Low Kah Wei - Survivor
My friend Kah Wei was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. She had an operation to remove a breast and then underwent a course of chemotherapy. I wanted to take her portrait while she was undergoing chemotherapy but I caught a persistent cold was unable to do it. Recently, I finally managed to take the portrait as we are both better. In the greater scheme of things, I am happy to have been able to take her portrait now. It is a period in which the joy of life is real.
As much as I enjoy shooting nudes and art photographs, I do feel that this type of portraiture is important to me too. For it is work grounded in life, the common experience. It need not be as dramatic as a recovering cancer patient either. I think it would be great just to make portraits of the people who live in HDB, to get a glimpse of who they are. I see a lot of photographs of HDB flats, but I so seldom see the people in them.
5 comments:
This is a really beautiful series. I love the 3rd pic of her and her husband.. that look on her comtemplating is really thought-proking.
Was this taken on digital and x-processed?
The images were taken on my 5D with a 50mm Zeiss lens wide open.
I used the actions from you for C64 look (corridor shots) and cross process (couple shots). I did find the actions too strong. I had the actions on separate layers and dialled down the opacity.
You cannot really see it, but I added grain to the images too.
mmmmm carl zeiss 50mm....i wannnnnnnnnnnt.
heart warming, this series is sooo "ngiap heng lifestyle like", the reason why i started looking at your images in the beginnings.
so....for now... go turn out your unit! hahaha...fall innnnn!!!!!!!
This is why although I consider all images to be fiction to a certain degree, it always has to be grounded in truth. Image making has to be a respectful process, where photographer and subject engage, be it portrait or still life.
In some ways, the choice of lens and colour scheme can be considered a fiction. But to my mind, it conveys my perception of my friend. The way I shoot the image conveys my personal impression of her and her situation. And if the viewer can see the joy and warmth of living in these images, then I have suceeded in telling my interpretation of the truth. And I think that this is valid in itself.
And this is the direction that I want to take my image making, past a mere questionable documentation, to an experience of my personal viewpoint.
lovely pics!
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