by Brad Puet | Feb 15, 2012 | Chops with BP, Featured Articles
B: BP F: Felix
B: Tell us who Felix Lim is and what do you do in your day to day. Describe to us what a typical day/week looks like and how often you take shots within your daily routine.
F: I am 25 years old. I’m currently studying Video Games Design here in the bay area. My daily routine is pretty simple, I go to classes on most weekdays and rest or have fun on the weekend. Between my schedules, I always try to make some time to go out and shoot on the streets because it’s what I enjoy doing the most on my free time. I found it relaxing and inspiring at the same time by just walking on the streets to observe things and life around the city. I would say I usually go out to shoot about 3-5 times a week. Oh, I am also as an avid gamer, I play video games on a competitive level by competing in events and tournaments, especially fighting games.
“pillars.and.soul” – decisive moment kind of shot, a reward from being extremely patience
B: You’re originally from Indonesia and now living in San Francisco. Tell us about the 2 environments/ areas and what makes these places interesting from the shooter point of view.
F: I wasn’t exposed to art or photography back then, but looking back from what I know and remember, It was definitely a beautiful country with so many interesting cultures and places. If I ever go back someday, I’m sure I will enjoy shooting those places. On the other hand, San Francisco is definitely what I considered as my playground. The city is full of life and interesting architecture. There is no shortage of subjects to shoot around here, that’s why I’m really grateful to live in this beautiful city
B: You have awesome composure in your shots. Have you been trained/ educated in formal photography? If yes, where and who are your influences. If no, what is it that you look for to create those great shots?
F: Thanks a lot!. I never really been trained formally in photography, I took a basic photography class just for fun a few years ago, I learned about some technical stuff of a digital camera and that’s pretty much it. But it got me interested to know more and so I decided to continue learning it myself by gathering information from the Internet and with just shooting just about everything I see everyday.
My influences are mostly from people I follow on Instagram, there are a lot of talented artists out there and it’s just amazing to be constantly inspired by other people’s works throughout the world with just a device that we carry around everyday.
But if I have to pick one, I would say Henri Cartier-Bresson. His works inspired me to look for shapes, lines, framing and patterns to make an interesting composition for my shots. I didn’t know about him or aware of his works until someone mentioned his name on my photo about a year ago. So I looked him up on the net and I was blown away by his photographs and since then, I’m a big fan of his work.
“a.curious.soul” – portrait of an amish boy, 2nd picture from my trip to chicago. Took this shot in a lobby of train station.
B: If I asked you to present to a photography class – DSLR/ Film – about mobile photography, what would that presentation contain? the reason I ask this is that with you still studying you may have ideas on what to do if given the chance to teach or present on the topic of mobile photography.
F: My topic would be to encourage people to take mobile photography more seriously and to view it as a viable tool to create great images. I think the most common mistake photographers’ make is they worry so much about getting better gears and equipment, they forget to just go out and shoot with what they already have. Since most of us have a mobile phone equipped with a camera, why not use it to create images and learn the important aspects of photography itself such as composition and lighting. After all, no matter what we use to take photos, photography is… well photography.
B: Let’s talk more about the bay area. Tell us some of the spots that you frequent and why and what are your subjects.
F: I usually start my photo walk around the Financial District because I live close by. This neighborhood is always busy on the weekdays; crowds of busy working people are my subjects around here. There are also many buildings with cool structures and unique architectural design, it’s definitely one of my favorite spots to shoot. Embarcadero is another area that I go to frequently, I really like the atmosphere around here and the view along the piers is just amazing. When I can’t decide where to go, I usually like to walk along Market Street in downtown area, there’s always something to spot around here.
“a.father’s.guidance” – picture of a father and child walking down the stairs.
B: Do you have a certain style that you can say you have? If so, what is it and why do you feel this way? If not, how would you define your art and subject matter?
F: I tend to incorporate elements like shapes, lines, patterns and spontaneity in my shots. I also like to frame a walking figure in my composition, it’s becoming my approach of street photography because I always try not to get too close to people and have them noticing me taking their pictures. So with these kinds of shots, I usually look for an interesting background first, then wait for a person to walk by and click at the right moment. I’m a little bit picky when it comes to my subject, so it takes a lot of patience and waiting for me to get the right shot, but it usually pays off most of the time.
B: On your feed you say that you are an iPhone purist. What does this mean? What are the beliefs that stand behind this statement.
