Approaching 5,000

Approaching 5,000

Well, its been a long time coming, but my Youtube channel is about to reach 5,000 views.
http://www.youtube.com/user/rvirax
And I tell you what, its been a real challenge to get it to that level.
Without a regular subscriber base because of the lack of a regular and themed content, getting views outside of friends is a difficult challenge.
Nevertheless, the channel has served as a medium to explore techniques and themes.
I hope that someday I can find a voice for this channel, something to stand for, something to give.
But in the mean time, it will continue to serve as my experimental base until such time.

So thank you to all that helped me along with some of these films.
I hope that some of you have at least enjoyed one or two of them.
The next 5,000 will be just as tough, but here's to progress and to learning.
And nothing bad has come from learning.

Thank you.

Stef

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rvirax-Art-Productions/418011988218290

Instagram: My Latest Social-Media Venture

Instagram:
My Latest Social-Media Venture
http://instagram.com/steffech ← my instagram account

While I had registered with Instagram for nearly 10 months now (admittingly I am pretty late to the game), I hadn't been using it as a serious social-media platform until recently.
I had been using it as a simple photo-editing software application on my phone (although I will say that the photo-editing features on the app are really limited).
For most of the time, I had been using it to edit photos of my beer-tasting efforts because the photos of the beer I took actually turn out alright in instagram.
From then on, I would upload the photo straight onto my facebook account where I would share it with my friends.

However, I have recently started to take instagram more seriously, not as an app to edit photos, but as an app to share photos with strangers (and a couple of friends).
But one thing I have noticed is that it is hard to get an audience on instagram.
On average, I get around 2 likes per photo I upload, and so far I have managed to attract around 35 followers.
I guess I should do some research as to what is the best way to reach an audience on this medium.
But I think in the mean time, I should be asking myself, 'what do I have to offer the World?'
I mean, people want to be entertained, and regularly, and so I understand that in most forms of social-media you need to entertain, and keep entertaining people.

So I wonder if my photos are 'entertaining'...?
I have noticed that the most popular accounts are those by professional photographers, professional artist, celebrities, models, fashion labels or popular brands, and re-posters of professional photographs who have edited the picture slightly (usually through a generic phone-app).

But there are a few accounts that I have been impressed by, and I thought I would like to share them here in my blog.


First is 'mustafaseven'
http://instagram.com/mustafaseven
This is a great account by a professional photographer who specialises in black and white photographs that show great character of the subjects. I get the feeling that each photo is carefully selected and tells a certain story. They are always interesting and gives me the feeling that I am getting an insight into a World that I am not privy to, almost like I am travelling from the safety of my room.




Second is 'glamfather'
http://instagram.com/glamfather
I like glamfather because the theme of the account is simple. Almost all of the photos are macro shots of a small, cardboard character photographed doing all sorts of activities from the inspirational to the mundane. While the subject is only a toy, one gets the feeling that they are following a story.







Third is 'mjlindo'
http://instagram.com/mjlindo
Mjlindo is an amazing artist who paints on planks of wood. I wish I could paint like this and I am always looking forward to seeing her work in progress and her latest projects.






Fourth is 'cbmc2012'
http://instagram.com/cbmc2012
This is another account by an artist. This time the artist uses pencils to sketch portraits of celebrities. Again, I find it entertaining to look at the pictures and get ideas about techniques and possible ideas for future sketches.




Anyway, this is my instagram account.
http://instagram.com/steffech
Despite the challenges of building up an audience, I will keep trying to make the most of instagram and gradually learn about the processes of managing social-media and hopefully find a purpose for my ventures.

Until next time, keep in health.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rvirax-Art-Productions/418011988218290
Subscribe to my facebook page.

What Does It Mean to have Many Hobbies?

What Does It Mean to have Many Hobbies?


Recently, I have been revisiting some of my older hobbies, namely gray-lead pencil sketching and latte art.
But these are not the only hobbies I am into.
I can list, photography, videography, gardening, beer-tasting, homebrewing as just some of the hobbies that I am engaged in regularly.
But what does it mean to have a hobby? How engaged do you have to be in order for it to be a hobby?
In Japanese, the word for hobby (shumi: 趣味) is often used for an extracurricular activity that one immerses themselves into, almost obsessively.
But I wouldn't consider myself to be that level at all. So in Japanese at least, can my interests be really classified as hobbies?

When talking with my Japanese friends or introducing myself to Japanese acquaintances, I am often told that I am tashumi (多趣味: multi-hobbied).
In fact, this label or similar variants of it are also used by other friends.
In most cases, it used in praise of what I can do.
But I often feel a little ashamed of what I can do; more to the point, I am ashamed of what I can't do.

