Editorial Feature in VSCO

 

This post is about a year late, and I do apologise for that. A year ago, I wasn't updating this platform very much. Especially with the pandemic going on. But a year ago, around April, I received an email from VSCO informing me that they wanted to feature my photograph in an editorial. It was and still is a dream come true for me. (And you can view the article here)

I have had more than ten photos featured on their old 'VSCO Grid' since 2015, but having a photograph inside one of their articles is just on another scale for me. The article is about preserving connections through the pandemic, and they originally asked me to answer some questions. Unfortunately, my answers probably weren't what they were looking for (heh), and they had a lot of quotes to include, so they were cut out. So I thought why not, just leave the questions and my answers here.

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1. Could you tell us a little bit about this photo, who’s in it and why they are important to you? 

This was taken a month before circuit breaker hit us in Singapore. In the photo are my two university friends, Bidhya and Laetitia (and also the first friends I made in university). What you see is them setting up the phone on a chair so that we could take some group photos together because we are all introverts and did not want to approach any strangers. It felt like a very intimate moment, so I snapped it using my disposable camera. 

2. What do you value most about your community? 

Personally, "community" for me has always been about the friends I hold closest to my heart, friends who I trust and are comfortable with. And I value nothing more than their presence and the fact that I can talk to them about anything. 

3. How have you been able to maintain your connections to others during this time? 

I think being an introvert, I'm not one for Zoom calls or FaceTime. Instead, it has been mostly through texts during circuit breaker. Since I have friends who work in F&B, I also take the opportunity to have short chats with them when I'm buying food to go since dine in was not allowed. 

Instagram has also been another form of maintaining connections while we have been trapped in the four walls of our own homes. Through things like us whipping Dalgona coffees, cooking our own food, or reviewing the latest show that we are watching, we are kept up to date about each other's lives even if we are unable to physically meet up. 

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As we are entering our pseudo-circuit breaker once more, I was reminded of this editorial feature, and how it was relevant to us living in Singapore again. We will be forced into our own homes for the coming month, and preserving connections will prove difficult for many who crave physical interactions. But let us be grateful that technology has advanced to the point where we can easily text, call, or FaceTime any of our friends or family, allowing us to maintain our connections with our loved ones. 

The article is also linked in my 'about' page if anyone was curious, and I'm hoping I will have the opportunity to expand that "Editorial Feature" section of my page in the future.