Vision + Contact Sheet

Posted on December 11, 2024 by Miranda under Photography, Portraits, Uncategorized

Vision

My vision is to capture pictures that are whimsical and evoke a feeling of absurdity and alienation within the reader. Although I am not using masks, I want to use mirrors to hide my subject’s identity and for the viewer to ponder the relationship between the mirror’s reflection and the person’s internal identity.

Contact Sheet

Yellow

Green

Red

As can be seen, I ended up with less red photos and total photos in my contact sheet. For my final presentation, I took some from the green section that I thought were nice but not as visually impactful as this one. I also took a few more pictures to make a cohesive set of photographs for exhibitions.

Final Evaluation

Firstly, I am really sorry for deciding to make a three set photo collection… (I can print it as 3 separate photos but its easier for presentation in triptych format)

given how much I struggled making a triptych for the abstract unit, its surprising that I decided to go for a three set photograph collection again, but I felt that this was the format that was most fitting to present my photos for this unit. (Explained later)

The Mirror

I used the motif of mirror across my three pictures to convey underlying meanings about Identity. While many people view mirrors as a candid tool for reflecting the truth and physical reality, I approach the concept of the mirror based off its reflective properties. I was intrigued by how mirrors reflect their surroundings, and how what they reflect is dynamic and dependent on context. Similar, I feel like people have different identities around different people and in different situations. For example, I have different polarities of expression that I employ and give people different impressions; at school, a lot of people view me as academic, studious, and usually moderate in terms of self expression – not too flamboyant and extroverted, but not extremely introverted; however, those who see me play badminton know that I have a competitive streak, and often see me yelling when I miss shots or screaming aggressively when score a point; alternatively, might act certain ways and have certain tendencies when taking on different roles in other systems, maybe affected by the energy level of the room or the opinions of the people I am surrounded by. I think that each person feels something similar. Furthermore, studies show that the way our brain develops and grows is heavily contingent on what we are surrounded by. For example, we learn the language we are exposed to, and home environments can affect the interests and hobbies we grow up with.

As a result, I often wonder how much of our identity is shaped by our environment, and how much of it is given to us by other people. That is one aspect that the mirror, which changes reflection based on surrounding aims to convey – the fluidity of a person’s nature.

Secondly, I wanted to convey a feeling of uncanniness and alienation I, and other people feel, especially when immersed in large crowds of people. I was inspired by the artist I researched to add an out of ordinary element among a mundane scene to create an absurd feeling. In this case, the mirror greatly contrasted with my background, making it seem unnatural. I furthered this unnatural feeling by making the mirror approximately the same size and centered in all 3 of my pictures.

The Stage

Although I took photographs in a variety of environments, I ended up settling on a “theatre” “stage”, or “acting” theme for my background in the final 3 photographs.

This selection of background acted to my benefits. The repetition of the red chairs was visually impactful, while the dramatic lighting allowed me to keep focus on my subject. The repeated red of the chairs also kept the whole scene neat while making my model’s presence, which breaks the pattern of the chairs, even more visually jarring.

The repeated chairs evoke the feeling of an invisible audience, in which one feels anonymous among a sea of other people. Furthermore, through showing a reflection of the audience and the stage, I conveyed the tension and relationship between being in the audience and watching your life unfold and being the one acting on stage. Echoing the alienation created by the mirror, sitting in the audience conveys a feeling of detachment one might feel at their life. In F Scott Fitzgerald’s words, you are both “within and without”.

Conclusion

Overall, I am pleased at the way my pictures turned out. I think it captures my take on identity through the symbolism and underlying meaning of the ‘mirror’, while also creating interesting context with the backdrop of the theatre. My photograph’s meanings of the fluidity of identity, alienation, and anonymity resonate deeply with me and are also visually impactful. I feel like I managed to balance the three images well through recurring elements, such as the circular mirror, horizontal lines, and the color red. I feel like the photographs might not make people say “wow, that’s so beautiful”, but I think that the structure of the photograph will cause some discomfort (like the WRONG photos), allowing them to discuss the themes in my photograph.

Model’s response

Miranda: what do you think about this picture *shows triptych*

Anthony: Weird

Miranda: Can you elaborate

Anthony: Feels very odd by looking at it, almost “surreal”. It feels like as if the picture was not capturing the reality but an other “dimension”.

Miranda: do you like this photograph

Anthony: yes

Miranda: why

Anthony: because its good

Miranda: why

Anthony: its good

Miranda: this is going on my blogs

Anthony: yes

Miranda: say something

Anthony: it’s good

Based on my model’s response, I think that my photograph successfully captures some themes of absurdism and surrealism and managed to evoke the correct feelings within the audience.