The thing about being multi-hobbied or multi-talented is that I do not invest in enough time in any of my hobbies for me to become good at them.
While I consider myself to be probably better than average in the hobbies that I do, none of what I can do is exceptional.
This is where the often quoted phrase, 'jack of all trades, master of none' seems to really apply to my situation.
So why do I get lauded for being multi-hobbied when in reality what I do probably doesn't deserve the praise that I receive?

I am fiercely jealous of those who have amazing talents in what they do. I see their works and wish that I could dedicate/commit myself to becoming that good.
I wish I had a talent that I could use to make money off. Being simply average is not good enough in this kind of World.
But it has been because of these reflections that I have learnt more about who I am.

I am not the type of person who can commit themselves to one thing.
My attention is always divided among many interests and hence I am always moving from one interest to the other.
This is why I cannot commit myself to one type of lifestyle.
In some ways, I think I am fated to spread my attention thin over a number of interests and never be exceptional at anything.
However, when I look at others who have, I am not jealous of their lifestyle. In fact I feel disappointed when I can't talk about various things with someone who is over-specialised in one field.
And it is this sentiment that leads me onto my next understanding of who I am.



I probably don't do my hobbies in the ambition of becoming good at any of them.
More than the outcome, it is the process that I derive my pleasure from.
I enjoy learning about the hobby I am engaged in and the calm that it gives me while I am immersed.
The act of engaging in one of my hobbies is almost therapeutic to me.



So while none of my hobbies on their own warrant any praise for being outstanding, I could not be any happier than when I am engaged in my interests, and I don't see this ending any time soon.

Please remember to visit and subscribe to my facebook page for the latest updates on my blog and activities.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rvirax-Art-Productions/418011988218290?ref=hl

Thanks as always.

Stef

Melbourne Coming (GOING)

Melbourne Coming (GOING)
My latest film project.

Earlier this month, I uploaded a new project that I had been working on during one weekend.
The aim of this project was to experiment with some new film techniques to learn how to best utilise them in film.
I wasn't expecting it to be anything spectacular or even entertaining, again, just like most of my recent projects, it was just to play around and see what would happen.
I apologise in advace to those who are thinking of watching it. There is quite a visual over-load in this film.
I, myself, found it quite over-stimulating at first.
Nevertheless, I was proud of what I had learnt rather than what I had achieved.

There were two techniques/effects that I wanted to experiment with in this project.
The first effect was film speed.
The second effect was layering.

The subject of this project was Melbourne's CBD (Central Business District).
Since I often find myself wandering the streets of the CBD on weekends, it was the most accessible subject.

While the speed technique is easy to understand and doesn't need explaining, I feel that I should explain what I was trying to achieve with the layering effects.

In this film, I used 3 layers (the most that I could use in the version of Adobe Premier that I am using).

1st Layer:
The first layer is the base of the film footage.
It is simply footage of the streets of Melbourne's CBD sped up.

2nd Layer:
The second layer consists of some textured footage.
I tried to capture shapes and lines from over-head fluorescent lights and flights of stairs to plans of wood from a boardwalk and tiles from the street, etc.
When I recorded the footage of the textured images, I made sure that the shapes would move across the screen in a way that defines their texture.

3rd Layer:
The third layer was made up of iconic images found within the Melbourne CBD.
I chose these images particularly because they were iconic. Just like the textured images, I would 'bounce' the image around the screen so that the views eyes would be drawn to move across the screen just like they would as if they were walking the street.

The result...
...well, I feel like I must admit the limitations of this piece. The performance of my failing laptop was put to the test as I edited this film. It took well over an hour just to render 3 layers in the programme.
Being a busy man, I wasn't really patient and I just wanted to finish the film as quickly as possible.
There are many scenes that I am not happy with. For example, some cut-scenes were not as fluid or well-blended as I would have liked. Also, some certain layers were too over-powering and created moments that were too confusing or too one-dimensional. At other times, some images were too weak and didn't come out at all.
Nevertheless, it is from these mistakes that I learnt a lot. I hope to someday use the techniques I learnt in another project.

Photography:
I found it interesting that I had not tried layering in photography yet.
I think I have found my latest photography project. :)

世界はColour:満 (The World is Colour: Full)

世界はColour:満

Sekai ha Colour: FULL

(The World is Colour: Full) is a new project of mine to explore the use of bright colours in digital photography to tell a different story of the everyday world that I see. 

In a sense, this project main function is to encourage me to explore different techniques in the hope that I will stumble upon new perspectives and creative processes that are otherwise not apparent at first glance.

Another aim of the project to expand my photography skills into areas that I have up until now not explored. For those that are aware of my usual photographic habits, I am usually occupied with the documentation of events and gatherings and sharing them with the participants.

A key point of this project is that I have given it a theme.