F: I only post photos taken with my iPhone on my feed, and I am doing it because I want to challenge myself to keep on shooting with it. Sure, the iPhone has its limitation as a camera, but I feel that it’s up to us to make those limitations into advantages. I feel that with less buttons and settings, it makes us focus more on composition instead of worrying about other things like exposure or white balance.
“umbrella.wars” – one of my earlier work, it was buried under my camera rolls for a long time, glad I found and posted it.
B: Mobile photography and mobile arts is still a very young art form. When did you begin? How did you begin? What inspired you to begin? (if you have your first shot ever, would you email that to me also?…would love to have you walk us through where you started and where you are presently)
F: I found out about mobile photography around 2 years ago when I was trying out some apps on my iPhone 3G, I thought it was a cool idea but I didn’t really feel serious about it back then. And since I downloaded Instagram in January 2011, I began to take more pictures with my iPhone 4, my subjects was pretty random at that time, I shoot almost everything from buildings, landscape, and street scenes.
B: Where do you see yourself within the mobile arts/photography arts in the next 6 months to a year?
F: I think it’s pretty safe to say that I’ll still be shooting with my phone a lot, and since I’m graduating in a few months, it would be really cool if I can get a job revolving mobile arts or photography. Regardless of what’s going to happen in a year, I’m excited to see what others can do to push the limits of mobile arts.
B: You tend to edit into BW. As a BW editor myself, I totally understand. Can you tell the readers why you’re inclined to edit into BW?
F: Sure, I tend to edit in black and white for the simple reason that it works well with my subjects of interest, it just makes lines, shapes and forms look more defined without any distractions from colors. And I love black and white for the minimalism aspect and classical look that it gives on images, colors are great and works better on some image, but there’s something about black and white that makes a photograph look more dramatic, don’t you agree?
“puddle.of.dreams” – a reflection shot, taken at the embarcadero SF.
B: Tell us more about some of your post processes. What are your favorite apps? What do you look for when editing your shots.
F: There’s a few apps that I like to use; ‘Noir’ for black and white conversion, ‘Camera+’ for the clarity effect filter, ‘Qbro’ for the cool lomo filters and ‘Snapseed’ for everything else such as cropping, straightening and sharpening. I used to messed around with lots of different apps in the past because it’s so much fun playing with those apps, but now my editing process is pretty straightforward and usually done within a few minutes.
B: Can you any stories about shooting street? For example, I tend to talk to folks if I’ve gotten caught taking their shot. Most of the time, 99% of the time, it’s all good. The other 1% makes for some cool stories. What are some of your stories?
F: There was this one time, I was trying out to take some portraits of strangers on the street, I saw this interesting looking old man selling flowers on the street, I approached him with my “talking-on-the-phone” method, everything was perfect until I realized my iPhone was not on silent mode. He heard the shutter sound effect and caught me taking his picture. He wasn’t too happy about it and asked me if I took his picture, I panicked and answered him “No, that was my… Ringtone” and then I ran away immediately, hahaha… But yea, It was quite embarrassing but memorable moment of my street shooting experiences.
B: Lastly, can you tell us why your name is @fixelzero. What does it mean if it has any meaning at all.
F: ‘fixel’ is an anagram of my real name, I picked up that name because I like the word ‘pixel’ and for the fact that it has a relation with photography and digital arts. ‘zero’ is another play on word of my last name in Chinese. So basically ‘fixelzero’ is just my name in a modified form 🙂
Juxt thanks you for your art and words.
Contact Felix on Instagram and Twitter @fixelzero and his website www. fixelphoto.com
by Brad Puet | Jan 25, 2012 | Brad Puet
Borrowed Time: Chapter One
Another war, another time, this was me. They said there were choices, there were none. I fought for the 100%.
We returned to the land of the frail and the home of the 1%. The 1% feared, creating a language hidden in pictures
All his dreams are on the ground. He is not feared.
Here is their fear. This 1%. Their mind calls to me, before I can stop. Target eliminated.
