Capturing It

And so the classes starts again. There was only about a couple of weeks of break after all. So, time flies, whether you're having fun or not. For me, it was somewhat fun. Two weeks of packed friends time, many surprises (both good and bad) and well, hopefully, work as well. I don't know if I told you guys about the photography part of my portfolio but I was talking to Judy the other night and she said I hadn't told her about it. Usually, Judy knows things that are both on and off my blog (because she's Judy and I can't keep anything from her even if we're separated by the sea). I concluded (and later checked and was proven right) that I've not told you yet either.

The photography part was something I thought of when I woke up one morning and did my usual social network updates and check ups. Unlike most people my age, I actually have the habit of checking my e-mails as well, mainly because my iPod which is constantly online never fails to tell me that I have mails even if those mails are just from Twitter or Facebook telling me that I have interactions or direct messages or notifications and on rare occasions, from Tumblr, telling me I have a new follower. I opened my GMail that particular morning and there was one from YouTube giving me a list of videos that I should watch and one of the video caught my attention. One the screenshot of the video was of an old man with snowy white hair in a yellow cab showing his middle finger at the camera. How can that not be attention grabbing, no?

So, I clicked on it and watched the 58-minutes video. It was a documentary on the life of one of the most artistic photographer called William Klein. He is a fashion and street photographer, sometimes even incorporating the two into his works. The idea of capturing moments and telling stories through a single photograph blew me away and gave me the inspiration to do something like that. But of what story though? How about of the girls only girls that had ever impacted my life here in West Malaysia? I thought of the girls and three names





appeared in my head: Michelle, Khamsha and my friend (and K's boyfriend), Christopher's sister, Amelia. The first two are basically my only female friends that I'm fairly close to. Amelia, however, I've only met and hung out with once at the Christmas party at her and Chris' house last year. I slept in her room with Khamsha and we got along almost immediately. I wouldn't say that we were close, no, because we aren't, not even now.

But to be honest, I really like her. I somehow see quite a lot of myself in her and she is exactly what I wanted to be when I was her age. When I was her age, was ironically, not too long ago. She was 16 when I met her last year, making her only a year younger than myself. She goes to an all-girl school, is taking Literature for SPM, the things she's going through (which I can totally relate because I was there too), a bookworm and used to be in the debate team too. I think I've changed a lot since college, more myself, thanks to the fact that I get to have a fresh start, no old reputations to define who I am anymore. I liked the way she carried herself and the way she think. She's outspoken, down to earth and confident but I can tell, she has no idea just how great she is. But I think that's the best part. She made an impact on me, alright.

So, anyway, I decided to use the 3 girls. Sounds like a good idea but then, what sort of story can I tell with 3  girls who are obviously so different. Michelle have not met Amelia before, should I put them all together to work on this together, will they be able to have the chemistry that I want to have in my photographs? Believe me, chemistry and authenticity as well as originality are the core elements I want in my photos. Then I saw a connection between Khamsha and Amelia. And no, it's not Chris.

It's the fact that these two girls are Chindians. That would be Chinese+Indian (thus, their unofficial name, Chindian. When filling up forms they were supposed to tick whatever race their father is). Khamsha is a second generation Chindian, which means that both her parents are Chindians. At home, she speaks a mixture of languages but Khamsha herself can speak and understand Mandarin (though not fluently) and Tamil. She can also speak Malay and English well. Pretty cool, huh? That's literally a melting pot of Malaysia right there. Amelia have a Chinese mother and an Indian father. Opposite to Khamsha, she can speak no Chinese dialect, Mandarin or Tamil. They speak English at home and are Catholics. I fell in love with the idea. So similar, yet so different.

They are like a symbol of the acceptance of differences. Indian and Chinese, two races of totally different skin color. Black and White, two opposites. Khamsha with her language power is living prove that all the different cultures and ideas of the two different races can co-exist peacefully. Amelia, on the other hand, shows that people can choose to be whoever they want and just because they're not close to their cultural roots, doesn't make them any bad of a person at all.

I loved, loved, loved the idea and the first person I called up to talk about it was, of course, Prashan simply because he'll have to help me in the taking the pictures part since he's amazing at it and knows what he's doing. I realized then that I have no choice but to cut Michelle out of the project even though she has one of the biggest impact in my life here and whom I adore but I know I'll include her in my other projects to come. Then, I asked the girls if they would do it for me, be my subjects and thankfully, they said yes.

On Gawai day, that would be the June 1st, together with a bunch of other friends, we headed down to Melacca and it's Jonker Walk for the shoot. Melacca was best because of it's cultural architecture and the crowd they always have. Street photography, remember? Not surprisingly, there were some bumps along the way but I have to say, there're quite a few pictures that I really like. They were personal and original. I don't know if I'll ever post the pictures here but we'll see because they're really quite pretty. And I'm not just talking about the girls.

I guess that's all for now. I'll have to find a proper way to thank the girls for their hard work but yeah, I'll still need to see if it'll help in the college admission stuff. Fingers crossed!

I hope you're doing well. Because I am. I suppose.