Filter (Feeding)

To anyone who is confused about the title or missed the pun; filter-feeders are a group of animals that feed by straining their food through a filtering structure in their body, quite like the name suggests.

Hey, the more you know.

Anyway, to unwind a bit and to bond with my brother (and to also get my hand into photography again), we hit up the usual -- the park down the road that so frequently becomes our 'chill spot'.

After inspiration from the UNSW PhotoSoc talk on Friday, I was itching to donate some time out of my 'should-be-studying' resource and use it wisely.

Whilst editing, I stumbled across some filters that were pre-embedded into Lightroom. I'd seen them before, but never really clicked on them or experimented, because I usually use my photos to document (which often means more 'realistic' appearances, though this is only the general case).

This time I thought I'd give a few of them a spin, just to add an extra dimension to my photos.

Trust me, it's incredibly hard to take photos AND sit on a see-saw at the same time.

In the last few months I've also taken a step to teach my brother how to take photographs. At the very least, he knows how to operate my camera (limited to basics, but that's a start for a young child).

His knowledge isn't extensive, of course, and post-editing makes it easier to fix a few compositional errors, but overall, he's made a start, and so I'm proud already.

More pre-set filters, with a bit of personalised tweaking.

I can't help but feel like I'm treading on thin ice here. I don't want to scare my brother off photography, because it's something I love and I wish he will eventually experience sometime in the future (even if it's just a try). I suppose I'm afraid that I'll accidentally impose my hobby onto him, and pressure him into it all. I don't want it to become something that he considers a 'chore', or something that he feels pressured to do, because that's not what it should be; photography should be enjoyed and ought to be a passion.

In the meantime, I think he's alright with it. He doesn't complain when I hand the camera to him, and he does seem to place effort and some level of thought into his photographs (though, you can't expect much from a nine year old).

Perks is that I no longer need a tripod! Hehe

But, in the end, more photos of my brother were taken than of myself, for obvious reasons.

I think I can say in full confidence that my brother dominates a lot of my photographs. Back when I was an avid user of Picasso (which would identify and sort faces, categorising them into names), I recall I had over six hundred photos of my brother. That was in 2013. I don't even want to think of the number it's at now. (No wonder my hard-drives fill up so quickly...)

I wish I still had baby-soft skin like him

Smiles all around.

I've mentioned it before, but I really love photographing children. Their smiles are so natural and full of joy. They can actually forget the world and its worries, and really enjoy being in that moment and having a slice of 'fun'.

Smiles

As we grow into adults that ability tends to fade, and we become self-conscious. When I pull my camera out to take photos of older people (i.e., 'not children'), it all seems so much more difficult. 

And of course, I can't blame them. I mean, when someone points a camera at me, I stop what I'm doing and smile directly at the lens. That's just how we're programmed, I suppose. As adults we tend to notice the camera a lot more (and, to be fair, it's difficult to completely miss seeing such a chunky, black DSLR) and thus respond appropriately. Children, I find, tend to be so focused on the experience -- completely swallowed up in the 'now' and the moment -- that they either miss the DSLR completely, or refuse to place any importance/acknowledgement of its presence.

That's why I find it infinitely easier.

Anyway, short speel (as a break from studying and sleep)

We also played javelin with a stick. It was pretty fun.
I was never good at javelin, though.

Fun day though. Great bonding time, and some experimenting with filters.

It was a reminder for myself to take a break sometimes.

And up next, JD representing Australia at the 2016 Olympic Games in Javelin