___________________________
Stay tuned for Chapter 3
by Brad Puet | Jan 20, 2012 | Chops with BP, Featured Articles
BP’s Introduction
I had the honor of interviewing a very well established mobile artist on Instagram recently. She has blown me away every single time she posts. She was one of them folks on IG who I’d thought, “Hmmm, if I leave a comment, she would never be able to respond because of all the likes she gets or comments she already recieved and my comment would get lost in that mix.” Well after a few interviews on Juxt and a shot in the dark, I sent her a comment asking for Juxt. Luckily for all of us she said, “YES.” Let me tell you why I personally chose June. Her work is amazing. I thought to myself, this work represents the artist. Like if I had a conversation with her in person, she’d be just like some of her photos. She would emote the same personality. Calm and engaging. Open and respectful. Her photos do represent her. Shoot, June is just amazing. Check her out on Instagram: @cryingjune.
B: BP J: June
B: Who is CryingJune? The person. The name. Where you are from?
J: My name is June YunJung John. I’m Korean born and raised and living in Seoul. I was pretty precocious when I was a kid and now I’m getting childish as I grow older.(So to speak, It’s kind of ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ situation. In my case, only the inside.)
I live with my husband and my daughter and Frantz and Margot. Frantz and Margot are figures in Torsten Holtz’s painting, ‘Pink Clouds’. I gave them those names after I bought that painting. They are looking each other in the face tenderly surrounded by pink clouds.
I’m a coffeeholic, a comic book reader, an art lover and definitely an asphalt kid. And I feel myself to a realistic dreamer, a pessimistic optimist and also a clumsy perfectionist.
This is <A Woman>. The day I took this shot was very cold but fine, so I could capture the fantastic blue of sky.
B: Where you are from, how does this influence your art?
J: The density of population in Seoul last year was 16189 persons to a square kilometer. It’s up to eight times more than New York, four times more than Paris, three times more than Tokyo. The streets of Seoul are normally congested with traffic. Everyone seems busy as a bee and everything changes so fast.
Under this circumstances, it’s only natural for me to try to keep things around me simple and to make a blank space in my head and mind. A room for breathing, meditation, imagination… Or sometimes just for a complete blank. I think that’s one reason simplicity is the keynote of my photos and they have a negative space. If I was born somewhere else like an island in the South Pacific, my photos would be different obviously.
Another reason can be said to be an oriental sentiment that I’ve been influenced. Spirits(or invisibles) have been valued more highly than matters(or visibles) in our society from old times. You can see blank space easily in Korean paintings such as landscapes or still-lifes. It is an absolute necessity in Korean paintings and it means it is filled with spirits. Even though I’m not a big fan of those, looking at them sets my mind serene. If my photos make someone tranquil, it’ll be due to the oriental sentiment inside of me.
B: Can you describe more in detail where you are from? The people, the geographical area, the most beautiful parts/ the ugly, desolate parts. What do you love about your area? What do you hate about your area?
J: Seoul is located in the center of the Korean peninsula. It is surrounded by mountains and the Han River crosses the city. People living in Seoul are mostly very dynamic and diligent. We don’t hesitate to adopt new ideas and we support challenging and experimental attempts. Innovation and development have become virtues. Everything moves very quickly and something new takes the place at once.
So it’s hard to get bored with living in Seoul. This is what I love and hate about my area. Because, at the same time, it’s hard to appreciate what we have as well. I feel sad that almost anything can be easily replaceable and not only material things but also emotions can be disposable these days. The good news is that many people in Seoul have been talking about the beauty of slowness. They’re trying to carry it into their daily lives.
B: Describe your art and what you would like to communicate?
J: I take photos and edit them using my iphone 4. It’s because I still don’t have my camera, but it’s really convenient to carry and use. I usually focus on the scene from everyday life in my neighborhood. When I edit, I try to listen to what the picture says to me and make a narrative by taking the simplest elements.
My photo is characterized by negative space. As you know, It’s very useful to emphasize the subject. But in my pictures, it’s not meant to be a helper for the subject. They are equivalent with each other and just have different roles.
Negative space in my photos doesn’t mean that nothing is there. It can be filled with memory, joy, sorrow, longing, emptiness, breeze, melody, words unsaid or anything you can imagine. I leave that space for the viewer to fill it. So my photos depend on viewer’s emotions and imagination. I wish to tell a story with a single picture and I’ll be glad if someone ever listen to it. I believe less is more. My words are ‘imagination’ and ‘you’.
<A Path To the Memory> is one of my favorite. I hope the long and winding road will bring the viewers to their memories.
B: In your IG profile it states, “Create your own style.” Describe your style. What styles do you see around the social networks like Instagram that inspire you? and Why?
