love it when player's hair fluff up!)

Lastly, shooting doubles is always challenging as it's real hard to keep both players in the frame. And sometimes you do see funny scenes like this during doubles~(at last! Quite a long post huh~)

2009-07-29T23:59:00.001+08:00

Holiday Special!

The long uni holidays are finally coming to an end! Sobx~ So what have I been doing during this long uni holidays when I only post like one blog post every month?

Of cos, I was shooting! At the start of the hols, I told myself that I shall not waste these precious 3 mths away. Most ppl will naturally think of working next. But thinking that I am going to be working for a few more decades after I graduate, I decided to do the very things that I like! Photography (and some other stuff of cos=p)

During the past 3 mths, I shot quite a variety of things and it's now time to upload them onto my blog! They can be divided into a few categories and we will be starting with sports photos! I hope to update the blog daily until i ran out of "holiday photos" (Pray hard I can commit to this blog!)

SO.. Watch this space daily from today!

2009-06-24T23:59:00.002+08:00

Beauty of the Game
Soccer...

So many different coloured shoes but one single dream: To WIN it all~

2009-05-29T22:50:00.004+08:00

Back from Sibu Island!

It has been some time since I last posted on this blog! Sorry to all viewers! April was busy exam revision while May was... erm slacking away during the holidays~

Anw, I just got back from Sibu Island~! It is a small island getaway in Johor, very near to sg~ The scenery is beauitful and I took some photos there~ Here's one photo for u all~!

2009-04-13T21:51:00.004+08:00

Bus Rides - I am Tired.

Seldom do I take the long 151 bus journey when I go home... Simply because I dun like to stay rooted to the seat for 1 hour plus... My mind will just wander off and think of random stuff that i dun realli like~

However, today i took 151 home~ Cuz of the very reason why I took 151 to school everyday.. I want to sleep on the bus ride home.. I am really tired... Haish

2009-03-29T08:10:00.006+08:00

Life goes on~
In life, there may be times when you are in a dilemma that you cannot solve easily or peacefully. There may be times you wish that you don't exist on this world so that work and deadlines cant find you. There are times when you just feel like slamming the table to let you frustration out..

But think of the happy times when you had fun with your friends, laughing away at the silliest things. Think of the proud moment when you finished something that took you so much time (up to months), effort and sleep.

Life can be mean on us sometimes... But! Just move on and bash through this forest full of thorns and at the end of all the tiring and painful bashing, you will finally see the light and warmth~

Dedicated to all my friends there who are not in a good shape for one reason or another... Survive! Dun die!

2009-03-16T13:46:00.002+08:00

Happy Family~!

Taken at West Coast Park~ It's a place full of activities on weekends, where you see family warmth at maximum vibrance~ Haha~

2009-02-14T16:16:00.002+08:00

Happie Valentines Day!

Preparing a Vday gift can take up a lot of time and effort but seeing the smile on your loved ones is definitely worth all time time and work, sweat and blood~

2009-01-25T14:45:00.002+08:00

Reunion Dinner

Fried Mullet Fish Roe wrapped with Cuttlefish Paste

CNY is coming tommorrow and reunion dinner in a few hours~! Recently, it has became increasingly popular that people have their reunion dinner at restaurants rather than at home. Perhaps people are getting more affluent and want to have nicer food outside or simply because they want to take a break from their hectic lifestyle.

Braised Pork Knuckles with Taiwanese Style

Nonethless, due to increasing demand for reunion dinner at restaurants, you also see more and more ads on CNY food on the papers too and I was lucky enough to do a food review on a Taiwanese restaurant about two weeks back.

Pan-fried Fresh Oyster with Scrambled Eggs and Greens

The restaurant do have a few unique dishes such as their special almond jelly dessert which has a very "Q" texture. Their pan-fried oyster is also "taiwan-authentic" and different from the ones in Singapore~ So if you want to eat some nice food, don't hesitate to visit Shin Yeh restaurant @ Liang Court~

Sweetened Almond Jelly with Peach in Syrup

Happy CNY!
More photos here:
http://imouyang.multiply.com/photos/album/95/08_Jan_09_CNY_Food_Review_Shin_Yeh

2009-01-12T11:33:00.005+08:00

On-Location Fashion Shoot: Tight Walkways and Messy Backgrounds

As the title suggest, I went to shoot for a fashion article that will be published on 15th Jan on omy~ (Will post the link once it's up!) Shooting such an assignment (which I have not undertaken for a really long period of time) poses many problems to the photographer~! Firstly, since it's on location, you have to work with tight spaces... Shop rental is expensive so I guess that it is inevitable that shops owners at Far East plaza and Bugis cram their shops with all their clothes, leaving you with almost, in fact no space to shoot! Secondly, even when you want to shoot outside the shop, you will start to realise that the wide variety of clothes in the shop make the most messy and ugly background you can ever use for your photos... Lastly, lighting becomes a problem as well due to dim-litted interiors and also the fact that bounce flash is not appealing and effective (black ceilings!) as well~!

