The Ethics of Photojournalism

Yesterday my dad asked me, "You haven't been updating your blog lately. Busy?" Of all people, it had to be a not-so-techy analogue person that asks for my digital diary to be updated.

I have been busy with work and taking a break from the digital realm, spending time with my daughter and on my new TV. I consciously choose what I want to achieve and trade-off some other things in life.

Meanwhile, I found this interesting e-book about photojournalism and the ethics of digital manipulation, and it's relevant in the photographic genre that I specialise, although it's nothing quite like it. That's because portraiture and photojournalism doesn't seem to gel with most clients, who prefer glamourisation rather than realism (photography to them is a portrayal of images that they cannot achieve in real life, a visual escapism). What they need to understand is that even journalistic portraiture still requires some form of directions during the shoot to capture the better perspectives. And that's what I do when I capture my images.

Click the image to download the e-book.

Rainmaker

The next time I needed rain, all I do is to send my car for a car wash.

After a week of cumulated dirt, tree sap, and bird shit, I decided to send my car for a wash today before lunch.

Actually, I was supposed to wash yesterday, but when I went past the car wash shop, there was a long queue, so I held off.

I was hoping for a rain to wash off the dirt, but it never came.

Today, after spotting quite a lot of dirt, I drove into the car wash and had it cleaned.

Now, 5pm, it was raining cats and dogs, enough to wash off any stubborn dirt or shit.

For $2.50, it was worth it, just to cool the planet.

Vanessa Mae: Toccata & Fugue

Remember Vanessa-Mae? Britain-based Singapore violinist who was known for her classical-pop fusion style. Here's a performance of one of her popular track, with live orchestra and church organ.

Enya: And Winter Came EPK

As I know it, Enya's 2008 album is officially released today - 11/11/2008.

The Electronic Press Kit (EPK) is available on Enya website. 12 minutes of private interview with Enya, Nicky and Roma Ryan. Enya also talks several minutes about her "Watermark" album.
http://enya.com/videos.php?vid=enyaepk

You can also catch the music video of her latest single, "Trains and Winter Rains".
http://enya.com/videos.php?vid=tawr

No comments on her music till I get hold of one, although I have already formed some opinion based on the videos I saw (and heard) on her official website. Gramophone Centrepoint hasn't stocked that yet. HMV probably has, but I was lazy to walk there. Maybe tomorrow.

Also looking forward to seeing David Foster's HITMAN CD/DVD/book in stores. I suspect I might have to wait a little longer for that because David Foster is not as popular as to warrant a same-day worldwide album release.

It is obvious that the invasion of the Blu-ray disc has an effect on DVD. Prices are dropping like the current stock market. I saw some old titles in Blu-ray format at only $39.90. Very tempting, except I don't have a Blu-ray player and a TV to play Full HD. Regret? Not at all. I think I will get better quality watching Blu-ray on a lower-res TV, the same when watching DVD on the old CRT. Really hope the Blu-ray DVD-ROM for PC drops soon.

I didn't buy the component video cable: I simply used the existing RCA cables. They are all the same: just wires connecting from one end to the other, except for the colour-codes to aid the layman. The result: slight quality improvement, but only on the colour rendition but not on the resolution.

De-throning the CRT TV

It didn't take long for the LCD TV to arrive at my house. And what an impression the old CRT TV made on my TV rack when the delivery men removed it from its throne - moved for the first time in 8 years. That black imprint left by the CRT on my white TV rack will never go away, as if to leave it on purpose to serve as a reminder of the 8 faithful years it served us.




I wasn't overwhelmed with what I saw, and I expected it. After all, there aren't any TV content that can resolve the full 1366x768 pixels the LCD TV is capable of. Not free-to-air, not digital cable, not even DVD, which is actually 720x480 pixels. I took out the "Lord of the Rings" DVD which I bought for collection, inserted it for the first time and hoped to see some magic. It turned out like watching VCD on a CRT TV. Images were soft and not sharp. Perhaps it was the DVD coding, but I believe my observation holds for most DVDs in the market. How can a 720x480 video look sharp on a 1366x768 monitor? The same logic holds if you have a 800x600 JPG file and you wanted to view it full screen on a 1600x1200 monitor.

Note however, that I was connecting to the 8-year-old DVD player using S-Video. "EWWW!" You scream. S-Video is old technology! Component video connection should (or could) make the images look better. Ironically, that other new DVD player which I got for free when I bought the Hokkaido tour package in NATAS, which still sits in the box untouched, has component video. So, good excuse for me to dump my DVD player as well?

Well, ok, so I'm gonna get a component video cable tomorrow at the handy store and we'll see how it goes. Sadly, the new LCD TV only has one component video input, so I have to choose between using it for the HubStation set-top box or the (new) DVD player. No points for guessing which one I would use: we watch cable content 364 times more than watching DVD.

Hmm, but the New TV comes with 2 HDMI ports, which is a waste since I have zero HDMI equipment. Perhaps I should... eh... sigh... another never ending vicious cycle to upgrade the other gadgets surrounding the new-kid. Viral purchase syndrome.

The last of the CRT generation

This evening, I finally committed to purchase an LCD television, replacing my 8-year-old trusty CRT TV.