J: Leaving a simple element in a negative space would be my style in a word. If earlybird filter is added to it, I can say perfectly it is. I tried this and tried that with my photos and apps to create it. It was such an exciting experiment and I had so much fun.
Style is what my photo is much about. So I’m pleased when people tell me that they can easily recognize my pictures by my style. But these days I can find pictures of the same way with mine occasionally. Something rare and unique is much better than something nice and familiar to me, so I’m thinking how I can develop my style. In a sense, that statement is for myself. I’d like to create my own style again even though I know what’s inside is more important than the package.
Instagram is the only SNS I use, but it’s enough to get inspired. I have a long list of the super- talented IGers. I’ll show you a part of it. Needless to say, @thomas_k is a b&w master and I call @ekalex a b&w genius. @algrega takes b&w shots having a soul, @saturninofarandola reads his philosophical b&w poems. @komeda purifies people’s minds with his photos. @selk has no limit on the subject and the way of expression. @beeoom and @kbasta have a special eye for beauty. @mifjuz and @journeyofnow are two tops of Hipstamatic.
B: Creatively, what else do you do that keeps you passionate? This does not include photography but any other art form.
J: I see an art exhibition. I usually go to the small gallery and see art works by a new artist. And I go to KIAF(Korea International Art Fair) every year. It’s a good chance to see a great number of art pieces and get inspired and read the trend.
Sometimes, I write a short story. It’s interesting to weave a story with a few characters and a happening related to them. I do it for fun, but it’s quite painful to fail to rescue my character from the harsh realities.
B: What is your opinion on mobile artistry? mobile photography? Some say it necessarily isn’t a viable art form. What are your thoughts about this?
J: If someone looks down on mobile photography, I suppose he or she has limited ideas. Mobile photography is a new stream that time has brought to us. I take a shot with a camera, same as other photographers. The only difference is that my camera is in my mobile phone. I take a shot and edit with this one small equipment. Besides, it’s so easy to carry that I can shoot wherever and whenever I want to. The clarity still a bit matters though, I believe It’ll make steady progress. Motive power of the art is a creative idea, not a wonderful gear.
B: How did you get involved with the mobile arts community?
J: It started with my iphone last winter. While searching for interesting apps, I found Instagram. It was not the picture itself that I was interested in at first. Having a conversation with people on the other side of the Earth and taking an imaginary trip into their pictures were much more fun to me. To be honest, I had not been interested in photography before I knew Instagram. I believe that people I had met in this community led me to the fascinating world of photography. (Thank you all!)
B: Describe the mobile arts community. You have been involved with many projects such as “A Room With A View” and “View To a Thrill”. What other projects have you been involved in? Can you describe these projects and why you are involved.
J: For those two books, ‘A Room With a View’ and ‘View To a Thrill’, all the credit goes to Millo @mifjuz. He’s a great photographer and a wonderful friend of mine. He did everything with the book-from gathering people to editing the book. I’ve never seen a man of a passionate drive like him. By taking part in these projects, I’ve come to know many talented photographers. It was a great pleasure for me to be a part of these fabulous compilation books.
And I had chances to be introduced on the website. One is Philobjective, a French website about photography. Carine @nicette06 introduced me as an artist of the month. It was about four months ago, but you can still see it at http://www.philobjective.com. Another one is The App Photo, a wonderful Spanish website. http://www.theappphoto.com/fotografo Luis @lpereira gave me a space of mine on it and held an exhibition in Madrid. It was the first exhibition that I participated, so it meant a lot to me.
This is <Nocturne>, one of ‘The Concert’ series. This series consists of four photos and it was printed in the book, ‘View To a Thrill’.
B: Outside of all this mobile artistry, what does June do for a living? Describe to us, the typical day for @cryingjune.
J: I’m a housewife, so I do the housework. And also I correct someone else’s manuscript as a freelancer at home. I majored in Korean Literature and I was a college newspaper reporter, so this writing job is a pretty good sideline for me. I usually take on the job of rewriting art-related manuscript such as a review or a collection of pictures or a paper on art.
B: What does passion mean to you? What does love mean to you? What does hate mean to you?
J: I can’t say in a word, so let me tell you my associations from those words.
Passion: literature. music. art. photography. environmental movement.
Love: spring. My Chemical Romance. coffee. Georgia O’keefe. peach. gray. spending time alone. Raymond Carver. cinnamon roll. travel.
