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Project Development/Final Submission

Hero Image:

Photobook:

Rationale:

For my second assignment, I wanted to explore a theme that I resonate with and can relate to. I aim to capture the concept of Asian identities in Aotearoa and how they are shaped by personal stories, relationships between family, and their environments or objects. Initially, I wanted to only photograph Dingkai, my friend, as my main subject matter. But after meeting his family and having the chance to come over to his house and get a glimpse into his life. I was intrigued by the relationship between him and his mother. Born and raised in Auckland, Aotearoa, Dingkai is the son of two immigrants to Aotearoa from China in the 1980s. "To my day one" speaks to his relationship with his mother, the connection between two generations of Chinese Kiwi in a Western country, explores how identity and the self are portrayed through a space of memory and captures moments of conflicts and tensions that shape a relationship.

The photo book is 250cm x 297cm, it's just a tad smaller than an A4, but I feel like this size is perfect for my photos as most of them were shot in portrait mode. There are so many intricate details in my pictures that I don't want to crop out, so a smaller layout just wouldn't work for me. In designing this photobook, I aim to portray a nostalgic place for Ding and his mother, the home he grew up in. The contrast and cultural mix were shown through still-life photographs of his house. I capture every detail of the house, from the intricate patterns on the rugs to the vibrant hues of the pottery and the beautiful chandelier. Each element seemed to tell its own story and conveyed a sense of nostalgia. This aspect relates to my chosen hero image featuring an old photograph of Ding's father and photos of modern rappers and boxers; his personal interests on his wall showcasing Ding's experience as a second-generation immigrant in Aotearoa had influenced his taste in art and design.

Dingkai shared his deep connection with his mother, whom he calls "day one". He grew up in a family where love was shown in a most simple, casual way. Even though his mother never said "I love you", Ding knew that she was asking, "Have you eaten?" was her way of showing affection. During his teenage years, as his mother aged, she began smoking, which caused a strain in their relationship. Ding mentioned that they used to be farther away than they were. But despite his frustration with her unhealthy habits, Ding's love and concern for his mother remain strong. Dingkai mentioned that his father wasn't comfortable in the photos, and I didn't have the chance to meet him. It's always important to respect people's boundaries, especially regarding photography. I find it exciting to come up with creative ways to capture the essence of a family, even if certain family members can't participate. Dingkai's father's absence in the hero image adds an intriguing mystery to the family dynamic. I wonder if he works long hours to support the family or has other commitments that keep him away. It speaks to his work ethic and the cultural norms surrounding immigration and employment in Aotearoa. Whatever the reason, it's important to approach this topic sensitively and respect the family's privacy and boundaries.

The book "Sik Teng mm sik Gong" by Gloria Wong inspired me to develop a colour style and tone for the book. I aimed for soft and delicate photographs that would bring out nostalgic, warm-tone images through inside natural lighting. I carefully considered all the compositions and camera lighting settings to ensure that the warm colours were brought out by increasing the saturation of the photos. The warmness of the book was intended to create a homely and safe vibe, and simple images of a window and paintings were made into a double spread to create breathing space and harmonize with the heavy photos that contained many elements. The soft touch added a sense of balance and calm to the book. The details of red or dark pink were used for the title and were portrayed in most images to represent the symbol of luck and bright colour. Red is associated with the fire element, which means life, vitality, and light but also represents love. Despite their differences, I wanted to communicate the unconditional love between Dingkai and his mother through the image of him lighting a cigarette for his mother, with the Chinese tattoo that translates: "Make your parents proud". This intended composition communicates Ding's support, love and concern for his mother, that will always remain steadfast, no matter what.

As an Asian immigrant growing up in Aotearoa, I can relate to Dingkai's struggles in maintaining a stable relationship with his parents as a younger and more open-minded generation. It was important for me to explore this topic because his story resonated with me. The result of my book was something I am incredibly proud of. I captured the essence of  Dingkai's family and their experiences as immigrants in Aotearoa. Seeing personal stories come to life in such a significant way is always a wonderful experience. The memories of Dingkai's home were beautifully captured in my project, and I am eager to share these images with his family.

