Be at peace with yourself and you'll see further

Mr. Jimin Lai answers questions from the participants.

I've just returned from a very encouraging photography talk by Mr. Jimin Lai. Here he shares some of his experiences and pictures taken during his decades long career as a photojournalist.

Apart from that, he also shares some insights that makes a great picture. Suffice to say that everything depends on the one doing the click (although he did shower praises for the full frame Nikon D700, which I totally agree). He also reaffirmed something that I have in mind (and tries to remember doing it often) lately: making the shot that feels something to you.

The truth is, I shot a lot of crappy stuff. Sometimes I don't know what makes my picture when I fire off, so most of my pictures don't mean anything to me when I look at them again. That had me wondering, why the heck I'm shooting at all. I'll go nowhere like this. The technique is there but there's no bite to the images because my direction is all over the place!

Jimin also gave one final advice, one that I'm really lacking in currently: being at peace with oneself. It shows in your photos (and whatever that you're doing) when there's lots of things in your mind that you couldn't let go. Having a clear mind devoid of any aprehensions lets you see things that you previously don't realize, and that's part of a good picture, and a good life.

P/S: Mr. Jimin Lai will be having a one-day photojournalism workshop on December 6th (Sat). The fee is RM350. Check his blog or Click! magazine's website for updates.