Hate: interference. rudeness. karaoke. smoking. politician.
B: What does community mean to you?
J: I know it sounds weird, but It’s like a family consisting of friends to me. I feel so close with people in this community that I don’t have time to be alone.
B: Currently you have 52,000 (plus or minus) followers. What would you like to say to them?
J: Thank you for your likes and sweet words always. You’ve been encouraging me and I’m truly grateful for that. I wish to visit all your streams and see your pictures, but it isn’t easy for me as you can imagine. I feel guilty for not returning your kindness and I hope you understand that I’m trying. You and your pictures show me how much the world is beautiful and warm. Big love to you. Let’s enjoy shooting!
This shot was taken at the street of Hong Kong and He was one of the passers-by carrying a plastic bag. His figure in the picture looked like a <Broken-hearted> man, so I erased the bag and put this title.
B: Lastly, if you could tell us you’re plans for 2012 as far as: A. Mobile Arts, B. Life outside of Mobile Arts.
J: A. I’ll keep taking photos and posting them and being inspired looking at other people’s feeds. I’m also planning to make a little book of my photos. I think it will be a nice present for me. B. I’ll try to live happily ever after with my husband and my daughter and Frantz and Margot.
Juxt thanks you June.
June YunJung John Instagram: @cryingjune
by Brad Puet | Jan 12, 2012 | Brad Puet
What’s up everyone who reads this, hopefully there’s more than just Ale, Ryan, and Jo reading this =)
Just kidding. I just wanted to post something that may or may not make sense but feel like I need to write it out, and what better way than by blogging it and soliciting ideas from you all.
So…some of ya’ll have seen my photo posts on the various photo social network apps and flickr, tumblr, etc etc…a lot of my coverage especially in the last 3 months of 2011 was about Occupy. A lot of is because of the inspiring work from a WHOLE mess of other mobile photographers locally mainly Charles (@livinlush) and Dixon (@dixonhamby) and around the world, Rich (@richnyc), Derek (@fragileglass), Sam (@whittiersam) and many others…and of course the STRONG support from Allison (@wunderali) I’m not going to delve too much into Occupy and why I felt like I needed/wanted to cover it in this post (Sam, Allison, and a few others are actually trying to generate an article that is collective regarding Occupy and our coverage of it).
But recently, no thanks to Ryan (@rcoleman), Tony (@tonydetroit), Jim (@monkone), and Luke (@agentluke), I’ve gotten bit by the abandonment bug. I’ve always admired their work in capturing these places that most of us take for granted. Buildings, houses, vehicles…any and all of it…if it is abandoned…these guys have covered it. Again, I’ve always admired it. Luke would always send me shots that he took when he and Jim would go shoot together. These cats are straight gangsta. Not only are they on top of buildings, or on wood beams that would crumble at too much weight, or climbing through rubble that would scare anyone due to danger…but they kept doing it. Luke kept sending me pictures. Process pictures of how they got there, what they did to get there, what they saw. AMAZING stuff that I was like, “WOW thats some really cool shit!” I may have shot a few things that were considered abandoned. A house here and there but never did I think of trying to break and enter this dwelling to catch the full story.
It’s funny. Let me give you a side story about it. I met Ryan on a photowalk in Seattle where we walked up and down a part of Seattle that for many others suited them for photo sharing. Ryan and I was kind of out of the loop because we didn’t have…well let me backtrack…we didn’t see the same things that they saw. They saw the beauty in the walk and their images were AMAZING. I talked to Ryan about it, and although the walk was for socializing with other mobile photographers, we didn’t feel the urge to take many shots or post them. He asked me about my shooting preferences. I asked him about his. He loved shooting abandoned things. I loved shooting occupy…things. Jokingly, I said to him, “You got abandonement issues.” Straight faced he said, “You’re a Jerk!” To this day I still don’t know if he really has abandonment issues but I didn’t want to pry to much to increase my “jerk-ness.”
Well before he left we shot up The Moran School on Bainbridge Island. It was amazing. Imagining the stories that lay within those walls. Conjuring up ideas of who walked through those hallways. Who occupied this building after it started to decay? Why was it left like this? Why would someone occupy this decrepit building? See my previous post for more of the story but for right now, I have to say, I too now have abandonment issues.