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Raw photos editing

Raw original photos:

With Emil's help, I have chosen these photos as they communicate the homely vibe I was going for. The still-lives photos of Ding's house portray the difference and harmony between a traditional Western house and a Chinese family decorating it. There are stories behind these pieces of decorative objects. The statue and the chandelier, alongside Chinese paintings around the house, show the personal stories and perspectives of his family living there.

Then there are photos of the primary subject matter; Dingkai and his mum. Pictures of her by herself and them being together; demonstrate a little tension but also the caring, gesture of him lighting the cigarette for his mum, showing their support and love for each other no matter what happens. I also did a close-up shot of the cigarette pack as I find the Chinese packaging super pretty, with the lighting hitting the cover and a subtle photo of scenery in China, subtitling resembling their country and culture. Overall I'm thrilled with my choice, and I will make sure the exposure is right on the Raw setting on Photoshop and adjust the framing and saturation on Photoshop.

Tiff files edited on Photoshop:

These photos' exposure has been adjusted in the Photoshop raw setting; saturation has been turned up for a warmer tone, and framing has also been straightened. I'm much happier with how they look; you all look like they belong in a visual group. I've taken some good shots, and I think these chosen photos have successfully communicated my aim and message of celebrating personal family connections and Chinese identity and culture in Aotearoa.

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Project Development

This is my first attempt at putting the book together. I haven't really edited all the photos yet. But I have chosen these photos because they all communicate well about Dingkai's family home and include photos of the two subject matters I'm focusing on. I think it's really starting to come together.

I find my current book size; 200cm x 200cm too small for me to portray the full scale of the images so I'm considering making it a bit bigger, maybe just under an A4 size (250cm x 297cm) to fully capture the details of the photos.

Feedback on how to improve the book:

The book is looking a bit gappy, make images two full double spreads to create breathing space

Scale images larger

Enhance the saturation and exposure to communicate that warm homely vibe

Eliminate weaker images

The text on the cover can be bigger

Close-up shots need to be redone to really go in-depth and enhance the details

Framing perspective needs to be adjusted on some photos to eliminate the unnecessary photobombed objects.

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Week 11: Light from Tate exhibition

We had the chance to visit the "Light from Tate" exhibition today at Auckland city gallery, and I was impressed by this piece of art "Stardust Particles", 2014 by Olafur Eliasson. It was the last piece of our visit, an impressive ending to an inspired exhibition celebrating light's role in art history.

"Stardust Particles" is a hanging sculpture that changes appearance depending on the lighting conditions and the viewer's position; the artwork changes appearance as the panes of partially reflective filter glass catch the light and reflect the surroundings. I resonate with this artwork because it portrays the importance of how the art looks and how it makes you feel. This piece fosters the feeling of relaxation, calmness, creativity, and inspiration. The play with light and the crystalline structure evokes the form of a greatly enlarged exploded star. Different dimensions help us acknowledge our perspective on the piece; it was stunning and made with care and detail. Lindsay Braman, Musem of Modern Art's (Moma) writer, once wrote, "When we view art with mindful presence, it can be a universally emotional experience". I can feel that when viewing this artwork. It brings a nostalgic feeling, yet calm and playful in the direction of the light reflecting on the surroundings.

Overall a genuinely inspiring and intriguing experience at the exhibition. I saw the evolution of how art used light as the main element of portraying the media and the art industry during different periods. Getting to see word famous artist artwork was also honoured. The exhibition taught me about the exact process of each piece of art. I'm inspired to create art with the right ethic and intention to focus on creating a meaningful and authentic experience for my viewers and target audience.

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Book Design - Layout & Typeface

I aim to have a very simple book cover as the content inside is quite full on. I've chosen Kenya Hara to be my artist model for the cover design. His book: "White" has a minimalist aesthetic and a clean type grid. Elements are going in a vertical direction, which is an interpretation of traditional Asian/ Japanese text. The works are simple, elegant, yet legible and effective in delivering the messages. Colours are also very simplified and were used to code a design section. I resonate a lot with the cleanliness of these designs, and I am inspired to cut down all the unnecessary details to portray a minimalist yet practical typographic experience. 

