Pertandingan Puisi Belantara di Antara Jiwa

Belantara di Antara Jiwa

Assalamualaikum dan salam sejahtera wahai pembaca sekalian. Ya, di sini ada berita baik. Eh, ni dah kenapa rasmi sangat bahasanya? Hahaha. Anna nak hadiahkan lukisan "Belantara di Antara Jiwa". Yang ni special edition (dicetak atas brown recycled art card). Hanya ada satu sahaja ya. Bagi yang berminat nak memiliki lukisan ini, Anna menganjurkan Pertandingan Puisi Belantara di Antara Jiwa. Apakah yang perlu dilakukan?

• Menulis puisi berdasarkan lukisan Belantara di Antara Jiwa (klik pada gambar untuk melihat lukisan dengan lebih terperinci). 
• Tiada had patah perkataan. 
• Puisi hendaklah ditulis di dalam Bahasa Melayu. 
• Puisi mesti dikongsi di ruang komen entri blog ini. 
• Sertakan nama dan alamat e-mel.
• Tarikh pertandingan bermula hari Jumaat, 11 November 2016, dan berakhir pada hari Ahad, 27 November 2016, jam 10pm. 
• Pemenang akan dihubungi melalui e-mel dan akan diumumkan di blog ini.

Jika ada sebarang pertanyaan, boleh tinggalkan di ruang komen. Terima kasih!

{Sue Anna Joe}

Being Creative (Part 2)

Greenilicious Lime

Thought I elaborate a bit on my previous Being Creative post with a sample of one of my old work. This photo above was taken using a basic digital camera mounted on a tripod. Tools used: a green lime taken from my mom's garden, a digital camera, a bathroom hose to spray the water and a sharp metal object that was poked into the lime to keep it in place. Below is a rough sketch of how this photo was taken.

Behind the scene of "Greenilicious Lime"

So this sketch above is pretty much how the set up was. I set the camera on timer and kept holding that position. Looking at the finished result, one would assume I threw the lime into mid-air, when it was actually supported by a sharp metal that was poked into the lime. Because I used a basic camera, I wasn't able to set the shutter speed to freeze the moment, so I used the built-in flash. Usually I avoid using the flash, I prefer natural lighting, but in this scenario it was necessary to take the shot. If it wasn't for the flash, the image would have been a blur due to the motion.

I took several shots, and finally got one that I was satisfied with. Then, it came down to the editing. I had to edit out the sharp metal object. Besides that, the background was originally white bathroom tiles. Using Adobe Photoshop, I edited the white background and turned it green. And got rid of the tile lines as it was distracting. You see, when taking photos, it's important to focus on the subject and eliminate any distraction. If possible it's best done at the scene. A lot of people do this, easy example is during group shots at a cafe. There would be cups, plates on the table. So these cups, plates, e.t.c.. would be set aside so it doesn't appear in the photograph. However in some cases, it is impossible to remove certain elements, thus editing softwares just like Adobe Photoshop come in handy.

Tools in Adobe Photoshop such as clone stamp, healing tool, patch tool can be of assistance when removing such unwanted elements. For beauty shots, especially in magazines, these tools are used frequently, to remove blemishes, acne, scars, to make the skin look really smooth. These days, there are a number of phone apps that have this removal option.

This photo did require me to be creative. I had to think how would I make it as though as the lime was in mid-air. Wouldn't have looked nice if I held it. If I had proper equipment at that time, DSLR, studio lights, with either a green backdrop or green filters I could just throw the lime, and quickly snapped photos at a high shutter speed to capture it.

So.. what was that "sharp metal object"? Jeng, jeng, jeng...

Blackhead remover (image source)

Hahaha. Yeah I know it's kinda gross, but that's what I used bruh! So I used the pointy sharp end and poked the lime so I could hold it in position. And with the magic of Adobe Photoshop, it vanished in the final image. I would share the original photo, but I don't have it anymore. I can't remember when but this was taken yearssss ago.