The characteristic of this collection is obvious in the title that I have given it.

The title, as one can see, is mixture of Japanese and English. The word 世界は (sekai wa) can be translated into English as 'the World'.

The last character 満 (man) means 'full' in English. This last character serves two meanings. The first meaning is that the World is full of colour and the second meaning serves as a suffix to the root word colour to make the word 'colourful'.

Adding unnatural colours to a photograph has the ability to enhance certain characteristics of the landscape or subject that are otherwise hidden by the glow of what we perceive as the norm. 

I have found it to be a refreshing project that has had the potential to turn photos that are otherwise ordinary when viewed within the normal colour spectrum into works of art.
By manipulating the colours of these photographs, I can wash away the parts of the picture that I want to detract and emphasise the parts that I want the audience to see.

It must be said that this cannot be applied to all photographs and I have found that it still requires a certain level of skill (and a good photograph in the first place) to know what to look for, what has potential and dismiss those that you sense are not worth wasting your time.

Please check out the full album on RVIRAX's Facebook page at the following link. 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.589258981093589.1073741825.418011988218290&type=1

Remember, this is an ongoing project and there will be more photographs uploaded as the project continues.

Also, please check out and subscribe to RVIRAX's Facebook page at 'Rvirax Art Productions' by clicking on the following link below.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rvirax-Art-Productions/418011988218290

I hope you can all enjoy this ongoing project as I work through material, new and old, and inspire those that have a keep interest in photography to do the same.

Please enjoy the World is Colour: Full

Mt. Piper Film

Mt.PIPER
In search of Mines and Summit


Earlier last month, my brother and I decided to visit Mt. Piper and climb up to its summit.
Mt. Piper is a 455 metre mountain located next to the smaller, rural town of Broadford, Victoria. Since the arrival of European explorers in the early 1830s, Mt. Piper has been an iconic landmark of the region.

The mountain was first discovered by the explorers Hume and Hovell and was name after Captain Piper, a naval officer of the colony of New South Wales.

Since then, the mountain has been the site of several mining expeditions for rare metals such as Gold and Antimony. Currently, Mt. Piper is the symbol of the township of Broadford and is designated a Nature Conservation Reserve for the endangered Golden Sun Month and the Blue Ant Butterfly.


I had not been to the abandoned mines but my brother (Jon) said that he used to often explore there with friends when he was in High School. he promised to take me there so I could take some footage with my camera. However, as was evident from the video, he had a hard time recollecting where the abandoned mines were exactly.

At the end of our adventure, we reached the summit of the mountain and was treated to some fine views of the region. I hope you all enjoy the video of our trip up the mountain.

Ryoko's Farewell

Ryoko's Farewell

Today, I thought I shall introduce one of my short-films. The title of the piece is Ryoko's Final Melbourne Tour.

It's a tribute film for Ryoko that I made in April this year. I have attached it to this blog for those that are interested in watching it. WARNING: there are moments where Japanese is spoken. Please ensure that you have the closed-captions icon selected to get the English translation.

Ryoko is a friend of mine that I have know since 2009. We met at La Trobe University when I was in my first year of my PhD and she was still undertaking her undergraduate course. we became close friends and would spend a lot of time together conversing and having lunch together on campus. I found her to be both somewhat eccentric yet at the same time intellectually stimulating to talk to. We would often go out to dinner and karaoke together with other friends.

In 2010, I went to Japan to conduct my fieldwork and during my time abroad she was to graduate and eventually find employment in Sydney. She had mixed feelings about her residence and work in Sydney and would, on occasion, come back to Melbourne to visit old friends in which I would feel obliged to help out my good friend by chauffeuring her around the town.

This time (April 2012), Ryoko announced that she had quit her job in Sydney and was returning to Japan. She decided to come back to Melbourne one last time before she would leave, to celebrate with her good friends and give thanks for the friendships that she had with them.

I decided to film this moment in honour of our friendship, however I wanted to give it a little twist to make the moment more memorable. The theme of my project was to create an illusion that Ryoko was some kind of major celebrity who was arriving for her final tour.

I did not tell Ryoko or any of her guests what I was intended to do with the project because I wanted to catch people in their natural state (albeit, some people like Allison caught on pretty quickly). Overall, I was grateful for everyone for cooperating with me on this project. Everyone had fun and kept the atmosphere lively. I had no problem collecting interesting footage for this tribute.

However, the battery on my camera did run out quickly (this was before I bought a larger battery for the camera) and I had to come back to the city at a later date to film extra b-roll footage.

But overall, I was happy with the end product, even though I am still quite new to the editing software. Ryoko seemed to be pleased (and surprised) with the final product. I hope that we can meet again soon and maybe a live in Japan version at the end of this month.