Less Is More
I didn’t really know what to expect for this iteration of Vision Walk after arriving at 2, Hang Kasturi for the 2nd day of House Of Vans. For one, I appropriate skate culture without learning how to skate, dressed in a slightly oversized Gosha Rubchinsky DSM shirt, worn out jeans and a pair of Padin’s, so it’s safe to say I had no idea what was what.
With a group of skateboarders loitering in front of the MyNews, an overcast Kuala Lumpur greeted us into the venue before meeting up with today’s lecturer on photography, Annatasha Saifol.
Cheery, is what strikes a person most during the initial encounter with her. Excited to get the show going, my videographer, Amir and I were escorted to level 3 into the Vision Walk showcase.
Here, works from different Vision Walk hosts were displayed in full view of anyone who entered the exhibition; particular ones of note are Shah Azman’s lesson in conceptual photography, and Ajiem Serr’s presentation of skate photography.
Annatasha wanted to do things a little bit differently, seeing as both photographers prior hosted their event outdoors, hers would comprise of a studio session as well as an outdoor portion of her shoot.
Left to right: Rekha and Tess
Simplicity is key here, as she shows that you can achieve many many things with just simple equipment and props that she brought from home. Armed with one studio light, diffuser, and 2 models named Rekha and Tess, Annatasha taught her participants the pure basics on how to adjust the lights and settings on the camera for a well balanced, and composed shot; which was a pleasant challenge, seeing as light behaves differently in a confined space.
“I love doing fashion photography. I love capturing them in their best element and all of their details within the frame of the shot you know? It gives a more intimate feeling as compared to other types of photography,” laments Annatasha.
The models too provided another layer of complexity in the sense that the second subject can be used as a prop to the main act. “Using two models doesn’t necessarily mean that the subjects need to be in the shot you know?” says Annatasha.
While it can be done, another subject can also be used to complement the main person in the frame, that breaks away from the norms, venturing a little bit into experimental. After a few rounds in the checkerboard room and studio, we went outside and continued on towards Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad, of which its architecture provided a very nice back drop for the models.
Everything rings back to simplicity that allowed inclusions for all participants, as half of them used smartphones to take their shots and only a handful were armed with DSLRs.
As the shoot wrapped up and we walked back to the venue, we passed by a skater who was attempting to do a kickflip on the River Of Life Bridge. Sensing a little bit of guerrilla, we set up the models and proceeded to add a little bit of skate photography into the mix.
Counter Culture: CDG Converse at an all Vans affair
Walking back to the House, a chat with Annatasha summarises her ethos which she uses to approach her photography. “Don’t confine yourself to boundaries. Try out weird angles, try out new directions, and who knows maybe something new will come out!”
Cutting Room Floor
