Just about as black as my heart! || My never ending quest in technological ineptitude!
As I sip my Dunkin’ Donuts Hazelnut coffee from a rather kitsch Mile 0: Key West mug, I feel inspired. No, inspired isn’t the right word for it. Invigorated would be a better word for it. After a recent visit to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, I feel like the mission control room leader– pacing about and overseeing the various technicians at their stations. I’m preparing for lift-off in Five…
Last week, I started taking a digital photography with PhotoShop Elements course at the community school. Right out of the gates, I felt I was at a technological disadvantage as I have a point-and-shooter while the majority of my peers are hefting pricey single lens reflex (SLR) cameras. Though, my handy dandy Panasonic Lumix DMC FX-07 has been undoubtedly fantastic to me, I can’t help but wonder if I am truly at a disadvantage with my current hardware. I am one of the many denizens who follow Geek*Sugar on the Sugar Network. Being less techno-savvy, I value and respect her ability to mainline the pros and cons of tech stuff for her audience without drowning us in jargon.
Intentionally Lo-Fi? Enter Lomography!
When I was living in Tottori, I frequented some of the little shops along the main shopping drags in Tottori City and Yonago City. There was Chambre Ample inTottori City and Johnny Appleseed in Yonago. Both focused on kitsch accessories, home interior goods, and clothes. They have a diverse of “European” goods, namely higher end stationery and trinkets. Among the lush kitsch jungle of shabby-chic, I discovered the assortment of Lomo cameras, especially the FishEye and SuperSampler. Though I never had the courage to actually march up the counter with one, I find them truly fascinating.
I bought my first digital camera prior to my move to Japan in 2003. During university, I frequented the photo labs at Wal-mart and Publix until a peer introduced me to a “proper photography shop” near 34th Street and University Drive. I loved how this particular shop did matte prints with white photography borders. It was hard for me to part with my old 35mm camera. I found it in a box the other day, untouched for almost six years with film still in it. For some reason, I opted to leave the film in it. Now that I have been a digital girl for nearly six years, I have almost a fear of returning to ‘lower’ machine.
It is really a ‘lower machine’? Gosh, that sounds completely opposite of what I mean. Perhaps, I’ve gotten too comfy with how good digital photography makes me appear creatively. No need to worry about f-stops, ISO, shutter speeds, lenses and all the adjustments necessary to make to make the pictures happen. My point-and-shoot has to an extent, made me lazy about the photographic process. It doesn’t require as much thought as I thought– or so I thought. Through the course, I’ve learned that I know very little about the little gadget which responsible for recording my exploits abroad since 2003.
Technologically speaking, Japan is a bit more ahead of the game than the US, hence we import their electronics from cameras and gaming systems to televisions and automobiles. Bigger. Faster. Stronger. How much bang can I get for my buck, yen, (insert currency here)… Whenever I finally hunker down and make an investment in an electronic appliance or device, without fail the newer generation pops out within a few months of purchase. The phrase “its not what you have but how you use it,” has been cycling through my mind as I write this. People apply it to countless things: cars, houses, electronics, an individual’s ‘performance’. There has been a long running (pardon my crass language) pissing contest to see whose going to emerge the top.
I hate to admit it, but I think that my reservations of purchasing a lomo or ‘traditional’ camera, stem for my insecurities as a photographer. I’ve seen the amazing work people generate though the bragging rights don’t come without a hefty price tag. As a novice photography this can be quite daunting to the point that I feel I should just slip my P-n-S in my pocket and just shuffle on home. Perhaps I am searching in the wrong communities, but I just don’t know where to look. I would love to learn from the elite, but I get the nagging sensation that my ‘greenness’ isn’t eco-friendly in their high art environment.
So why should I try to compete? Would my inexperience be met with the same raised brows, patronizing commentary, and jargon filled conversations if I straddled the fence and just picked up a lomo to satisfy my curiosity? Would I be breaking some unspoken rule or “us versus them” mentality of the purists on either side? Shouldn’t it be just about the pictures? Am I over thinking the entire situation and depriving myself of a potentially entertain medium to work with?
This year is the 25th Anniversary of Lomo, Though the shiny silver and chrome editions are quite shiny, my eyes have been drawn to the Diana F+ Clones: Mr. Pink, Tokyo Rising, and The Diana F+ Deluxe Kit. Their shop has so many different things to choose from. With a digital camera, these lenses are ridiculously expensive or non-existent. Many of the photographic options can be mimicked in PhotoShop, but would detract from the playful experience of these cameras. Wouldn’t it?
Mixed Media Alert! PSE 6 Conflict
Now, this conflict could be partially circumvented using my computer, a tablet, and a program like PhotoShop Elements. I previously used PhotoShop on my retired Sony Viao and finally got the hang of it after a while. Though I worked hard at tweeking my works in a ‘digital darkroom’ many pretentious artists and non-constructive critics in online art communities discount digital photography as genuine art as problematic items can be ‘photoshopped away’. I disagree with this, largely in part to the amount of work and finesse is necessary to make the work presentable for display.
In my final year at university, I studied the impact of electronic writing spaces had on creative writing as an independent study. Prior to this, I took a course focusing on Creative Writing Online, and another about Women and the World Wide Web. Both classes explored the pros and cons of computers and the internet as it pertained to the writer which completely fascinated me. I think photographers, digital and analog alike, are posed with similar conflicts.
