Figuring it out

Some of you may know this, but I haven't actually done any proper shoots in a long while. Even if I've been inspired by this and that, I haven't gotten down to shooting any proper portraits. The reason is simple, to be honest. And it's that portraits have gotten too comfortable, too repetitive for me. All I'm doing is changing the background and the model, the way I shoot remains the same. The way I pose my models remain the same. The way I compose each shot remains the same. Maybe it's because I don't have crazy ideas for each and every shoot, but shooting portraits had gotten slightly boring for me. I attend workshops, but it only makes things worse.

And I'd grown sick of keeping a portraits only feed on Instagram. Because when I'd started this shit, I never had any intentions to stick to one genre of photography. I was largely influenced by VSCO, and its community. And by that, I mean I shot random things - snapshots if you might. Taking a photograph of a nice landscape, a cinematic street shot, a documentation of a haircut, a touristy portrait, and sometimes, a random flower. You get the point. At some point, I started to only focus on portraits, and neglected everything else. Maybe that's why I got so creatively frustrated. I was holding myself back by only focusing on one genre. I wasn't being myself anymore. That was never what photography was to me. Photography was a way of documenting my life. And portraits? They don't do that, unless I'm taking photos of the people who mean something to me.

I got lost along the way of my photographic journey. Sidetracked, misled by this and that. It was a long detour, but I guess I'm back. And if you'd been keeping track of this blog, you'd see how many detours I took, how I've been trying to figure myself out on this blog. It's mad, my mind is everywhere, it's messy.

I like taking photos of anything and everything. I'm not afraid to say it, but I'm a VSCO kind of guy. So give me some time as I figure out the different kind of edits needed for the different kind of photos I'll be taking. 

I don't think I'll be doing any portrait shoots in a while, instead, I'll be focusing on documenting instead. Coffee shots, who I hung out with, a random scenery, nice aesthetics. I don't know what I'll be shooting, and I think that's what I like. 

To Feel a Little Magic

Have you ever had that feeling where you listened to music and that piece of music just somehow magically transported you elsewhere? From the streets of New York to the mountains of New Zealand. Maybe you've never been to these places before, but the songs just brings you there. And you're able to imagine it vividly for some reason.

I get that kind of feelings whenever I'm listening to American Authors. There's just something about their songs that brings me around America. I'm not even kidding. Since the first time I've heard their music, it never fails to bring me on an imaginary road trip. It's the kind of music that makes me feel alive. And I think that that's pretty beautiful. 

It's one of the reasons why I keep going back to their songs. To feel a little magic, a little life. 

Leaping into yet another phase in life

About two years ago, during this period, I remember receiving my enlistment letter. I was expecting it, but it was still a dread when I finally saw the letter. I didn't know what to expect from national service, it was scary. "It's just two years." Everyone would tell me, but it really isn't. If you're physically and mentally strong, then maybe, that two years would be a breeze. But if you're like the majority of young teenage boys, then entering national service is potentially one heck of a stressful event. 

My first two months was hell. During my Basic Military Training (BMT), everything was so physically draining, my body just couldn't handle it. Eventually I got injured, and was put on status for one month out of the two.

Well, it did get better afterwards. I was posted to be a driver, and it was there that I made some amazing friends. Zero physical training, so that was perfect for me. Driving though, was a pain in its own way. It took me seven tries before I finally passed the driving test. I was so emotional I actually called my mum in the midst of the heavy rain to tell her I finally passed.

Army isn't so bad, I would think to myself after driving course had ended. It was tiring, sure, but I had good company when we had to drive for outfields. We even got to go New Zealand as part of an exercise, and out of all the countries we could go to, New Zealand was without a doubt the best one. It wasn't perfect of course, the unit we supported was one of the worst this country had to offer. They showed no appreciation for support units like us drivers, and the technicians. Looking at you, artillery. Of course, there were good peeps who gave us the recognition we deserved. My man, Shiny Batto, Alientummy, and Mr. CSM Joshua. 

But of course, life never goes the way you want it to. We had a change in Node Sergeant Major, and that was when everything went to shit. All it takes is one guy to ruin a tradition that has been built for years. I mean, you know you're screwed if your own superior doesn't appreciate the work you do. And you know you're screwed ten times as bad if everyone in the office doesn't like this guy.

Off topic, as always. But yeah, before I even know it, my two years is almost up. By August 3rd, I'll be a free man once again. It's been one hell of a ride, there were tons of ups and downs. We were used and abused by this organization so much that we simply gave up and didn't want to be nice people anymore. They simply didn't deserve our help.

So what's next? To be honest, I forgot to apply for university. But that's because I thought the application would be AFTER the open house and not before it. What even is the point of having the open house after the application date. But it was a good thing that that happened, so I won't complain. See, I actually have no clue on what I wish to study. Psychology seems to be logical choice, since I did that in poly. But my interest for it is only 50%. I would have chosen English, but what would I do after I graduate? A teacher? Nope, not my thing. So I had time to think about all of it through, and there was the career fair I recently attended. And apparently, being a journalist suits me. Something I'd never considered before, so that's what I'm considering now. 

I'm obviously going to be working part time after I ORD, and I'll definitely have more time for shooting. So that's what I'll be doing. I haven't done proper portraits in a while, so I got to do that. I want to shoot some sunrises and sunsets too, and landscapes. Just so I can play with more edits. 

Most importantly, I will finally have more sleep. Hopefully. And I will never have to deal with stupid shit thrown at me by the army. 

ORD LO! I mean, Cheers.

Korea 2k17 (Seoul / Busan)

It's been almost six months since I embarked on my Korea trip with my close buddies, Jordan and Yi Hong, in the middle of winter in December. We had no proper winter clothing, just heat tech from Uniqlo, and a lot of layers. I wrapped myself in a whopping six layers, looking like a burrito, just to keep myself warm. The Korea trip was most certainly a life changing, and eye opening one. We'd decided on going free and easy for this one, so we had to book everything ourselves and boy was it tough. It was a lot more hassle than we thought. Itinerary wise, we only had a few rough locations in mind, otherwise it was all planned the night before in our BnB.

It was one hell of a crazy trip. We walked all day, slept at 3am, woke at 12 noon, and walked again. We spent all of our money, withdrew more, and spent again. We hiked in Busan, complained about our aching legs, had our breaths taken away by the view, complained again, and repeated the routine everyday. We bought food in marts and Jordan would make our breakfast every morning, and we'd snack on honey butter products past 1am. 

We struggled to find food everyday, because Yi Hong and myself couldn't handle too much spiciness. We struggled to find our ways because the two of them couldn't understand Korean and all I knew was basic Korean. I did my best to converse with the locals when purchasing stuffs, enquiring stuffs, and whatnot. 

We lived like locals. We stayed in apartments (BnB) instead of hotels, we visited marts, we took the trains and buses. We got lost, we laughed, we took a whole lot of photos. We shivered as the temperature dropped daily, and we found solace in shops embedded with heaters. We got excited like little kids as snow started to fall on us. We ignored our leaking noses and hurting ears, we fully enjoyed the moments. 

Korea, you were beautiful. We had one heck of a good time. The company was amazing, I couldn't have asked for better partners in crime for this trip. I'm looking forward to my next overseas trip. Hopefully Australia, or New Zealand.

Cheers.

Can you blame me? Their payphone looks so cinematic

The moment the snow fell

City boi

The crazy view that made it all worth

We risked our lives for these shots

Cliche

What do you do at a beach in winter? Take some photos

Your boi just chilling with two layers coz it got hot