I'm a Painter...

I've finally completely understood that a true photographer must be an artist too... And a painter at that...

My 3 outings to shoot the Singapore Fireworks Festival have brought me up to another level in my passion... I've gained enough control over my equipment to the point where I do not need to think too much about the camera settings anymore...

I've began to focus on what to capture, rather than how to capture a shot.

It's a powerful realisation as far as my progress in photography is concerned. Usually, photographs are made in a fraction of a second. It's so instantaneous and quick that it's very easy to forget how a shot is captured.

Regardless of film or digital photography, it's all about recording light onto the film or sensor. We don't normally need to expose a shot for more than a second. And that's the reason why many casual shooters don't spend much thought over what to capture.

And how has the fireworks outings made me realise that I'm a painter?

I used to press the shutter release continuously over the span of the fireworks display. My rationale was that as long as I don't miss any part of the display, I'll definitely get some shots which will turn out right... And I usually do have a few shots which are decent.

This time round, I've stopped shooting this way. I realised that I usually have to expose my frame for an average of 6 seconds to capture the full burst of the fireworks... This is a very long period of time where a lot of things can go wrong... The shot could be overexposed, underexposed, or just simply, look outright messy...

I realised that I actually have the complete control over what to expose in my frame. I now open the shutter manually and block out the light entering the lens using a cardboard. I'll only remove the cardboard to capture the explosions that I want to record. I realised that it is an art by itself of when to open up my frame to expose the explosions.

Timing is critical... asthetic judgement is critical... patience is critical... calmness is critical...

The percentage of usable shots for my fireworks has now increased a lot.

It's about knowing what I want to capture, and not about thinking I have to get it captured...

It's a very powerful realisation...

It's in fact a freedom that I've gained...

A paradox again, because I gained this freedom from having good control over my equipment and self...