So how to go about this problem? Pray that you are lucky that day! There are still some more "classy" shops that do have some nice interiors for you to take photo, so pray hard you get to interview one~ If not, you can always look for window glasses that make nice reflections~ If not, you can always try to blur out the background as much as possible like the very first picture to make things look right;) Bottomline: Work with your constrains!

A few more photos here:

http://imouyang.multiply.com/photos/album/94/03_Jan_09_Fashion_and_Lifestyle_SG

2009-01-09T14:52:00.003+08:00

When there is no Light... Make it yourself!

Shot as part of an assignment on budget places to date, this was shot at Sinema Old School, Mount Sophia~ By the time I went in to shoot the "couple", the show has ended and the movie projector has already been switched off... So... What happens when there is not much available light? Make it yourself! For the photo, I placed a strobe (off camera flash) at the place where screen was, simulating the condition it would be like if a movie is being screened~ Also, since you make the light, you can control the power of the flash and put less strain on your camera in terms of ISO and aperture~ However, owning an extra flash i believe is a luxury to many photographers...

Btw, I shot something else on the same day apart from budget dating places~ Will be revealed in the next post~ So do watch out this blog space regularly:P

2009-01-07T15:00:00.007+08:00

Lines, Curves, Shapes and Forms

Last monday, I went to help a friend shoot some of her design project items. After shooting a few items, I realised that the items revolved around shapes and forms for I start to see lines and curves "pop up" in the viewfinder. Despite seeing the lines and curves so evidently, it's hard to produce a striking image for each item as it is not easy to find a composition where all the lines and curve fit in smoothly. Perhaps I should go and look up on some design magazines for inspiration before I do such a job again~ Anyway, the image above and below is one of my favourite items shot that day (a pencil holder) which i liked due to it's complexity and how the different triangles complement each other.

Also, one thing that I realised is that still products like the 2 photos above are more "friendly" to photoshop creativity. This I feel is due to the lack of a benchmark reference such as skin colour in portraits or sky colour in landscapes. Thus, you can do more tweaking and it still looks "ok" to the eyes.

A few more photos here: http://imouyang.multiply.com/photos/album/92/29_Dec_08_SDE_Products_NUS

2009-01-01T12:00:00.008+08:00

First Post! Looking back at 2008~

Wouldn't it be nice to look back at 2008?

Landscapes

Labrador Park, Dec 08

Looking back, I feel that I got to love to shoot landscape more in the past year. One of my friend once said, every photog trip is like a mini holiday to him. I think this pretty much applies to me as well especially on trips to shoot landscapes because the secenery is so refreshing and you have it all to yourself. Singapore is a place with many nice places to shoot landscapes be it during twilight hours or at night and my wish for 2009 is to explore more of them!

Events

NUS Chinese Dance, Sep 08

At the first half of 2008, I shot a lot of events perhaps due to my more free schedule, being just freed from Army and waiting for uni. It was also the time I changed my camera to my current one and this frenzy period of shooting quite some events made me quite competent with my new camera, altho i have to say that I haven fully master it fully. Later came the later part of 2008 when uni started, shooting also declined as more focus was placed in studies. Yet, NUS also did provide some avenue for shooting like this concert I shot a few mths back.

After one whole year of event shooting, I realised that I really loved shooting stage performance. The beauty of the lights (which is also one less worry for me as flash is not allowed and you just focus more on composition) and the atmosphere is something that I really loved. The thrill of following with the rhythm of the music and following and predicting the performer's movement is smthg like playing a shooting game to me and the adrenaline rush during fast-paced scenes is simply amazing. Wish for 2009! More stage performance! I love the arts:P

Portraits

Qiang Mai Portrait, May 08

I have to say that I love shooting portraits a lot as well, primarily because of the interaction that you make with your subject. Also, it may be partly because I am a very "lifestyle" person so i prefer to shoot lifestyle related stuff like people, concerts and food(next up!). 2008 was a great year of experimentation with lighting when it comes to portriats. A lot of lighting breakthroughs were made. I bought triggers, new flash and made lots of DIY light modifiers. And it's good that you have a friend who knows a lot about lighting and you can learn from. However, as school started, portrait time got less and lesser due to studies... So my wish for 2009! Find more time to make more interesting modifiers and shoot better portriats!

Food

Turkish Delight Cheesecake, Dec 08

As most of my friends know, I love to eat! And I bake as well! So wouldn't it be nice if i can combine cooking and photography? Haha... That was what i set out to do this Dec holiday and here I present to you! Turkish Delight Cheesecake~ I particularly like this photo as it was kind of a breakthrough for me. The lighting used was newly thought out. In the past, I used mainly uniform lighting and decided to work more on arrangement of food but recently, I realised that lighting is equally important as well and thus decided to work on it:) Wish for 2009! Come up with more creative lighting for my food! And also work more on food styling, smthg that i am realli not good at:)

Random

Black Knight Flying Past IR, Aug 08

Lastly, I decided to post this photo to wish that all my friends will pass their exams in 2009 with flying colours! That aside, I hope that my passion for photography will be like the F16s soaring high despite in the midst of other commitments:)