Student Profile - People and Portrait Photography

Would you like to take better people and portrait photographs? RMIT have introduced a new 4 day intensive course that starts 11 Dec. Mon to Thurs, 9 - 4. 
Join me as I guide you through equipment, lighting, location selection and technical considerations for formal and environmental portraits, studio and street photography.  Clck HERE for more info. 

Peggy Chow

The following images were taken by Peggy as part of her final folio in the 8 week People and Portrait Photography Short Course. Read more about Peggy below.

What camera are you shooting with?
I am shooting with Fujifilm XT10

What's your favourite lens?

Fujifilm XF35mm f2 is my go to lens. 

Is there a lens you wish you had?
Yes, Fujifilm XF 16-55mm f2.8 R LM WR

What's the hardest part about portraiture for you?

Capturing the soul of my subject. 

What did you enjoy or learn or like the best about the People and Portrait class?
What I enjoyed best about attending People and Portrait class is that I get to push myself and test my own boundaries after every class in order to finish the task given. 

How old are you?
29.

How/why/when did you get interested in photography?
I was always into photography but I never took it seriously and didn't pay enough attention to really learn. I only really started going back to photography seriously after a bad break up, so it has been almost close to a year now. 

I like how I can convey my feelings into photographs and looking at a good photograph that I took gives me a feeling nothing else can.

Why did you choose to do the people and portrait class at rmit?

I trust RMIT to be a good place for education, big or small. 

What's your next photographic project?

I'd like to gather my grandmother, my mom and all her sisters to take a ladies family portrait.
I'd also like to work on a series that show the way our generation live our lives, mainly attached to technology. 

Would you like to go pro one day or is your photography strictly for fun?

Photography to me is mainly just a hobby or my creative outlet but if one fine day I could go pro, I'd be really glad to be able to finally make it. 

What do you like to do when you're not taking photos?

When I'm not taking photos, I like to go on Pinterest or Instagram for inspiration, read up some quotes or watch some videos and listen to music. 

Working or studying? (More info?)
I'm working as a barista so I make coffee all day everyday. 

Where did you grow up? (How long have you been in Melbourne?)
I grow up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and I've been in Melbourne for 3 years. 

Will you continue with portraiture or venture into other genres?

I'd like to continue with portraiture, especially on street portraiture but I would also like to try other genre's to open myself up. 

Do you have any portrait tips to share?

A good brief with your subject before shooting and chat em up to release some tension. 
 

You used a digital camera for the course but I know you shoot film also. How did you get into shooting film?

I used to own a Diana F but never got around to using it because film to me was too much hassle. 

But when I started taking photography seriously, I wanted to improve in a different way so I decided to try film.
Fell in love ever since then.

What camera do you use for that?
I have quite a number of different analogue cameras but my favourite one is definitely Nikon F3. 

What's the biggest challenge with shooting film?

The biggest challenge with shooting film is that I need to have a lot of patience and the fact that there's no screen for me to look at. 

Is it very different from shooting digital?

Definitely! The limited frames that I get from shooting film makes me shoot a lot slower, to really stop and think before shooting. Besides, the result of the pictures won't be available until (at least) a few hours later.

Anything else film related that might be of interest to share?

Film in my opinion is making a comeback and if you're interested to giving it a try, Filmneverdie is a good place to start as they have a film walk almost every month. 

While I was walking...

...  from my (Melbourne) back yard to the post office.

First I was dazzled by the purple native hibiscus (?) dancing along the side fence with the Jasmine. 

Then I noticed the Jasmine in the gutter and something about it reminded me of a young child sitting, playing on the edge of a footpath, feet dangling in the gutter. 

And then I was struck by the everyday-ness of the down pipe and how the flowers and foliage made the shapes look quite beautiful. 

So with gutters and pipes in my mind, I set off to the Post Office and just a couple of doors up from me I spotted these blue flowers in a front yard. And I love the old green velvet couch sitting on the porch behind the flowers. Can anyone let me know what the flowers are called?