I have many questions. Possibly too many…
I’ll stop the thought train for now. Its late and I want to do thinking that doesn’t require staring at a screen. Don’t think I am not thinking up follow-up questions. I am most certain that I will have more
Good grief, it’s been nearly a year since I posted here @b.net. So many things have
happened, that I don’t even know where to possibly start.
*NEWS FLASH*
After 5.5 Years, I am parting ways with Japan for a while. My transition from public servant to corporate employee did not go as smooth as I had hoped, and living in Tokyo was far more expensive than I had anticipated. I’m emotionally exhausted, so I decided I need to pull the plug on my Tokyo adventure for the time being and return to the Sunshine State which I call home.
Internet/Blog: After failed attempts at maintaining a personal homepage (lack of programming knowledge made this rather frustrating), I decided to open a blog at site called “Team Sugar“– its a large community for women with tons of themes and discussion forums (don’t worry, men can join, too). If you join (or already have an account), chase me up under “karenpanna”
Sunshiney Side Up! is the name of my new blog. Its objective is to map the return to Florida as well as my re-adjustment into American society. At the moment, my main priorities are getting home in a safe and efficient manner, but not wasting too much time bumming around the house. I am looking for projects to keep my busy as well as ways to clear my debt and eventually jump start a new career.
Creative Projects: All are on-hold until I get home in January. I’ve been kicking around ideas for my current projects, and if I can get anything decent together, possibly enter some writing contests.
I look forward to being “back home” in Florida, especially since January in Miami is considerably warmer than that of Tokyo. I hope I can see my friends quickly upon returning home. I need hugs…. lots of hugs.
Here in the Future, I am on Day 4 of Year 2008. I’ve decided that I need to start narrowing down my extensive list of hobbies and things I want to do, and try dedicating my attention on polishing up my skills in certain areas. I read an article in one of my Malaysian magazine about the Art of Blogging, and it suggested concentrating on one particular thing. Once readship increaces, and one has a following, then the author should attempt branching out. I found it interesting, especially since it was a fashion magazine that touched upon the subject. American fashion magazines aren’t so accommodating (from what I remember).
A fun theme I’ve decided to start with my Japanese Blog is “The Queen of (insert topic here)”. Now, I am not a princess or queen by any means, but I figure if I am to improve my critiquing, writing, and langauge abilities, I should take an interesting approach to keep myself motivated.
Japanese Blog Queen :: Though I have a Japanese blog on my Mixi.jp account, readership and exposure is only available to those with membership. So, I decided to dust off my poor, neglected Ameba Blog, and attempt something I’ve been completely slack about: continuously blogging about my experience here in Japan. Despite having a relatively uneventful winter holiday, I had plenty of time to think about things weighing down on my mind.
On thing that motivates me to write on Ameba is the blog ranking system. The insecure high school girl locked up deep within my heart craves to know if people are actually accessing and reading my blog, or if I am just wasting my time on it. It also triggers my competitive edge, making me want to post frequently so as to increase my popularity ranking. I know that is insanely shallow, but it’s fun (in complete honesty). Yesterday, I hit my all time general ranking high with being in the top 30% (yeah, keep in mind I was 61,680th of out of 2,136,636 people, but whatever, I’m proud of it).
Shopping Queen :: My two recent purchases were headphones for my iPod and a wireless for TV/Video Game surround sound. The walls in my apartment are rather thin, so I worry about disturbing my neighbors when I watch movies or play games late at night. I feel like a DJ with wearing big headphones for the first time in years.
Plan B Queen :: This is where I fear people will want to beat me with a Clue-by-Four. I’ve been thinking of alternative paths in case grad school falls through, or I can’t find work after I graduate (provided I do so). With watching so much Japanese TV, I’ve noticed a very distinct pattern: plenty of Western male TV talents (variety/talk show programming, quiz programming, etc), but virtually no Western female TV talents. It’s been suggested by several friends of mine that I should consider going into Japanese show biz.
Unlike the US, where blue eyed, ligth brown haired girls-next-door is commonplace, I have potential to go far in Japan, especially since I speak Japanese (well, sort of). Though I am not the pop idol/sexy pin up type of girl, I could do very well as a comedian/talk show panelist (provided I drop about 15-20 pounds). I know that it would be a very arduous, risky task, especially in my late 20s, but I think the dejected ex-Telecomm major within me is still itching to emerge. However, the tricky part is that in Japan, most companies (if not all of them) only admit new employees in April when the new fiscal year starts (as university/high school students graduate in March).
So what does this mean for me? Possibly a very narrow window to slip through, if I seriously want to get into the business. Also, a point of concern would be the language barrier, as I know that there will probably be things I will miss provided I don’t improve my Japanese to a native fluency. All, I know is I want to live in Japan forever, but I don’t think I could survive living in Tottori, especially if I am single. I have a greater possibility of meeting people in the larger cities, and there are larger availibility of jobs. I’ve been considering this since NOVA, one of Japan’s largest English Conversation schools, went bankrupt in October 2007, stranding hundreds of foreign teachers in Japan with no money to pay rent, let alone pay for plane tickets back to their home countries. Any available English conversation school jobs have been snapped up like sharks in freshly chummed water.
Heck, I’ve even kicked around the idea of working in a Maid Cafe, if not anything else, just to experience something different before settling into a career. I know that sounds extremely reckless of me, but curiosity is nibbling at me.