“Don’t just ride the wave, do it better.” The statement echoes itself in my head as Shah Azman explains his rendition of photography to me and the participants during the Vans Vision Walk. I came with zero knowledge whatsoever on professional photography, let alone qualify for basic shots on my phone, hoping to gain some insights on the technical, as well as subjective aspects through this medium.
Conceptual photography then, is practically alien to me. Standing in the heat at the Pasar Seni station, Shah Azman explains the genre to be a type of photography that is staged to represent an idea. “Photography is just a tool, a medium of which we express that art,” he says as we listened on. Shah especially loves to include some elements of surrealism into his shots, of which he demonstrates with his showpiece called the Red Series.
The model, which is a close friend of his, was gracious enough to be the test subject for the workshop.
The Red Series mostly revolves around a bold centrepiece that contrasts very much to the surrounding background. The model, draped in flowing veils of red, surrounded by props was arranged, and rearranged by the participants to allow them to angle for the perfect capture. Ultimately, the goal is for the participants to explore conceptual photography according to each and everyone’s own rendition.
We then shifted to the bridge facing the River of Life for a fresh change in location. Shah continues on to explain his workflow when it came to structuring and composing his shots. “The goal, is for the photograph to connect with the people. Not for instant attention, not for quick gratification.” The story delivered inside the photograph plays a big role in forging a connection to the people. He highlights that it’s important to not just “syok sendiri” when taking the photo, but much rather balance expressing your creative side and making sure the photo can deliver depth and meaning to the audience, and Shah does this balancing act astoundingly well, so well in fact that his photos were selected and featured by VSCO multiple times.
During this point, the skies look murky and ominous, and then proceeds to catch all of us off guard as the rains drops down in torrents. We hastily made our way to Jao Tim, and continued where the conversation left off.
Shah reminisces on his previous experiences before fully delving into conceptual photography. “It’s quite rare that you give a job with complete creative control to do what you want, like weddings. It’s all standard fair most of the time, and a lot of people aren’t really open to the idea of shooting for art. Nevertheless, it’s important to keep trying. Never conform to the ordinary. Always try to do something that’s out of the box. Most importantly, don’t ride the wave, do it better.” I think I finally understood the weight and meaning of it.
