Geylang, street photography tour

[Wurdelak]

I dont think this body of images really work for me in terms of in an depth understanding of the dynamics of the area

Even if they are hookers I think some decorum and respect should be shown towards them .... and what will a full frontal shot including face do ? Put an actual face of an alleged prostitute out for display ? And if she is not a prostitute but a legitimate resident ? The biased stereotypical prejudice of ANY woman seen or caught walking in Geylang is too obvious

Sometimes, you do not need to shoot a flower to show a flower

Can see its definitely a Brave effort and not easy at all to execute ....... I know that I would have failed miserably because this is water above my head.... so kudos and my respect to you guys who actually went and stepped out of your comfort zone

If returning, how would you do it differently next time ?

hi ed9119, to answer what i'd do differently next time... i would go there alone, camera in bag, observe (this may take days, weeks, or even months) before i shoot again. took me 3mos. to gain the acceptance of the chess playing uncles in chinatown, but Geylang is a different league.

 

[BananaDiver]

I dont think this body of images really work for me in terms of in an depth understanding of the dynamics of the area

Even if they are hookers I think some decorum and respect should be shown towards them .... and what will a full frontal shot including face do ? Put an actual face of an alleged prostitute out for display ? And if she is not a prostitute but a legitimate resident ? The biased stereotypical prejudice of ANY woman seen or caught walking in Geylang is too obvious

Sometimes, you do not need to shoot a flower to show a flower

Can see its definitely a Brave effort and not easy at all to execute ....... I know that I would have failed miserably because this is water above my head.... so kudos and my respect to you guys who actually went and stepped out of your comfort zone

If returning, how would you do it differently next time ?

well Eddie... i tink this question should be pointed to all those who attended the outing... i do not see much photos posted... and frankly, the magic of geylang only comes out fully at night... and yes... no need to shoot a flower to show a flower... do understand too that if u post faces on the website and with the widespread usage of the cyberweb... u could cause harm to a lot of people...

 

[ed9119]

A few years back (2003) a local photog (yes he's a CS'er ... although a quiet one nowadays) published and co-authored a body of works into a book "My Siters Their Stories" (i think its available in Amazon)

The works covered, up close , transsexuals and transvestites with alot of the works executed around the Desker Road area ( he was shooting with a 25mm f4 Voight + a beat up M3)

Among other things, he lived among them for a good 3-4 months renting a room with cardboard walls, sleeping, eating and living amongst them to gain their trust and understanding of what he was trying to capture and tell the world.

And the body of works was (and still is) an eye opener to me and educated and helped create awareness to this '3rd' gender from a humanistic point of view.

 

[rahulv]

hi ed9119, to answer what i'd do differently next time... i would go there alone, camera in bag, observe (this may take days, weeks, or even months) before i shoot again. took me 3mos. to gain the acceptance of the chess playing uncles in chinatown, but Geylang is a different league.

I will do the same. If you see my pics I have not taken any face shot of anyone who may or may not have been in that profession. That was not my aim. There is lots happening in geylang other than that stuff. I would have loved to get those shots. And I could have got them in single visit but I did not get.

For next time. I would probably go and talk to them and try to make them understand that I am not here to take photograph of their face and brand them. I would probably try to know what their typical day is like and show that in photographs. . What their living conditions are.
Another thing I can do is talk to them and get permission to take photographs in silhouette and show them all the pics before I leave.
It's a difficult subject and I can't expect my first outing to be successful.

 

[rahulv]

hi ed9119, to answer what i'd do differently next time... i would go there alone, camera in bag, observe (this may take days, weeks, or even months) before i shoot again. took me 3mos. to gain the acceptance of the chess playing uncles in chinatown, but Geylang is a different league.

I will do the same. If you see my pics I have not taken any face shot of anyone who may or may not have been in that profession. That was not my aim. There is lots happening in geylang other than that stuff. I would have loved to get those shots. And I could have got them in single visit but I did not get.

For next time. I would probably go and talk to them and try to make them understand that I am not here to take photograph of their face and brand them. I would probably try to know what their typical day is like and show that in photographs. . What their living conditions are.
Another thing I can do is talk to them and get permission to take photographs in silhouette and show them all the pics before I leave.
It's a difficult subject and I can't expect my first outing to be successful.

