to: a new photographer

photos help me enjoy living. my experience of a moment is enriched by me paying attention to all the qualities, all the beauty which is already there. photography is like a silver spoon that delivers this aesthetic sweetness to my mind. 

some people call this sensory clarity. awareness. openness. to see the world vividly. it's quite a beautiful thing. a friend once reminded me to notice how my weight feels on the ground. all the points of contact between me, and the earth supporting me. it was delightful! perhaps the last time i noticed was when i was a baby.

as with loving of all sorts, a central aspect is the ability to observe a spark of beauty and letting it grow as big as it wants to be. 

what parts do you want to emphasise? to magnify? to let grow? 

but when i think back about my life, the things i've documented, i always cant help but to think: "is it that i've only taken the good parts and left all the bad parts behind?" 

this kind of beautification of one's life is probably exemplified through curation + make-other-people-envy-you platforms i.e. instagram. if people only know me for all the juicy bits, and i cannot freely express the weird and janky bits, who am i? 

i'm not sure what to think about this. it always seems like something is missing. i guess the missing parts are exactly outlined by the empty space carved out by all the things you did record. unless you've got amnesia, then i'm really sorry. 

anyways. order and disorder are also similarly nebulous concepts. is an artists workshop beautiful, or a mess? is a jackson pollock painting deeply structured, or visual chaos? the answer, of course, depends on who you ask. 

feel into what is already in front of you. start out in places whose beauty is easy for you to access. parts that you already appreciate. and then try and capture that on camera. it's harder (but also easier) than it looks! 

and hopefully, with practice, you’ll grow to have a generous eye to lend all places. to see the form and structure in all things. 

this is why i think photography requires a certain air of open mindedness. to be honest, i have not studied the personal lives of many photographers, but i imagine this must be true. for some reason i just can’t picture a close minded photographer. 

the skill of noticing is not an easy one. i can’t say i’m very good or talented at it myself. but i follow a legacy of great writers and artists whom, if i am willing to study, i can learn from, in time. 

nowadays, i take a rather casual approach to photography. i take photos of things i like, like food and my cat and my friends. i've taken a liking to selfies in particular (albeit about 12 years after the trend started). and i've found the best camera is my little iphone SE from 2016. you might describe the photos as unexceptional. but they're not there for visual satisfaction or to impress anyone. its to remember. to remember my friend putting french toast in his mouth. to remember our first meeting at the piano rooms. to remember our dinner party. to remember how good my hair looked. all these things bring me joy. 

looking back at old photos, i feel a sense of aliveness. somebody once said that artists capture conscious states. i absolutely agree with that. my heart stirs and i feel a dream stirring up at the moment captured, immortalised through photograph. 

"new photos will all become old photos"—me 

i should take more photos. thank you for reminding me. 

i’m afraid this monologue has gotten rather long, and perhaps not a lot to do with what you asked for. for that, i apologise. 

i think i do have a few suggestions to address more practical matters:

–make sure you like holding your equipment. i got rid of my DSLR because it was too heavy; i didn't want to carry it around. 

–go out and shoot. take a thousand photos. then take another thousand. it's not complicated. if you're like me, it'll take a while for your photographs to make sense (by making sense, i mean i now have a general sense of visual harmony, of balance, of form)

–shoot subjects you like. people love cats. i've recently been wanting to take photos with and of my friends. grab some props. some people shoot landscapes. others take portraits. some take nudes. etc. 

–look for things that inspire you. i like museum bookstores and  youtube videos do great. which photos captivate you? what makes them good? 

–online references i like: ming thein(start here or here or here or anywhere, really. i know you'd like this. browse around!). mango street(best tips). art of photography(series on composition). 

–i really admire @nolemonnomelon's photos

–i once saw a close up photo of lipstick applied to female genitals with a smoking cigarette inserted. it was memorable. 

–each additional visual element is an additional burden

–editing is also plays a major role. conveying the emotional tone of a scene often requires exaggeration: realism is silly and everyone got sick of it after the 16th century.  i don't know if i recommend editing photos. 

–don't be shy, each picture is practically free. 

–i imagine it would be fun and connective and educational to go on a photowalk with an experienced friend and share notes afterward. 

–keep the horizon straight

–really, look at pictures that inspire you. 

that's all for now. hope to see your photos soon. 

signed,
u lok wa
a semi-retired photographer
8/6/2022
xx