I was keeping an eye out for details and spotted these tiny flowers that are quite possibly a pest because they seem to be everywhere (more photos of them further down). But I did like the rusty gate and cobwebs with just the hint of greenery. 

Just across the road from the Post Office I fell in love with this Wisteria. I was so blinded by its beauty it wasn't until I looked at the photos that I saw the intricate details in the house supporting it.  

The sun and shade worked nicely to accentuate the yellow bush against the rust coloured gate. The colourful wrought iron fences and gates and the fancy (filigree?) trimmings on the houses make great subjects to photograph. I love the colour contrast once again (below), this time with the purple (Iris? Help me out here, please) peeping through the repetition of the pale green fence rungs. 

The shadows, shapes and lines caught my eye above and below. 

As I mentioned, the plant below is probably a menace because it creeps everywhere, but the flowers are quite beautiful, albeit tiny.

A lot of character in a small space. I love the contrast of the shapes between the straight lines of the old chair and the round wheels of the bike and the repetition of the fence. Not to mention the incongruitey of the chair just sitting there. 

There's so much to delight in with bright, bold Nasturtiums poking through chain link fences and delicate, pale yellow (don't know the name) flowers growing in a window box.

You simply can't walk past a pair of pink flamingoes and not take a photo. I love the symmetry in this shot and the shadow of the lace work to balance it. 

And then back home and to finish off where I started, in the back yard with the pipes and gutters and jasmine and hibiscus, with an every day shot of pegs on the clothesline. 

While I was walking... (Fitzroy North)

Autumn leaves, rows of trees, wedge shaped buildings, famous soup bars, views to the city and a rotunda. 
And that's just a small section of what Fitzroy North has to offer. 

(This walk was a couple of weeks ago)

Edinburgh Gardens Rotunda

One of the grooviest looking library's around. Bargoonga Nganjin North Fitzroy Library.  

I don't often see this stretch of road in the morning. It's a hive of activity in the evenings so has an eery quality about it seeing is so deserted. 

Autumn leaves falling. Edinburgh Gardens. 

Avenue of Trees in Edinburgh Gardens.

While I was walking...

Glimpses of Melbourne. On the walk home from the State Library. 
I walk these roads often but they always offer something new. The seasons have a way of transforming the cityscape. I like the way the trees compliment the architecture.

La Trobe St. Hints of Physical Graffiti. Anyone agree? Anyone know what I'm talking about? lol

Carlton. Trees and architecture create winter tonal delights. 

Carlton. Something about the trees and architecture again. They were really talking to me (visually) on that day.

Sidewalk art. 

Winter tones in Carlton. 

Carlton. Just caught my eye and appealed to me. 

Oh the stories that must live in these walls! 

Almost home. Carlton North. 

State Library - Part Two

Some more favourites from hanging out at the State LIbrary in Melbourne. All of these photos were taken on the Fuji xt-2 Mirrorless Camera. 

I like the idea that the birds are playing chess. 

This guy didn't feel the cold at all! Everyone else is rugged up in layers and coats and scarves. He's not even shivering!

State Library of Victoria

This is my last Saturday off for a while. Next Saturday I start the next Level 2 - Introduction to Photography - Technical & Aesthetic at RMIT  in Melbourne (Still a couple of places if you want to join us).  Once of the activities we'll be doing is photographing the State Library, so I thought I'd head down this morning and see where the light was falling and make sure it's not covered in scaffolding like it was one other time. I ask the students to edit down to 6 of their favourite images so I limited myself to the same number.

I love the State Library. It's a fantastic building inside and out with so much to see. It's a 'must see' for any visitors to Melbourne.  I stuck to the outside of the building. Apart from the striking architecture, I'm always impressed by the 'life' and activity that goes on out the front. 

I have more favourites though so I might cheat and do another post! Oh, and I had arranged a meeting at the Cafe (Mr Tulk) but in the end no one else could make it, so it was Eggs Benny and a Bloody Mary for one.