Okay, before I share the photo I meticulously selected, I want to first answer the guide questions for this assignment - they were put in the instructions for a reason! Might as well get them out of the way (it’ll also help me reach the minimum word count faster, not that that’s really much of an issue, have you SEEN how lengthy my other assignments are?)
I doubt that I’ve mentioned this before, but one of my goals was to put myself out there and challenge myself both personally and professionally. I wanted to step outside of my comfort zone and explore new subjects and opportunities, rather than sticking to what was familiar; I wanted to TRY. Additionally, I aimed to get out of the house more, which I am VERY pleased to say that I managed to accomplish through this course. This experience has pushed me in ways I would have never even anticipated a year ago.
I proactively reached out to friends for assistance - whether it was borrowing equipment, asking for tips or coordinating locations and transportation. I also asked for feedback on my attempts at editing my pictures, and I even requested an acquaintance to be a model for me!! That’s still such an insane experience!!!
I could’ve chosen to remain on the sidelines and take the easy way out, but I am so grateful that I chose not to do that. And because of that, I have genuine results to show from my learnings, though I still see much room for improvement. Seeing what I was capable of accomplishing in my previous assignments particularly motivated me to continue growing and learning; in my eyes, there’s no way but up from here!
However, I do believe that I could have improved from being more decisive and consistent with my work. Don’t get me wrong, I like - even love and am proud of - my outputs, yet I recognize that they are still lacking in some way; some photographs would have one thing (a certain quality) and others wouldn't. There have also been a few times when I’ve already chosen a specific concept to do but ended up doing something completely different on the day of shooting. These sorts of last-minute changes are not fun. Very challenging, actually. I understand that this insecurity is not something being in class would fix, but rather a personal development aspect to work on in my own time, but I still thought it was relevant enough to mention.
A surprising development during the semester, outside the obvious process of planning and shooting of pictures, was an offer (multiple, actually) from a friend to serve as an intern for a photographer. While a very tempting offer, I declined due to my current circumstances. I just might revisit that option in the future, who knows? The future is still a clean slate, like a film negative waiting to be developed. I’m really trying with these photography metaphors. On a related note, I would definitely love to one day learn how to develop film photographs. I have a film camera of my own with a full roll that needs to see the light of day, metaphorically speaking, of course, because that would just ruin the negative exposures- y’know what I’m just gonna move on).
Unfortunately, I personally do not have much to say about the course itself. Despite participating in a few of the Zoom sessions, I would say that the course was less immersive than I had initially hoped, primarily due to its relatively low level of engagement. While I did learn a substantial amount of knowledge, much of it was outsourced from my own research. Throughout the course timeline, my interactions with classmates were actually pretty limited, most of them occurring during introduction week and during the completion of assignments 1&2. I admit that some of this limited engagement (whether by reluctance or inability) was influenced by my own circumstances, including being overseas, which affected my ability to connect with others. Of course, there were also other factors contributing to this; other, more demanding, courses took up much of my time, leaving just enough time and focus for planning and producing the outputs.
Throughout this course, as an online learner, the most important takeaway from this course was adopting the mindset to try and take action; don’t overthink it, just try. Try out your ideas, even if you think you’ll hate it, because you won’t know it for sure unless you do it. Even if your output isn't the best, the fact that you recognise that is a sign that you can and will improve!
I never thought that I’d choose a photograph of a flower, willingly at that. At the start of this course (specifically during the Bucket list assignment), I had voiced my disinterest in taking pictures of nature and flowers. I had also clearly expressed my tendency to take quick snaps and move on to the next thing instead of putting thought into my photographs. Choosing this picture seems like a testament to my change of attitude and my growth in photography as a whole.
It was Friday, April 25, 2025, and I was taking the bus to a cafe near my partner’s neighbourhood. I was worried it was going to be hot - it was a 2-hour journey after all! But, as soon as I stepped out of the bus, I was pleasantly surprised by the weather; it was slightly overcast, with a tad bit of wind. I was still upset that the bus chose to drop me off in the middle of nowhere (an exaggeration, I was only a 10-minute walk away from my destination), but I needed the exercise after being holed up at home all week. Actually, this was the day before I was gonna have the photoshoot for the set of photos featured in the previous assignment - that day had terrible weather.
Anyways, on the way to the cafe, I was walking on the sidewalk, toeing right beside the rails and the road, when I saw all these flowers outside the mini mall (more like a glorified grocery store). Saar, the area I was in, was farther from the city I resided in, so, generally speaking, there was more greenery, at least in the areas that weren't overtaken by miles of sand and road.
The flowers were in bloom! I literally stopped in my tracks and went, “Hm, actually, why don't I take a picture?” I told my partner to take his time in getting ready and that I’d just explore around a bit before heading to the cafe. And so, I took my phone out and spent a good 5-10 minutes just taking pictures of a bunch of bushes and flowers. Using pro mode, mind you!
Immediately after, I almost walked face-first into a pole because I was too busy admiring the pictures I took instead of watching where I was going.
It was sorta like that saying, “stop and smell the flowers,” except in this case, I took great care in admiring and picturing them - no smelling because I'm afraid of bugs getting on me! It was at this moment that I realised that this was my routine now; whenever I would go out, I would just stop and take pictures of whatever, wherever. I remember all the times this semester when I asked my companions to hold on for a second while I took a picture. I learned to actually care for more than a few seconds? My partner, whom I started dating during this semester, has seen and encouraged me to take photos whenever I desire to. Being patient when I want to capture something specific, bringing me to locations that he “knew I would want to keep a memory of”, listening to my parroting of photography tips and techniques that I picked up from modules and other sources, as well as my explanations for concept ideas for photoshoots!
And do you know the irony in all of this? I still don't like flowers as a subject. Nor do i think that this photograph is the best I've taken thus far. And yet, I still respect the photo (and the flowers featured in it) enough to choose it as a token of my learnings.
I do want to showcase some of the other (and in my opinion, more aesthetically pleasing) photos that I've taken for this semester, whether for an assignment or otherwise. The following were all (except one) taken on my phone camera, a Samsung A55, majority using pro mode (which I really have come to love, now that I understand how each setting affects the final photograph). Enjoy :D
A big thank you for reading this far :DDD!!
Hope we have more fruitful semesters!