Well that's about it. Just thought I'd share my creative process. Limitations should not limit you, it should be used to squeeze that creativity juices out of your brain.

{Sue Anna Joe}

Being Creative

Being creative is a part of survival. It helps us manoeuvre through our daily lives. Especially in challenging situations. I've heard people saying, "But I'm not creative". Nope, you're wrong, you are creative. It's just a matter of you being able to harness this power within you. When talking about creativity, people would most likely relate it to those, say who loves to draw. Create pieces of art. Or maybe, architects, graphic designers, fashion designers, and well you know those kind of people of do those kind of things.

Parenting, requires a high level of creativity. A mother with a kid who is a picky eater, would think of the different ways of trying to make their kids to eat. So she decides, instead of serving the regular looking bread in the mornings, the mom would make the bread look like it has a face using, using cereals. Arranged to have eyes, a nose and a smily mouth. Perhaps in a situation where the kid refuses to go to bed, the mom or dad would make up a 'factual' story such as, "If you don't go to sleep, you will forever be small, when everyone else is growing up", or simply just scare them "Haa, kalau tak tidur nanti nenek kebayan datang". The scare tactic is not recommended though. It ain't good for the mental health of kids.

Have you seen those survival guides on TV? I can't quite remember the names of the show, but there are a few. Not long ago, I watched this show, where there were two guys, one a chef, and the was one was a hunter, or was it a survival specialist. Well anyway, this episode I watched was filmed in Malaysia. They had to travel by a tiny wooden boat to a secluded area deep down in the swampy jungle. The hunter guy wanted to take water from the river. Somehow he lost the only cooking pot they had. So, the chef was of course furious, but he still managed to come up with a solution. He used bamboo to cook. He made holes and put in the shrimp they caught inside. And it actually made it taste better. And this is yet again, creativity. If he wasn't creative, they would have starved.

"Murder victim" (image source)

Teachers use creativity. How do you make students interested in their lessons? Read an article not too long ago, an English teacher from Sarawak, created a murder scene, and the students had to solve the murder mystery. He left 'evidence' with words and sentences, like puzzles. And so the students had to read and understand, and figure it out. Those who were able to solve the case, had the chance to take photos with the prop. One of them was a huge sized knife. I would definitely want to participate in that class.

For a person who love to take photos, creativity is an important tool other than the camera itself. I've been in many situations that I was forced to be creative due to the limitations I had. I started with a basic compact digital camera, a 5-megapixel Sony Cybershot. I did not have any special equipment, studio or lighting. I used whatever I had in my house as props or set up. For example:

1. The carpet became the background for my portraits
2. A bag, a skirt, a t-shirt was turned into a hat
3. My night lamp became my studio lights
4. The bathroom became my studio
5. I've even used garlic as a prop for one of my conceptual shoots

I did not have to invest in so much to come up with an interesting photo. All I needed was creativity. Without it, I would have just given up. Now that I am in the kitchen more often, I have to think of what to cook for my husband and son. It's quite a task of figuring out the menu of the day. And at times you just don't have enough ingredients based on the recipe. So, tadaaaa, here comes creativity. You have to figure out, what ingredient you can use to substitute what you don't have. You have to think would this go with that, would that go with this. And at the end of the days the lack of ingredients you had, actually made your cooking even more delicious. Nyumm nyumm nyumm.

We all are creative. We just don't realize it. Don't go "Alaaa, tapi saya tak kreatif.." Hello, hello wake up. Awak tu kreatif sebenarnya. Tinggal lagi nak menjana kuasa kekreatifan tu haaa. Terlampau kreatif pun tak elok juga sebenarnya. Yelah, sampai ada yang jamu orang makan dalam diapers la, mangkuk tandas la. Erkk. Hahaha. So make use of that creativity within you in your daily lives, but please don't go overboard. Moderation is key. It would be such a waste not to harness that power of creativity of yours. Now go be creative!

{Sue Anna Joe}