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No photo outing

I've been playing with cameras a little too much lately. I wanted to appreciate the camera that I have in-built in my body - my eyes. So that day, I decided not to bring my camera out with me when I brought the kids to visit the beach. OK, I did bring my phone, but I prefer shooting with a dedicated camera nowadays because I the pictures look better to me. So I didn't consider my phone a camera. 

So my camera were my eyes. And my hands, colour pencils, pencil and a small box of oil pastels (8 selected colours) were the printer. And I took pictures with them on the long train ride and at the beach. I cropped the scenes like how I would frame photos. All these were drawn on location. Oh yes, this is the magic of illustration- I could draw myself into the 2nd page, through imagination!  



 

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MiataGrrl said…
I like your eye camera better than whatever other camera you have! :-) I find that my sketch compositions are better than my photo comps. I always tell myself, I can crop the photo later, but I'm just being sloppy and lazy.
10:19 PM, August 02, 2026
Andrew Tan said…
Thanks Tina. The eye camera is certainly more amazing. But after using a couple good cameras and taking pictures with them with more intent, I can see how it can also be super fun. For a short while, I was worried that it might overshadow my drawing habit. Then I realized that they can actually compliment each other. When taking pictures, I'm more aware about the focal length (What is in focus and what is out of focus) and angle of view. Also colour and tonal values and angles and composition. It's good training in all those things because when taking pictures, I have to make those decisions very quickly. And when I bring that back into drawing, I find that I helps me notice those same things when I'm creating a drawing. I used to think, it's either do drawings or take photos but I'm seeing that they can both enhance each other.

Btw, I do find taking photos with a dedicated camera does wonders. Using a smartphone doesn't give the same look or pleasure because of the over computational sharpening. I'm been trying film camera again and that's also a good practice in being decisive about the scenes to capture!:)
12:29 PM, August 04, 2026
MiataGrrl said…
It's wonderful that you've found the two art forms to complement each other!
12:42 PM, August 04, 2026
Andrew Tan said…
Or you could say, it one more thing to play with. But as u can see it is good taking a break from it too once in awhile, coz it can be also very fun and addictive.
9:38 AM, August 05, 2026
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