BEIMUN JR 2024

Posted on November 10, 2024 by Miranda under Uncategorized

Conference Management

definitely enforce Admin training on a stricter basis; less than half the admins were trained by the day of the conference, so training should come earlier, so that extra sessions can be added for those who forgot to attend
Emphasize shift timings (not sure how we could emphasize attendance even more, but considering admins still went AWOL I guess specific timings weren’t clear)
Enforce Student officer debrief and admin debrief at the end of first day, even if its a first day conference. This can achieve effects including but not limited to:
- boosting the morale of participants, encourage them and tell them to do better. Letting them voice their opinion also gives them some outlets for venting, even if all the changes cannot be made, at least they feel heard and have released negative energy
- understanding the situation from different perspectives (e.g. we didn’t know about wifi issues as we were ISB students, or we didn’t know how certain aspects of the conference affected student officers in general)
- MAKING SURE THE ADMIN DONT GO MISSING THE NEXT DAY
Never, ever, ever, ever, print lanyards on just hard card paper. You have to put them in those plastic film things. Even if its a 2 day conference, the paper with holes punched in them will not last 10 minutes with Middle Schoolers who like to play with ID tags.
You can never, ever, ever, ever, have enough note paper. Always print more than you think you need, then double the amount. Don’t put the year number on there, so you can give it to the big BEIMUN or pass it down next year. (and chances are, you probably will run out anyways…delegates devour notepaper)
it’s fine to chair and host, as long as you make it clear and get preparation done properly.
Make sure to communicate more with directors, or ask Mr. McNeice to do so, this will be more helpful in comms with chairs etc
having conference on PTC is great for setup etc, also make sure all team members are largely present (Mumu went for basketball for a bit, but she told us beforehand and we had Lucas and Kanglee holding down fort)

Notes to future BEIMUN JR Planning

Take out student officer lanyards, do not mix them in with schools, and remember to make Director lanyards
be more organized and create checklists for everything. The day of plan that was made is good though (e.g. when awards a due, when setup is done etc)
PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN AND MAKE LISTS, excel is your new best friend. It’s really helpful to get everything written down so you can systematically tick them off…I promise……also…take meeting minutes, they’re a good way to keep people accountable.
don’t put years on things, so they can be reused. e.g. on placards, put “BEIMUN JR” not “BEIMUN JR II”

do something about the admins!!!
You must come early on the first day of the conference or come before that day (preferably both). First, you have to sort out everything that comes out from the basement including placards, papers, etc. Count the placards twice and print out extra copies (ideally you are doing this when copy center is open). Then, you must also make goodie bags (don’t leave this to admin) and put them into corresponding stacks for each committee. You also have to place the placards on the tables (in ALPHABETICAL ORDER, Lucas) and Goodie bags
If you are going tech free, ask Mr. McNeice to go to the supply center, get pens and pencils for each committee and scrap paper
role delegation is so important, both for conference prep and on that day…especially on that day…
HUGE TIP (inspired by WAB chairs) – bring clothes to change into. Esp on first day, you will spend the first few hours running around. Even a person like me, who doesn’t usually sweat, was sweating by the time it was lunch and had blisters on both my feet. Lesson is? Bring casual clothes to wear (e.g. quick dry shirt), running shoes/comfortable shoes with nice, soft, soles, and change into your clothes after lunch or after bulk of setup is done
make sure you know if copy center is open or not on days of conference
also, sometimes you just gotta make decisions. If team members aren’t responding, even in person, and it’s not a huge thing (e.g. just deciding theme), mention teachers in the teams chat and just be more decisive. We really didn’t need to create a lot of drama over selecting a good theme, as it really was tangential to the stuff that we needed to get done, such as student officer applications, lanyard creation, etc.

I will leave to you…

many excel sheets you can create copies of to do conference work
copies of our meeting minutes
canva copies of our award certificates, lanyards, placards, and notepaper
a note that Mr. McNeice and Ms. Amira are lifesavers for conference planning. Even if you’ve planned other events before (e.g. STUCO events) its drastically different from planning BEIMUN JR. Mr. McNeice helped with a lot of logistics, such as sodexo setup, booking food (which was pretty good), and he’ll help do things like book 1218 for your headquarters (which although I’ve been in STUCO for 6 years and planned many events, did not think of). Ms. Amira knows all about the “big BEIMUN” and helped with guest speakers, goodie bags, and general reminders

Welcoming our Fears!

Posted on November 4, 2024 by Miranda under Photography, Street Photography, Uncategorized

Fears of taking street photography

being seen as a stalker/weird for taking pictures of random people
being yelled at/chased by angry people maybe holding dangerous implements
being looked at weirdly

How to overcome fears of street photography

most people in the hutongs don’t care
people might look at you weirdly, but they probably don’t actually care a lot if their picture is taken, as long as you take it proper (no weird giggling or looking suspicious and fidgety)
Based on experience, if you smile and stuff, people don’t care. If they still look at you weirdly, you can just explain that you’re taking pictures of Beijing for a school project (since the Hutongs are so commercialized with so many foreign tourists, thepeople there are probably extra used to it)
Take pictures fast and precise and don’t linger too long
don’t try to be sneaky (it doesn’t work with a huge heavy camera), just take pictures comfortably and like you’re doing what you mean to do, and most people won’t bother
other people and school chaperones are also on the trip, so there are people to help back me up in case

Street Photography Practice

Posted on November 2, 2024 by Miranda under personal photos, Photography, Street Photography, Uncategorized

Overview

Last week, I noticed that there was a lot of construction work going on outside my compound, so on Saturday morning I took my camera out to practice street photography.