How do I see it tied into my coverage of Occupy? (Even though I said I’m going to write it in a different article…I’ll give you a heads up in this one) I LOVE capturing people. Street photography, documentary photography…whatever you want to call it…I LOVE IT. Candid, straight up NINJA style…there’s a rush. SO throw in a cause…a CAUSE…are you kidding me…I’m all over it. Occupy is a movement with a cause. It’s global. It’s gritty, boring at times, scary at times, dangerous at times. There’s anger, theres sadness, there’s despair, there’s happiness, there’s unity, there’s disarray. There’s cops and people, people and cops. Both at odds, but both representing the people. It’s craziness. There’s children, adults, teens, women, men…and although in Seattle it’s not fully represented by people of color…there is a whole mess of people involved. So…there’s a CAUSE.
Occupation means: any activity in which a person is engaged, possession, settlement, or use of land or property, the act of occupying, the state of being occupied….
Abandonment means: to leave completely and finally; forsake utterly; to give up; discontinue; withdraw from, to give up the control of…
So many correlations that come from this.
For me…it’s the feeling of OCCUPYING an ABANDONED structure…I can also say that Ryan gave me abandonment issues much like Occupy has…because at the same time…they help me find a subject matter in Occupy and in Abandonment…then left at the same time. Ryan moved to Denver and so I’m on fire trying to find new places that are abandoned and left to forget. NOT only am I looking for things to shoot and trying to document the history of it…but I’m trying to find a partner to watch my back…it’s a scary thing to go into an abandoned building sometimes…you never know whats on the other side of that door/ wall…and then…and THEN…Occupy is in hibernation for the most part because of the weather/ cold. The protesters all have been displaced. They all have been abandoned by those who were good with it when it was warmer outside.
It leaves meaning for me. If you get abandoned, go occupy something. When you occupy something, you may have abandoned something.
What do you all think? I’m interested to see what ya’ll think!
by Brad Puet | Jan 9, 2012 | Chops with BP, Featured Articles
Da’ Kine, One of Hawaii’s Amazing Mobile Artists: Melveen C. (I affectionately call her Sistah Mel)
BP’s Introduction
Hawaii is paradise. It’s just plain beautiful. I went there with some close friends last year and it was an amazing time full of sunshine, palm trees, beaches, and a rich history. I ate spam musubi, portugese sausage, cornbeef, eggs, rice on the daily. Shoutout to Leonard’s Bakery for the most CRACKINEST malasadas. But it’s not just about the food or the scenery. Ohana (family) is rooted in the cultural identity of the islands. The people, the localz, welcome visitors from all parts of the world to experience not only the surroundings but the lifestyle. The islands are really an escape for a lot of the rest of the world. Imagine, living there. Imagine what life would be like to wake up to local bird calls and streaming waterfalls. Localz may not hear this all the time but as a visitor, it sure is…paradise. Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure the 808 state has it’s societal woes of poverty, drugs, corporate greed, and crime. AND shit, we can’t forget about the soverignty movment. That needs to get publicity. (Hello, soapbox, getting off of it now, Thanks.) BUT for this, this right here, this article about Mel, its about her giving us a glimpse into the life of the islands to pick us up from our local surroundings, our local daily drab of a day. The images on my Instagram, EyeEm, Path, and Streamzoo (yeah I know way to many freakin’ photo social network apps) that come from HI makes me feel at ease and gets me thru my day. The funny thing is as I write this, I’m listening to Jawaiian music aka Island Reggae aka Hawaiian reggae. I listen to it every day actually. The sounds of the islands via Jawaiian makes me drive nicer, work nicer, and feel…well…you know…da kine…makes me feel IRIE. Some days I wish I spoke pidgin. Ask my family and friends, I try. So how do I compensate? How do I deal? Well I follow my braddahs and sistahs from the 808. CHEEEE! The first and most notable for me…Hawaii’s homegrown local girl, Melveen. So let’s go ahead and talk to Mel and dig into her head a bit. She’s a bit shy and don’t like to talk much but I think I was able to get a good glimpse into her world.
Ho cuz, mahalos yeah fo checking out dis place. Go look down on da lettahz below fo da kine. Shoots den! (and enter serious BP for dis interview)
B: BP M: Mel
B: Peace Sistah Mel. Aloha. BIG thanks for doing this interview. So…Who is @me_lv? What are you all about?
