A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

I can’t help myself. I see everything now in terms of lines, reflections, shadows, light, and frames. It is the amateur photographer’s affliction. Does this make a good image?

Last week I completed a six-session Basic Photography course through Objectifs, a funky arthouse for photography and film. I had already learned a few tricks about composition and editing using my iPhone camera, and it made me want to learn more. I figured it was time to learn how to properly use the Canon Powershot SX50 HS we bought seven years ago, before we went on safari in Tanzania.

The course was divided into class time and photo shoots. We learned camera basics, including rule number one: put-the-strap-around-your-neck so-you-don’t-drop-the-camera, dummy. We also learned what those dials, buttons, and drop down menus meant. Amrita, our patient and talented instructor, revealed the secret to getting the right exposure (the photo is not too dark, not too light), that is, how aperture (the opening in the lens that light goes through), shutter speed (amount of time the shutter is open, or amount of time it takes for the “click”), and ISO (measures light sensitivity; the higher the ISO, the more grainy the image will appear) work together. If you change the aperture, you must also change the shutter speed. Want to eliminate camera shake? Keep your shutter speed above 1/50 of a second, or better, use a tripod. And we learned about composition, the key to portrait photography (oh, those expressive eyes), and adding finishing touches through Adobe Lightroom editing.

But it was during the photo shoots that the art form came alive. Early on, Amrita said something that resonated. To capture that perfect moment requires waiting, observing, and tuning into the life around you. Go up high and look down below (or look up!), crouch on your knees or get on your belly and see what the view looks like, turn around and look behind you.

It’s about perspective and moments. During a rainy morning in Kampong Gelam (the Malay-Muslim neighbourhood so close to my heart), we hung out with a shopkeeper who told us about a couple alley cats that made their home there. On cue, they came looking for breakfast and I snapped a picture that is one of my favourites (see my gallery of images). I love the shopkeeper’s gentle smile.

Oh, and the other thing: to take that perfect photograph requires taking a whole bunch of lousy ones.

It’s like writing. Every once in a while, the words just flow and they work. More often than not, I can spend hours writing, thinking, ruminating, and then deleting everything before taking a break and starting again another time.

Perspective. Waiting. Starting over. These are practices that for many of us have become all too familiar. With the world still dealing with the Covid pandemic, we have seen lives ended or upended. In Singapore, we go from gradual reopening to reinstating restrictions, a crazy yo yo effect for those of us anxious for normalcy. In the meantime, we find ways to keep going, learn and grow, show compassion and empathy when we are our best selves, be patient, and trust that there is opportunity amidst the challenges.

For me, writing and photography have been a lifeline to process it all. Still relatively new to Singapore, I’ve been able to explore, steep myself in Asian history and culture, meet scores of interesting people, try new things, figure out what empty nesting is all about, reinvent myself, and have time to savour it. A gift, a blessing, and somehow just what I have needed.

Next week we head back to the United States to hug our kids and touch bases on our home soil. It is a journey filled with uncertainty, as Singapore’s borders are closed for our re-entry. We hope they will open by the time we plan to return in early September, but it’s hard to predict, and so we roll with it.

Perspective. Waiting. Starting over.

I’m not sure how appropriate it is to end with this quote, but I guess I’m waiting for the day I can look back and find that it rings true: “When you realise how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back at the sky and laugh.” ~ the Buddha

Singapore Photographers (whose work I dig):

Aaron Chan, https://www.lensculture.com/aaron-chan
Amrita Chandradas, http://www.amritachandradas.com/
Marie Daily, https://mariedaileyphotography.com/
Carol Hamcke-Onstwedder, https://www.cho-photography.com/
Ore Huiying, http://www.orehuiying.com/
Nguan, http://nguan.tv/
Mindy Tan, https://www.mindytan.com/PORTFOLIO/Street-photography/thumbs

Class Photo Shoot Gallery (touched up by the magic of editing!)

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