I have been a strong advocate of analogue television for its, well, analogue quality. Free-to-air channels are still broadcasting on analogue signals, and so, if you watch them on digital televisions, they will look pixelated, as if you are watching from a VCD player. Even DVDs look less stellar on digital TV sets because the resolution does not match pixel-by-pixel and therefore digital TV sets need to up-sample (extrapolate). My dad has been dangling this carrot for months, even offering to pay for the new TV, but I didn't budge, because I really don't need to spend that money on an electrical item that I spend less than an hour every day (no qualms spending on PCs, though, for obvious reasons).

So what made me change my mind?

1. Value.
2. Eye comfort.

The Panasonic TX-37LX80 is offering $988 at Courts, with $200 shopping voucher. That model is not Full HD, and I don't even know (or care) what other advanced features it has (or hasn't). Some of you would probably be naying my decision, but price value is my only consideration. A $788 37-inch LCD TV from a branded Japanese company? It's a no-brainer choice.

The other reason is eye-comfort. The old TV is showing images at 50/60Hz, and definitely not ideal for children. Plus, that trademark buzzing sound at high frequency coming out from every CRT TV probably doesn't go well on children's ears as well.

Just to make myself feel better, the brochure price for this model is $1799 (with some freebies with $379).

So, does it look like a good deal?

But, all the talk about Full HD, and here a techie is getting an "outdated" model? Well, I seriously don't see the need for a Full HD, unless you are a Blu-Ray disc enthusiast or if you own a Full-HD video camcorder. Even so, normal HD can still playback the footages. Having said that, there is no harm getting a Full HD TV if the price is right. Sad to say, the next cheapest Full HD TV in Courts is about $1500. Not worth to spend, if you ask me.

Anyway, this argument about analogue vs. digital has been going on for ages, from photography to video, to TV and audio. What's for sure is that the analogue days are over, and digital will go all out to produce quality that surpasses the analogue medium, especially the reproduction of the analogue dynamic range.

Thank you, CAAS

Months ago, CAAS - i.e. Changi Airport - announced that they are support local artists by playing local works as background music so that they can earn some royalty.

In fact, CAAS has already been doing that since 2007. Thanks to their support for Piano Spa, I am receiving a sizable amount of royalty for the 2nd half of 2007. How much? About S$3000. I think that's quite a lot of money for royalty, many thanks to the extremely large area of Changi Airport. Typically, royalty is charged by the floor area of the establishment.

I am really grateful for CAAS to support local arts. I do hope other local establishments start to support local music.

In Japan, the creative industry is so self-sufficient that it's encouraging local creative people to go into the industry. Photographers, musicians, painters, fashion designers, hair stylists, make-up artists, cartoonists, furniture designers, craftsmen, etc. They have monthly publications on the latest make-up trends, hair-dos, clothes, music, home decor, and more. Publications that fill over 4 rows of bookstore aisles.

Singapore is catching up. We are earning increasing number of credentials in the areas of animation, fashion, design, music, arts. And with simple acts like CAAS, the creative industry has hope to strike out as a mainstream industry where people can earn a liviing comfortably.

Hamilton Wins Formula One, Ellen Goes Clubbing with Paris

I read on the newspaper the dramatic Formula One win by Lewis Hamilton and I went to search for the video clip that shows the final lap. Lucky guy.


I also found the video clip on Emi's blog, about Ellen DeGeneres visiting Paris Hilton's mansion and going clubbing with her. It's just Ellen making a fool of herself, but an eye opener on Paris' house.


And how about airlines who charge every safety feature that we take for granted:


Petrol prices are going down, and my friend recently upgraded his 2-year Nissan Latio to Qashqai, and so did Angie's brother who got the Honda Accord. On Sunday I dropped by the Opel showroom after IKEA to check out the Meriva that is on clearance sale: $57000 for a 1.6L mini-MPV. It's an old 2006 shipment but the car is really worth the price, if you aren't particular about looks. My dad is also on the lookout for an ideal car to replace his 5-year old Opel Astra "G". So far, there aren't any cars out there that can meet the performance of the Astra at a budget, and seriously it's quite a hard deal to beat. My guess is either daddy compromises on performance or he'd have to stick with it for another 5 years.

As for me and my Chevy Optra, I'm loving it and happy with what I paid for. Of course, with more money, I can get better cars, but for now, the car is so run-in that I no longer treat it like a gem. And not worrying about the cosmetic element makes driving more pleasurable.

Bustling Online Business

More and more and people around me are involved in online business. A colleague just opened a second online shop. And I just completed a project to photo-catalogue clothes for DJV, a new online shop, with several enquiries in queue.

More friends are blogging, not about their private lives, but on product advertorials. Some are putting more effort in their blog content to present journalistic reviews of food and products that they use. Sad to say, reading their blogs is no longer as enjoyable as before - unless the blogs specialise in reviews and advertorials.

Please drop by these online shops if you are interested in the products:

1. DJV - ladies apparel and accessories, "where dreams meet reality" http://enterdejavu.com/
2. Bedsheepz - beddings for infant and children http://www.bedsheepz.com/
3. Gingerbread - online children's boutique http://www.gingerbreadtots.com/

Bedsheepz and Gingerbread are 2 rather unique online shops where they specialise infant and children products. DJV is selling ladies apparel, something that a lot of people are already doing. What's different from most other shops is the effort in their web design, their sales materials, as well as the promotional strategy. Currently, they are offering free gifts for purchases over $50, as well as a contest to pick the favourite dress to win prizes. Plus, the clothes and accessories do look rather chic and affordable. How I wish men's apparel are just as cheap and fun.