My chosen typeface is Garamond Premier, designed by Robert Slimbach. It's a very elegant, simple serif that matches well with the Chinese characters I want to use. I will have it in red so it links back to the content inside the book and also emphasises the importance of the lucky red colour in Chinese culture.

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Current hero image

I am deciding between these two images as I feel like they both have the potentials of being my hero image.

Image of Ding lighting a cigarette for his mother, with the Chinese tattoo on his arm that translates: "Make your parents proud". This intended composition communicates Ding's support, love and concern for his mother, who will remain steadfast, despite his frustration with her unhealthy habits. I like the warm colour of this image, but it can be enhanced by adjusting the exposure of the curtains lighting and the darker corner on his mum's right arm. This is a really good photo with a thoughtfully decided composition, but I don't want to make the whole book about his mum's smoking habit, so I'm not sure if it would communicate what I wish the entire book to communicate.

When I talked to Dingkai about photographing his family. He mentioned that his dad does not like being photographed and he's also away during the day for work so I won't be able to capture him during daylight. It's important that I respect people's boundaries, especially regarding photography. He did mention that I can photograph his old images and I find this image very exciting in terms of telling his dad's absence which adds an intriguing mystery to the family dynamic.

I also resonate with how the image says so much about Ding's experience as a second-generation immigrant in Aotearoa, had influenced his taste in art and design. An old photograph of his father and, photos of modern rappers and boxers, his personal interests on his wall. I think this image has a lot of potential to tell stories, the framing can be adjusted, and saturation can be turned up a little bit to enhance the composition and colour of the photo.

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Week 10: Assignment Planning

Peers discussion/ feedback:

Focus on the generational idea instead of the smoking idea. Ding's mum smoking can be a motif, a back up evidence for the difference of generations.

Most people back then smoke cigarettes, not so much anymore

Comparison between Ding's phots with his parents photos when they were young.

My peers like the title "To my day one". This can be shortened down to "Day one"

Nice photos colour, lighting and composition

Theme iteration:

Focus on telling the story of Ding's relationship with his mum

Focus on Ding's mum

Images of his childhood house, the cultural differences inside the house

Topic/ subject:

Personal stories, and relationships between family members

Approach? (what are you trying to communicate)

The book speaks to Ding's relationship with his mother, the connection between two generations of Chinese Kiwi in a Western country, explores how identity and the self are portrayed through a space of memory and captures moments of conflicts and tensions that shape a relationship.

Working titles? (3 ideas)

"To my day one" (can be shortened down to"Day one"), "Pastel breathing", "Ashtray heart"

Design (layout, font, look and feel, text at the back or front?)

I aim to make my book minimalist and clean. As the content of the photo is quite full on, I want the readers to focus on the photography and have red text in English and Chinese on the cover to impactful introduce the title.

The book will be in a warmed tone colour, reflecting the homely vibe and soft, warm lighting of the images.

Themes? (what interpretations are you hoping the reader will make?)

Soft and delicate photographs that bring out nostalgic, warm-tone images of the essence of a family home, portraying relationships and connections to their culture and the Westernised culture that they live in.

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Week 9: Contact Sheet

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Artist Model Photobook Analysis - Beijing Silvermine

Until Death Do Us Part - 6th Edition

Because I want to photograph Ding's mum smoking, one of her bad habits that caused a strain in their relationship. Emil has suggested that I look at this artist model, " Bejing Silvermine" by Thomas Sauvin. His specific project that calls "Until Death Do Us Part". Images of an old wedding where cigarettes were a casual thing. It makes me reflect on the cultural and generational differences between different generations. Back then, smoking was something that everyone did. It was a bad habit developed and introduced early to the older generations. This is different to now, where I feel like we are fully aware of how bad smoking is and seeing our close ones continuing with this bad habit, the frustration causes a strain in our relationships with our family members, and I can see how Ding felt by the way he talks about his mum's smoking showing his concerns and sadness.

Other than the contextual idea, I find the book's disguise as a cigarette pack is so smart, and the title that relates to a wedding promise and the idea that smoking will also cause your death is so clever. The use of red, a prominent colour in Chinese culture, is also being portrayed here to represent life, vitality, light and love. I also resonate a lot with the old vintage grainy film looks of the photos archive; it's warm and nostalgic, which I want to portray in my work.

