The Everyday Remarkable

(31/07/15 - 31/08/15)

For a long time, I took photos of the everyday remarkable on the streets. I looked out for things that people tend to overlook, be it a broom hung on a wall or just pots of flowers that went unnoticed. I found these things to be remarkable and they were and still are my favourite subjects. Even when I took street portraits, I never had a specific 'type' of subject I wanted to shoot, it's always what most people would see on the streets. These were things I would look out for when I went out to take photographs, be it new locations or old.

But I never realized that I was overlooking some things myself, the very things that existed in my house, the things that I see everyday. So I started looking through my things, digging out those that have been kept away in my cupboards and other storage boxes. The longer I worked on this project, the nearer the items were to my everyday life. Before I knew it, I was using things like my stationery and my socks. 

These are my 'Everyday Remarkable'. 

A Gameboy Advance passed to me from my cousin when I was a kid. Also the gadget that got me started on Pokemon.

Apparently, I enjoyed Chinese Chess as well.

I used to play table tennis every morning in secondary school with a few classmates.

My first two phones. I found out that I'm a sentimental person through this series.

Phone cases for my old iPhone 4 which now resides with my younger sister.

This album was an impulse buy, but at least it makes a good decoration piece.

My Billabong wallet that I used during my primary school days. I really am a sentimental person.

My badges and rank from my days in Boys' Brigade. I was really proud of my achievements.

Naruto soft toy that a teacher bought for us when I was 14.

The Nikon FM2, which belongs to my dad. Also the first camera I used (when I was a kid). Sadly, it's not working now.

My dad's old film lenses which have since been passed on to me.

Reading is one of my favorite past-times, next to taking photos.

A sock from Korea. It's been worn so frequently that it now has a hole.

All of my stationery arranged as neatly as I could. Neat isn't my forte, as you can see.

My first aid kit consists of plasters, panadols, medicated oil, Zam-Buk and sanitary pads (I keep some with me in case my girlfriend forgets to bring hers.)

年年有余; it's not Chinese New Year, but I use this pouch to store miscellaneous stuffs and because 余 is my girlfriend's surname. So when directly translated, it means having her every year. I find that particularly meaningful.

My alarm clock. Fun fact - it was out of battery when I took this shot.

My polaroids with my girlfriend, all kept in a plastic, and then in a box with all of our other stuffs.

My current phone and the camera I use whenever I don't bring my camera out.

It's always good to carry a pack of tissue, you never know when you need to sneeze or when nature calls and the toilet doesn't have any tissue.

For this project, I used two vanguard sheets, one pink and one yellow and of course, random things I found in my room. Who needs a proper backdrop when you've got vanguard sheets haha. But vanguard has it's limits. Since it isn't very big, bigger items would not be able to fit inside the frame and because of that, there were many big items that I could not use for this series. Other than that, I think it's a good substitute as a backdrop for many other starting photographers who lack the money to buy a proper backdrop like me. For 20 - 40 cents, you can get a decent background for product photography. Of course, it can't be used for portraits unless you're intending to take fill-the-frame close up shots. For portraits, I would suggest getting a bigger and thicker paper / canvas / cloth and if you're daring enough, splatter it with different colors of paint to get a one of a kind backdrop. You'll have to find some way to hold it up against the wall though.

You can also view this on my VSCO Journal: http://leexiuzheng.vsco.co/journal/the-everyday-remarkable

Or on my Wordpress: https://thefakeseanlee.wordpress.com/2015/08/31/the-everyday-remarkable/