Work the scene and take multiple iterations of a single subject/scene
Eye contact
The decisive moment
Capture gestures
get close (1 arm length)
Fishing – don’t move

I tried to do a bit of each technique but was unable to fish. There were 2 reasons why: first of all, I was mostly standing on the roadside so I couldn’t just stand on a road; also, because I wasn’t in a crowded area, when I stood anywhere too long while holding my camera up I got weird looks.

I actually managed to get permission from a couple people to take their photos (besides the guy smoking and the people sitting at the roadside, the other few subjects were pretty happy to let me take pictures for school photography).

Lessons Learnt

LOW ISO HELPS MAKE PICTURES LESS GRAINY
Shot length of about 1/250 is actually ok for street photography (I had it on like, 1/2000 before this)
Most people don’t really mind you taking pictures if you explain that you’re doing it for a school project and you’re not trying to get them in trouble
the construction workers are not going to start taking their construction equipment and chase you down while yelling curse words in Chinese

Final Product

Abstract Photography – Photo Safari

Posted on September 8, 2024 by Miranda under Abstraction, Photography, Uncategorized

Which ”element(s)” is/are best represented in each of the pictures below?

Compare your images with the drawings. Which ones worked and why?

Which ones didn’t work so well, and why?

This is blog post 6 on DX

1. The main “spirit” of this drawing is that it wants two subjects that are distinct enough that the viewer can draw a “line” in the middle of the photograph and split it in halves. The two halves are each a shape, and could be different because of pattern/texture/value. This layout is quite general, so I think my photograph was able to recreate it quite faithfully. I purposely photographed two subjects with different tones/colors, so it is clear that my photograph is split into half. I also tried to tap into the abstraction part of things and removed context to simply showcase the different colors captured instead.

2. This drawing wants to emphasize a certain shape that breaks the uniformity of the rest of the photograph. Thus, I seemed out a subject that had a grid-like uniformity (bookshelf) and took the magazine off the top right to replicate the “pattern-breaking” element. I think that I managed to find a unique way to replicate this layout, rather than just photograph a light switch on a white wall and let that be the black square. The caveat is that it’s not the most faithful replication, especially because there’s an additional element of line (with the grid like structure) and almost pattern, which was not seen in the template.

3. This template has a focus on texture, as it shows non-uniform particles. I wasn’t sure if we had to replicate the grainy texture or just photograph texture in general, but to be safer, I chose this close-up of raindrops, as it shows non-uniform water droplets, creating a sense of texture. I think it works as the water droplets mirror the dashes in the diagram, but I think aesthetic wise, it is not the most interesting picture.

4. The spirit of this diagram is to capture the formal element of lines, repetition, and shape. I think that I managed to achieve that in my pictures, as I have very strong, clear, horizontal lines. A rectangular shape is shown through the lines, and repetition is shown through the repetition of the same line/shape. I also think that my picture managed to capture other formal elements like texture and tone, through photographing the material of the lines, the dust/paint on it, and its shadows.

5. This diagram mainly has an emphasis on strong vertical lines/shapes. I tried to portray that through a cropped picture of my curtains. Although the lines are not as straight and rigid as in the diagram, I think that it captures the vertical motion. I also included the element of texture in my photo from the material of the curtains. I purposely photographed a crack between 2 curtains, breaking the pattern of the curtain creases to add something interesting to the photo.

6. The element best represented in this diagram is the formal element of shape, as can be seen from the black circle. I think that I replicated the diagram quite faithfully, and in a way that is abstract. However, artistically, I think I could have chosen a more interesting subject or done something with the other “elements”.

7. The element best represented in this diagram is probably a combination of line and shape. Although my lines are not arranged in exactly the same way, I did capture the vertical lines in contrast with the singular horizontal line. My photograph also has elements of tone inside from the shadow on half of the photograph.

8. The element best represented in this diagram is shape (circle) and repetition. I think that my image works quite well, as I was able to replicate the feeling of uniformity with my picture. I also think that aesthetically, it is interesting, because the color of the holes vary from row to row.

9. The element best represented in this diagram is shape (rectangle) and repetition. I think that my photo works, as even though I didn’t photograph a grid, the repeated rectangles create a similar sense of pattern, and the space in between the rectangles create the sense of line.

10. The element best represented in this diagram is line/shape. I specifically looked for a subject that had a strong sense of perspective to photograph. I struggled a bit with this picture, but I think that it managed to replicate the diagram quite well.

11. The element best represented in this diagram is shape. I feel like my photograph worked as I made use of perspective and camera angling to create a similar trapezoid shape. Furthermore, the subject of my photograph (staircase) also added elements such as line, repetition, shape, and texture.
12. The element best represented in this diagram is line/texture. My interpretation of the diagram is that I wants a texture with a strong horizontal feeling, so I took a picture of a dictionary book, as the pages create that feeling of texture. To me, I think that this picture works as a representation of diagram 12.