 

[ed9119]

i respect and applaud the effort .... whether fuelled by good intentions marinated with confidence ....you guys coming out with or without images is very secondary .... you have pushed your own personal envelope

'Tis better to have failed in love than not to have loved (or tried to love ) at all'

IMHO this is universally difficult to shoot well because it transcends photography and overlaps into the realm of social documentary or social anthropology on one of society's dark open secrets

suggestion: Why not volunteer with some of the NGOs, religious groups or Anti-AIDS advocacy groups that usually work this area ?

 

[Wurdelak]

i respect and applaud the effort .... whether fuelled by good intentions marinated with some false bravado ....you guys coming out with or without images is very secondary .... you have pushed your own personal envelope

'Tis better to have failed in love than not to have loved (or tried to love ) at all'

IMHO this is universally difficult to shoot well because it transcends photography and overlaps into the realm of social documentary or social anthropology on one of society's dark open secrets

suggestion: Why not volunteer with some of the NGOs, religious groups or Anti-AIDS advocacy groups that usually work this area ?

this is a very good suggestion, and since i am a licensed nurse by profession, i think i could make it as volunteer... thanks!

 

[rahulv]

i respect and applaud the effort .... whether fuelled by good intentions marinated with some false bravado ....you guys coming out with or without images is very secondary .... you have pushed your own personal envelope

'Tis better to have failed in love than not to have loved (or tried to love ) at all'

IMHO this is universally difficult to shoot well because it transcends photography and overlaps into the realm of social documentary or social anthropology on one of society's dark open secrets

suggestion: Why not volunteer with some of the NGOs, religious groups or Anti-AIDS advocacy groups that usually work this area ?

Few clarifications

False bravado ? Where does this come from. Walking on the street in any part of Singapore does not require any courage. It's overreaction of few members here that may have given you this impression.

I wanted to shoot in geylang as it looks little different form other places. Also wanted to witness what goes on in those streets. I do not have time for taking it as a full time project. Plus taking photographs of sex workers is not a new subject. It's been done 1000 times. It's more of a cliche now.

Plus all street photographers aim ( or at least should) for documenting life, and at some places it becomes social anthropology as well. If you are taking photographs on the street, you document joy, sorrow, hope, despair, love , hate and everything else that comes with it

 

[xsaifuddin]

Few clarifications

False bravado ? Where does this come from. Walking on the street in any part of Singapore does not require any courage. It's overreaction of few members here that may have given you this impression.

I wanted to shoot in geylang as it looks little different form other places. Also wanted to witness what goes on in those streets. I do not have time for taking it as a full time project. Plus taking photographs of sex workers is not a new subject. It's been done 1000 times. It's more of a cliche now.

Plus all street photographers aim ( or at least should) for documenting life, and at some places it becomes social anthropology as well. If you are taking photographs on the street, you document joy, sorrow, hope, despair, love , hate and everything else that comes with it

Overreaction? Need no courage to shoot on the streets? I think you need to reconsider shooting there again. Every street in Singapore has their own soul and character. You do know that Geylang is different from other places, so ask yourself before heading to a place, what do you want to see, what do you wish to feel. Or do you simply just wanna walk around and wait for unexpected moments to be captured.

Plus, if you are a street photographer, ask yourself, what are you capturing? What define you as a street photographer and not just any newbie in photojournalism trying to document the street of Geylang? Then again, such arguments are never-ending when we start talking about grey areas between genres.

I wouldn't comment on the images or what is to be done. But just re-defining your approach to street shooting might help.

 

[bonrya]

Don't take any advice personally. It does take a bit of courage to put yourself out there as well. Don't deny that. No one starts out taking photos that look like they've been doing so for years without the necessary practice.

 

[tungtong]

Overreaction? Need no courage to shoot on the streets? I think you need to reconsider shooting there again. Every street in Singapore has their own soul and character. You do know that Geylang is different from other places, so ask yourself before heading to a place, what do you want to see, what do you wish to feel. Or do you simply just wanna walk around and wait for unexpected moments to be captured.

