Day 25 - Playing With Hikari

New word I learnt today: hikari, which means light.

Photography Workshop conducted by Nigel

Setting Up

A video that was looping, showing the events of the Itoshima Arts Farm when it was spring (i.e. rice planting season).
P.S. I saw footage of Sen (my school's principal), his wife, Yeo Shih Yun and Justin Lee!

Atsuko-san and Maki-san.

Hiro-san introducing Nigel.

Practical Assignment: Capture interesting light

We were all split into pairs and assigned to capture images that showed interesting light. It was rather challenging because the sky was really cloudy and the light was coming from all around, so images tend to look flat. But we tried anyway (and some actually managed to capture really nice shots!).

My partner for the day: Midori-san!

In the end, we all decided that the light indoors were probably more interesting, i.e. the light from windows etc, so we just ended up taking photos indoors.

Just goofin' around

One of my favourite shots.

I took Nigel's advice to shoot in Manual mode. I'm still not very used to it (I used to - yes, now past tense - use Aperture-priority mode) but I'm starting to see the benefits of this mode. The following pictures that you see in the rest of this post would have been shot in Manual mode.

Everyone sharing their photos. :)
I really enjoyed this part. Quite inspiring!

Nigel got us to play around with his flash.
I REALLY LOVE THIS EFFECT! I think I've learnt so much.

I'm going to repeat. I've really learnt so much from this workshop. As I shared with Nigel that back in the days when I was in college and I took a Photography module (Of course, I also learnt many things from that course), there was little hands-on emphasis on light. It was mainly just a brief introduction to lighting and maybe a short play-around with light. However, I was never actually challenged to think about how light can be manipulated (even natural light) and how I can use light to affect my shot.

Unfortunately, due to time constrains, Nigel didn't manage to finish all that he had prepared to share with us.. which was really a pity!

After the workshop - 

Late lunch at Makino Udon

I've had people ask me if I really love food. I think it's because in almost every post, I'm sure to be talking about food. True enough, I LOVE FOOD. (But also, it depends on what kinds of food. I don't like insects and most seafoods, like octopus. It took me a while to try squid, and even then I'm still not a big fan, but that's another story).

The workshop venue

Loading of Nigel's equipment.
He also had a HUGE suitcase for his lights (not shown in picture).
It's a wonder how everything fit into the boot of this car.

NIKU UDON!
AND I SPAMMED THE SPRING ONIONS (not shown in picture)

Vegetable tempura udon.
Should have tried this. Sounds really healthy.
But then again, I loved my Niku Udon.

I REMEMBER THE AUTOMATIC DRYING THING AT THE CAR WASH!
Brought back fond memories of my childhood.
In Singapore, this is a rare sight because automatic car wash have declined and manual car wash took over so as to give people more jobs.

Atsuko-san's car.

Itoshima Farm Arts Dinner Party

Ok, I don't actually know what this party is (they just said "party"). So I thought, hey why not? Besides, Hiro-san said he'll be introducing me to whoever's there and showcasing my short film.

I know it doesn't look like it, but that's sashimi in the foreground.
Oishi!

MY WORK!!!!!!!!
:)
Still feels kind of surreal? Doesn't feel like it's my work there.

Homecooked soup. Oishi!!!

Japanese-style rice. Like risotto?
Very oishi.

Unfortunately, I was already so full from the Makino Udon, I couldn't eat much at the dinner. But since I enjoy eating a lot, I automatically finished up the soup and ate a few pieces of sashimi (I HAD TO! Yummy!).

And then, my first real taste of sake.
It really burns your throat.
I think it's pretty nice? But I'm still not an alcohol-person. ^^

Alright! That's all for now! It's been a busy day.

I'll be uploading my short film soon (plus a short writeup about it).. so watch this space!

To Nigel, if you're reading this:
Thank you so much for the insightful and informative workshop! I really enjoyed it and have learnt so much. All the best for your project!