M: I’m a very calm and simple person. I enjoy going to movies or curling up in bed with a good book, visiting with friends, and of course making time to go out and capture life around me. I’m Chinese, Hawaiian, Puerto Rican, and Spanish. I have more of my father’s traits (Chinese, Hawaiian) but also have my mother’s fair skin. Many people are usually shocked to find out I’m born and raised in Hawaii. I work in a hospital as a Registered Nurse, taking care of and helping others is definetly my calling in life. Only recently have I discovered the world of photography to be a hobby and creative outlet for me. I love my family and friends and constantly surround myself with their positive and loving energy. My favorite color is purple and I’m highly addicted to coffee. After joining IG I noticed I look at the world differently. From top to bottom, side to side, all different angles until I find one that fits.
B: Can you tell us about the islands? The “808”? The “HI”? AND how it how has the islands influenced you and your art? And MORE importantly how you’re Ohana (family) has influenced you and your art.
M: I’m born and raised in Hawaii on the island of Oahu. Hawaii is known to be a very family oriented State and a melting pot of different ethnicities. Everyone is considered family here on the island. Aunties, uncles, brother’s, sister’s, cousin’s, we all are “Ohana” or family. It’s the Aloha spirit that we all try to live by. My style is very simple and down to earth. Before IG I literally had no life. Time for me was spent either in nursing school, studying, or working full time at the hospital. After graduating from UH this past May with a higher degree in nursing I’m able to freely live and enjoy the simple pleasures around me. If you look back at my feed on IG you’ll see where my captures take a turning point. I start posting more nature shots and beach life. I’ve honestly never really noticed the beauty of a palm tree until I started posting them on IG. I always took them for granted because it’s a part of life here on the island – we are surrounded by palm trees. I’ve also honestly never gotten to really enjoy a sunset until I started posting them on IG. Now I take the time to observe and really be thankful to be surrounded by such beauty with nature. I’m also very fortunate to have been raised by loving parents whom have been married for almost 45 years and honestly you still see the love between these two. They definitely influenced who I am today. They have taught my brother and I to always have respect for one another, and to treat others the way you want to be treated. My parents have given us the best childhood memories! We were always active – at the park, beach, roller skating, movies, parties, family functions. Life was always about fun activities and they were both involved in all of it. I wouldn’t change it for the world!
B: Hawaii is quite often referred to as “paradise.” Shit, I call it paradise and I wish I lived there. How does the island life compare to the mainland? Along with that where else have you visited or have lived, and how does that compare to the island life?
M: One can easily develop a love affair with the beaches here on the island. Aside from the beach life the island life is very laid back. The climate all year long is mid 70’s to 80’s. Shorts, t-shirts, and slippers are your essential’s. Cost of living may be considered high but it’s the price we all pay to live in “paradise.” I’ve only travelled within the US. I’ve travelled to all the outer islands except Kaho’olawe and Ni’ihau. I’ve also travelled to California, Seattle, Oregon, Chicago. I’ve never lived anywhere else but here in Hawaii. I’ve always wanted to move and experience life elsewhere but my heart and my roots are island bound.
B: Can you describe your community on the island in general? What does it comprise of? What is the mobile arts/ photography community like on the islands? Who are some of your favorite mobile artists/ photographers on the islands and why?
M: I live in town so I’m definitely known as a “townie.” I grew up in the Kapahulu area which is so close to Waikiki, Diamond Head, and Kaimuki. City life on the island means more cars, people, buildings, and sometimes too much traffic. But city life is still surrounded by paradise meaning beaches, parks, palm trees and other reminders of why were so lucky to live in Hawaii. I don’t think the mobile arts/photography has really blown up on the island yet. We do have our own little profile with @InstagramHI where many local artists are featured and contests are held for the community. But it’s definitely a growing art here on the island. There’s a lot of good talent on the island. It’s hard to name just a few. What’s neat is although we live on an island and may capture a similar scene, it’s always nice to see it from other peoples perspective.
B: Tell us a bit about how you use your mobile to capture your part of the world.