Plus, if you are a street photographer, ask yourself, what are you capturing? What define you as a street photographer and not just any newbie in photojournalism trying to document the street of Geylang? Then again, such arguments are never-ending when we start talking about grey areas between genres.

I wouldn't comment on the images or what is to be done. But just re-defining your approach to street shooting might help.

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

TT
singapore

 

[rahulv]

Overreaction? Need no courage to shoot on the streets? I think you need to reconsider shooting there again. Every street in Singapore has their own soul and character. You do know that Geylang is different from other places, so ask yourself before heading to a place, what do you want to see, what do you wish to feel. Or do you simply just wanna walk around and wait for unexpected moments to be captured.

Plus, if you are a street photographer, ask yourself, what are you capturing? What define you as a street photographer and not just any newbie in photojournalism trying to document the street of Geylang? Then again, such arguments are never-ending when we start talking about grey areas between genres.

I wouldn't comment on the images or what is to be done. But just re-defining your approach to street shooting might help.

And again. All I am saying is that Singapore is a very safe place.
Yes you do need to come out of your comfort zone to shoot on the street. But I won't call it "courage".

Rest of what you have said is correct and obvious. And it's almost same as what I said. My very first post after coming back states that I failed and my approach was wrong.

 

[lymeboy]

Haha ... love the uncle at the coffeeshop giving you the eye!

 

[ed9119]

lolzzz :bsmilie::bsmilie: ok ok i will edit the words in that post if it makes it more palatable

Goodness knows, I was plain terrified myself the first few times out shooting on the streets ..... and this was just around Botanical Gardens shooting old folks doing tai-chi lolzzz

And years ago , I DID walk around shooting Desker Road back alley in blissful ignorance AND filled with false bravado too .... got scolded left right and center by more than a few ladies there and got stared down by more than a few men ..... I went there with ideas and ideals ...and my rights....... boy, that got shot down pretty fast in the face of reality.... i will admit that was eating serious humble pie and my (false) bravado got deflated very quickly

p/s and I agree with this quote from a movie "Fear is good .... It keeps you alive" . But fear should not keep us away always. It forces us to think of different alternatives in executing while being aware of and minimize the risks at stake

 

[BananaDiver]

Overreaction? Need no courage to shoot on the streets? I think you need to reconsider shooting there again. Every street in Singapore has their own soul and character. You do know that Geylang is different from other places, so ask yourself before heading to a place, what do you want to see, what do you wish to feel. Or do you simply just wanna walk around and wait for unexpected moments to be captured.

Plus, if you are a street photographer, ask yourself, what are you capturing? What define you as a street photographer and not just any newbie in photojournalism trying to document the street of Geylang? Then again, such arguments are never-ending when we start talking about grey areas between genres.

I wouldn't comment on the images or what is to be done. But just re-defining your approach to street shooting might help.

i can see u re-defining your approach to street shooting too good job bro... cheers...

 

[rahulv]

lolzzz :bsmilie::bsmilie: ok ok i will edit the words in that post if it makes it more palatable

Goodness knows, I was plain terrified myself the first few times out shooting on the streets ..... and this was just around Botanical Gardens shooting old folks doing tai-chi lolzzz

And years ago , I DID walk around shooting Desker Road back alley in blissful ignorance AND filled with false bravado too .... got scolded left right and center by more than a few ladies there and got stared down by more than a few men ..... I went there with ideas and ideals ...and my rights....... boy, that got shot down pretty fast in the face of reality.... i will admit that was eating serious humble pie and my (false) bravado got deflated very quickly

p/s and I agree with this quote from a movie "Fear is good .... It keeps you alive" . But fear should not keep us away always. It forces us to think of different alternatives in executing while being aware of and minimize the risks at stake

LOL. we al have had our fair share of this verbal showers.

 

[ed9119]

discussion is always good

 

[sonikbyte]

Took this awhile ago. During my walk there, its advice not to take the sex worker with the pimps surrounding them.

Vendor selling fake goods by the overhead bridge.

 

[sonikbyte]

coffeeshop is a good place to shoot too.

LAN shop is popular among the chinese there.

My fav is this man playing with 'strobes'

 

[tungtong]

Took this awhile ago. During my walk there, its advice not to take the sex worker with the pimps surrounding them.



like this...

TT