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Week 9: Photobook Focus

What and who will you portray?

I'm planning on portraying my friend, Dingkai's house and family. Entering his personal space to tell his narratives as a Chinese Kiwi growing up in Aotearoa. I'm also interested and curious about photographing his mum, a first-generation Chinese immigrant that probably has a different cultural perspective from Ding.

What might you communicate visually through the concept of portrayal?

I want to communicate the idea of family and cultural connection through photographs of their house and solo/ joint photographs of Ding and his mum. I also want to capture old pictures of them, portraying Ding's growing process, family narratives and memories.

What is your position on your subject matter?

Dingkai is a friend that I met through this class. I asked him to be my model for assignment 1, and we became really close after that. I had the chance to meet his parents during a study hangout. Ding feels comfortable with me being behind the camera, and I've got given full permission from his mum to photograph her anytime. His dad said no to being photographed, but I could use his old photos around the house. I could use this concept to show his absent and mysterious self and focus on Ding and mum.

What is your voice? What is unique about your subject or your approach to it?

I'm also an Asian Kiwi growing up in Aoteroa and also have first-generation parents. The topic of family and culture has always been my interest. Everyone belongs to a cultural group and has different cultural perspectives and unique personal stories to tell. Hopefully, through this assignment, I can tell his personal account.

What do you have unique access to? A group of people, a place, a situation…?

I have unique access to Ding's house and his safe space, his bedroom. Regarding capturing his mum, Ding told me she always tends to smoke while working in her office due to stress and her nicotine addiction. This is intriguing for me as a smoking session is very personal because it shows someone's vulnerable feelings and the reasons that lead them to smoke. It's also an interesting concept to focus on. I will ask his mum's permission to enter her office and capture moments of her smoking.

Consider the important role the title takes in communicating your intention and how audiences might ‘read’ the book. What is your working title? 

"Pastel breathing"; " To my day one"; "Ashtray heart"

What would you like readers to think and feel?

A sense of family connection, cultural perspective, and a unique personal relationship between two family members that might have grown distant but care for each other deep down.

What is the role of the text within the book? How does the text relate to the story the images tell? How do they work together?

I was thinking of making a short poem explaining the connection and feelings between the two subject matters.

How many shoots do you require to gain adequate coverage and successfully tell the story? 

I will probably do one photoshoot a week, as many photos as possible so I have a wide variety of results.

Do you need gear and support with your shoots? What is your plan? What software and workflow will you use to edit, process, collate and design your photobook PDF?

I'm going to use Indesign to design my phonebook. If I don't get the right film photos, I want to try using films or manually adding film effects on Photoshop.

What is your research plan?

Research relevant artist models that focus on family and Asian community identity. Look at a lot of existing photobook examples for layouts.

What other photobooks have you looked at? 

I looked at "Looking for Asian America", found at AUT library, and I will also look at "Being Silvermine", suggested by my lecturer.

Are there decisions that have yet to be made? How will you resolve these?

Decision on where to go for film photos or if I should even use films because it costs a lot of money and time, which could affect my time management. Also, I decided to focus on and pursue one specific idea because my theme is very board and not contextual enough right now. I will resolve these decisions by talking to my lecturer, asking for advice and also asking my peers for opinions.

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Artist Model Photobook Analysis - Looking for Asian America

This is a photography book that I found at AUT uni library. I resonate with this book's layout because each spread tells a personal story about an Asian identity living in America.

Photos are very high resolution, and their compositions have been thoughtfully considered by the stable framing and depth of field focus on some photos.

I like how some of these were shot in black and white; it shows this nostalgic feeling and is somehow familiar with the subject matter portrayed.

The book has this homely vibe, which I'm trying to portray in my future photobook project.

Objects, spaces and places have also been explored. Places that contain stories about Asian cultures, like the Asian supermarket, temple and someone's house, are all so unique and significantly effective in telling a story.

