Years later, in 1995 I joined the film industry. I was asked to handle casting which required photography and videography. It did excite me for a bit as I was photographing aspiring models and prominent faces but then boredom overtook quickly. I was posted to a field job, to scout and photograph locations for commercial filming. I was an apprentice to an experienced Location Manager who was largely lazy to move around. He secured most of the deals while I go running around in a brand new field that never crossed my mind of that there was such a designation ... Location Assistant.
The most important tools in location scouting were a car, a mobile phone and a camera. I had the first two but never owned a camera. Back home there was an old fully manual camera was lying around which was owned by a housemate. He never used it as it was just passover stuff from his dad. Well thinking that something was better than nothing, I borrowed the camera and started off my day hunting locations and photographing them, looking through the viewfinder and clicking the button before winding for the next snap .... how difficult can that be. I was finishing my final roll which was the 6th and once done, I strutted straight to a photo studio for processing.
After 3 hours, I made my way to collect the finished photos and to my big awe freaking surprise, most of the 200 over pieces of photos were all blur, dark (under-exposed) and over exposed. I knew that I was gonna get hell from my Senior and of course, The Producer. I was just stunned and disappointed of how I wasted the whole day by not taking a lil' bit of time to learn the basics of the camera. The photo lab owner however gave me a basic tutorial and I jotted down in a piece of paper which I carried it always with me for the next 2 years! Pictures didn't go wrong after that.
In fact, my photography skills grew from strength to strength and it helped film directors' in creating their framing for the right shots and angles. It did take me time to realise that the fully manual "pre-historic" aged camera which my housemate loaned me was actually the best 35mm SLR camera ever made by Nikon, the majestic FM1! Sometimes, it isn't just about having an eye for great pictures but also a reliable camera with excellent lenses that can help to craft your work.
I used the FM1 till 2004 and this was a transition period, moving into the world of Digital Single Reflex Lens (DSLR) format. I purchased a Nikon D70 which was primarily the in-camera for the budget conscious. It came with a kit lens and my journey in DSLR photography speared ahead. I'm personally never a manual book dependant, hence the hands-on experience pulled me through.
I do spend a lot of time in post production as this an added value component that I strongly believe in. Nothing leaves my "studio" without a proper post production work. These are evident with images created and showcased.
The style of my works is a strong willed word called radical. I am not into beauty, prim and proper, straight forward and annoyingly sharp images. My artpieces consist of blurry moods, over exposures, noisy, multiple colour grading and high density of graining. I believe in excellent lens work and angles that may be contrary and what I don't believe in is textbook photography.
The next and following posts will be very much of my work which will actually show you the reason I am a photo-artist and not just a photographer.