M: I use my iPhone 4 right now and would love to get the 4S for the camera alone but I talked myself into waiting for the next iPhone. I like it because it’s always with me and it’s very small and convenient. My phone should be an appendage of my body. Pros are small, light, handy, always with me as it’s my cell phone. Some cons would be the clarity is not always the greatest. The quality all depends on the lighting. For me the iPhone 4 is not the greatest in capturing with low light. The pictures become too grainy and distorted. Sometimes the exposure can be a bit too much. If the sunlight is too strong it washes out some objects in the picture. When I do try to get the right exposure by tapping on the screen, it can take too long and I end up missing my shot. I still enjoy using my phone though because the cons just make it more challenging for me. The post processing is very handy as I can do it all on my phone. A few apps, a few adjustments, a few taps and I’m done.
B: In almost all of your photographs, you have a quote or a song reference. All are descriptive of your images. What is your personal philosophy on attaching references to your photographs?
M: I use it as a way to describe the moment captured. Most times the references relate to the picture and other times it may just be a random feeling, thought, or emotion. I do take the time to search and really make it fit, but it doesn’t always turn out that way. At first it was a way to express emotion along with pic. I started getting positive feedback, it was exciting to hear people say, “I look forward to your pictures and quotes, they help brighten up my day.” So I continue to do it because people enjoy them. My mission of putting positive out there is being accomplished!
B: I love the references you use and most in particular, any and all Bob Marley references? What do these references mean to you outside of the photography? Are they a part of how you live your life? A personal belief system?
M: My career involves taking care of people. Most are very sick health wise. With this type of work I’m exposed to many different emotions, most times all at once – happy, sad, good, bad. Life itself already can be too serious, so I like to keep a positive outlook on things. I always try to make it positive no matter what. We all need that little encouragement every now and then, the little reminder that, hey we all are human and your doing the best you can do in life so don’t forget it. You put positive out there – positive comes back to you sometimes triple. Not that I am expecting anything from doing this. It is just my way of sharing good vibes.
B: What is your most inspired quote or song lyric? and why?
M: My all time favorite is from a book I read about 10 times from,”Tuesdays with Morrie.” The quote from Morrie Shwartz reads, “The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.” Many people feel as if they don’t deserve love or to be loved yet it’s a common emotion we all yearn for, to be loved. Often times I want to use the quote again as I find it fitting with the capture but I try hard not to repeat quotes.
B: Who influences or inspires you as far as your photography? and why?
M: I’ve only recently discovered photography as a hobby. The people I’ve met through IG have become extended family to me. They all play a huge part in my life as far as inspiration goes. They constantly encourage me to keep capturing moments and sharing them.
B: You have an amazing and distinct style in your mobile artistry. Have you experimented or found a style that you would like to try out?
M: I’ve always admired street photography and black and white. Street photography I find intriguing because these are real life moments and emotions captured in a single click of the camera. I find it challenging to hold my cell phone up to someone to make a capture. I need to learn some mobile ninja skills! I do challenge myself when I go to places such as Chinatown. It definitely pushes my creativity and makes me think outside of the box but those captures I just keep to myself. I also find black and white photos to be very moody. It’s actually quite interesting as I see the world in color but I do admire black & white. I find it hard to capture black and white without good light. It’s all a learning process for me.
B: What can we expect from @me_lv in the future as far as the mobile arts?
M: I hope to still be capturing life whether it be on the island or somewhere else and still be able to share it on IG. This really is a hobby and I love the fact that I can travel the world in a few minutes on IG. I’m also teaching myself about different editing styles. I really have no clue what I’m doing and many times it happens through experimenting with different apps. As long as I continue to have fun with it. Perhaps also as I learn and experiment more with editing, my style will change as far as post processing.
B: Lastly, what would you like see in the future for yourself as a mobile artist/photographer? and where do you see this art form going in the future?
M: I’m hoping to still be doing what I do and thats, capture moments, share them with others, meet new people, and just continue to have fun. This art form is already taking off in so many ways. As technology improves I think people will start using camera phones more often due to the quality of the pictures and convenience of always having your cell phone with you. Look at how much IG has grown in a year! In time it will only get better.
Juxt wants to say BIG MAHALOS Mel for her time. Shootz she cherry brah.
Instagram: @me_lv
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About Brad P
BP has been a member of the Instagram community since middle of 2011. By day he is a director of a human services program in Seattle. He also has a long history of organizing many grassroots organizations and is a co-founder of two arts organizations in Seattle, one focused on cultural arts and the other with youth. BP is a member of @AMPt. AMPt, STAND UP!
Instagram/ EyeEm/ Streamzoo/ Trover: @bradpuet
Twitter: @bradpuet
G+: [email protected], BP Juxt