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Week 8: Contact Sheet

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Workshop

Raw camera settings editing on Adobe Photoshop

Adjust exposure by using the eyedrop tool

Turn on the two features for Optics

Turn off all the features for Detail

Export file to Tiff

Edit contrast, and saturation in Photoshop so that I can work on different layers and test out different photo settings

Paper stock; matt and glossy

Photography printing booking

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Artist Model- An Rong Xu

An Rong Xu is a New York City and Taipei-based photographer and director. Born in China and raised in New York City’s Chinatown, Xu explores the world through his cultural perspective. He captures narrative moments and a deeper look into his subject's matters' lives, capturing a rich cinematic stillness through film photography. This is something that I resonate with as I shot with films before in my 30 days photography challenge.

This image above is my favourite work from him. The colour of the films and the bold, strong pop of red in the majority of his photographs are impactful in telling the story of Chinese culture. Red is the main focal point of the image, represented as the lucky and auspicious colour in Chinese culture. Red is associated with the fire element, which means life, vitality, and light. His images are unspoken words telling the story of Chinese American life. A lion dancer going/ leaving practice wearing a USA jacket. A relationship between two cultures is portrayed through film noise, bold contrast and substantial depth of field elements.

Cites:

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Artist Model- Gloria Wong

Gloria Wong, born in 1998, is a visual artist based in Vancouver, Canada. Her practice explores cultural identities and how they are shaped by different relationships between people, their environments or objects. This image above is a photo of her dad and himself in the past, captured with inside natural lighting. A soft, warm tone is portrayed, with her dad being the main focal point of the image, showcasing a slight sense of natural shyness but not awkwardness.

Her project Sik Teng mm sik gong (“pardon my Chinese”) explores how identity and the self are negotiated through acts of care, memory and gesture. Her photographs are soft and delicate, with the help of natural lighting, an eye for detail and considered composition of the portraits. I resonate with her photographing what seems to be "ordinary things" but contain significant issues around her family history, identity and diaspora. I echo the most with the photo of my grandmother’s hands wrapped around her mother. The image shows the connection and relationship between different generations and the love in a gesture of care.

Cite:

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Photobook Ideas

I want to use the same model for assignment 1, Dingkai, as my subject matter for this assignment. Born and raised in Auckland, Aoteroa, Dingkai is the son of two immigrants to Aoteroa from China in the 1980s. Through conversation with Ding, we have both come to mutual feelings of disconnection of our Asian identities in a Western country. This photo book is a visual diary that speaks about Dingkai's experience as a young second-generation Chinese Kiwi, his family history, his parents and the childhood home he grew up in.

I've decided to dedicate a photobook to this topic as I find a voice in Ding's story and struggles of belongings issues based on our ethnicities. Growing up as a minor ethnicity in a different country, I understand the isolated yet common sense of discrimination, dealing with hate toward the language I spoke, the way I looked, to the food I ate. I used to hate being Asian, but growing up, I'm trying to hold on to a relationship with both the cultures I grew up in. Knowing that Dingkai felt the same, I chose him as my subject. Being born in two cultures sometimes means you don’t know where you belong. This book is dedicated to our realisation of self-worth and ownership of our Asian/ Pākehā ethnicity. The aim is to confront, embrace and celebrate our vibrant ethnicities, personal stories and cultural identity.

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Photo challenge - a photo a day for 30 days

I didn't have access to a DSLR during the holidays, but being extremely interested in film photography, I've decided to use a roll of Kodak films for this challenge to capture my holidays and improve my skill in using a film camera. The Espio 95s is my first and favourite film camera. During the holidays, I've caught up with many family and friends and taken 36 films, one every day and sometimes multiple a day.

These photos are my favourites. I resonate a lot with the film colour, the noises and the high quality that it adds to the images. Shooting film photos with natural sunlight helps create that dreamy effect I explored in assignment 1. I found it hard to compose the images as they are one shot, and as there are limited films, a few images are a bit off-composed, so I only chose 30 out of 36. But overall, I've kept myself productive these holidays and had a lot of fun shooting my friends and scenery.

Camera: 35mm automatic lens-shutter camera with a built-in zoom lens, autofocus, auto exposure control, and flash.

Film: Kodak Ultramax 400 Color Print Film 36 Exp. 35mm DX 400 

Lens: Pentax power zoom 38mm - 95mm f/4.5 - f/10 lens, 5 elements in 5 groups.