It’s the weekend! (well kinda over now but) That calls for something more light-hearted, aye? In this post, I’ll be sharing the assessment that I had just finished for my photojournalism course, which I’m currently enrolled in as an elective.

First of all, for this assessment, we’re to submit 5 photos that represents Melbourne in a particular theme. There are a lot to choose from, it includes: Religion/Spirituality, Migration, Work, Play, Urban, Suburban, Digital Future, Social Change, Innovation, Sustainability, Local Politics, Globalisation, Local Business, Consumerism.

At first I was overwhelmed by the vast amount of choices, so I just took some random shots around the city. Fortunately, I decided on a theme a week before the due date and went with “Local Business”. At the time, I’ve just started working in a gelateria, so I asked my boss whether or not I can take some photos of the shop for my assessment and she kindly let me, so I just went there on Friday evening (when I have a camera borrowed from RMIT) and just took some photos. I am really bad at cameras so all I do is use the auto.

I spent more than an hour inside the shop just to take some photos, I tried out different angles and looked for the “right timing” to click the shutter button, a.k,a “the decisive moment”. There were quite a lot of people coming in and out, so I tried my best to take good photos but at the same time not become a nuisance. Also, the thing about being a “good” photographer (not saying I am), one needs to know when or not it’s okay to shoot, considering ethics. I basically used my feelings on whether or not the person in frame is comfortable. Fortunate enough, no one confronted me, so it was all good.

At times when there were a big wave of customer, it was a bit hard to take photos as spaces become limited, and also there were lots of movement which result in blurry pics. Then there was this family of five, a couple and three children. They were the only customer at the time, so I took the opportunity and pressed away the shutter button, mostly targeting their youngest daughter, because she was so cute and photogenic!

I also took some photos of the shop‘s other aspects like it’s price board, the gelati on display, as well as the it’s outer look. At the same time, as I was shooting, I familiarize myself with the camera. Despite being really new to it, I got more comfortable with it as time passed by. Jess, who I had just met and was working at the moment, was really chill with me being there, despite me feeling like I was kind of disturbing.

Just before the sun set, I ended up with quite a lot of photos and was pretty happy with them. So I decided to call it a day and left. Fast forward to a few days later, I went through the photos I’ve taken and picked some that I think were the best, which was a pain (feel me anyone?!). After a long and tiring process of choosing and editing, I asked help from my tutor, Maria to help me choose the final five photos.

After I’ve gotten that out of the way, it’s time to insert caption. Unlike facebook or instagram captions, this needs to be professional and journalism-worthy. Having little-to-none experience in that, I simply tried my best to do well with the knowledge I got from the lecture and the examples I found. I spent an hour just to write great captions for five photos, yes, five. I re-typed so many times I lost count. Really hoping that it’s worth it. :’)

Without further ado, here’s my five photos! It was a great experience and I’m happy I got to improve both my journalistic and photography skills.

Enjoy!

 

some bonus photos~