Talks On Photojournalism

today will no doubt be remembered (by me) for marking a new milestone in my whole attitude towards photography.

first speaker Marie-Laure de Decker (France) brought a whole new dimension to my view of photojournalism being a mostly male-dominated domain with her gutsy-ness (her philosophy: "if they don't want you to take the picture, all the more you should!" and "if you die, you die. if you don't, at least you have your picture"), her view on the power of photojournalism in steering public sentiments (e.g. during Vietnam war) and strong principles on what images she will capture and what she will not (no blood, no naked women).

i was also thoroughly inspired by Singapore-based photographer Tay Kay Chin - who in his short talk (heavily laden with sentimentality) captured the exact sentiments i have about what it is and means to be Singaporean. He spoke of a "love-hate" relationship, the feeling that he will never fully understand this place and yet being fully convicted that this is ultimately still "home" - the thought that if he was ever not to be able to return to this country for whatever reason - totally unbearable.. from his words, pictures (he actually uses the Hasselblad XPan dual-format camera - a cool rangefinder) and body language, i could tell that this was someone who felt the same affection i have for Singapore, for the food, the off-the-beaten track spots, the quirkiness of Singaporeans etc etc.. even though he had been all around the world, spending time working and experiencing life overseas.. i was thoroughly moved that he had decided to spend the next couple of years just taking pictures of people and places in Singapore so he can remember them and record them in some way..

about photojournalism, he had these words: don't go into war just so you can capture nice pictures. go into war only if you think your pictures will make a difference. it is already messy enough in there without reporters getting into trouble.. so true..