Famous+Photographer

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= //"A good photograph is one that brings us face to face with our own existence."// - John Clang John Clang was born in Singapore. At age 17 he enrolled into Lasalle College of the Arts but left after only six months to assist a fine-art photographer named Chua Soo Bin. Clang's first significant commission was for Singapore Airlines, which quickly brought further opportunities from IBM and Levis. This prompted him to move to New York in 1999. There he set up his studio, 'Clang Photography", and began to make his way up to being one of the city's most industrious commercial photographers. Since his arrival in New York, he has been shooting many advertising campaigns for clients such as Nike, Godiva, Reebok, Motorola, Timberland, and many others. Not only that, but he has had the great opportunity to take pictures of celebrities like Beyonce Knowles, Sophie Dahl, and Frankie Rayder. In 2010, he became the first photographer in Singapore to receive the President's Designer of the Year award. Clang is inspired by what he calls "mundane", or commonplace. He often looks to cities and modernized landscapes, saying that the everyday things can have more depth that what we just see at a glance. Even the slightest change in his environment inspires his work. His style is significantly modern-contemporary. This picture definitely displays a strong rule of thirds. There are also some very bright, vivid colours. This picture is a very good example of Clang's work. The awkward use of angle and object speaks volumes of who he is and what he accomplishes through his pictures. Light is coming from the bottom left corner, casting shadows on the bottom of the traffic light. At first very confusing, this picture prompts the viewer to decipher his photos in a way unlike most have ever done in this manner. Tilting your head, or closing one eye to see the picture fully is actually exactly what Clang wants. This picture, although lacking really any colour, has some different design principals. There is a sense of diagonals, the towering office buildings in the dark city look as if they are tipping over. With the balloon, there is a feel of framing, the picture taken through a window. Any light in this picture is definitely not coming from the inside of the window. Due to the overcast weather, the light source would be the sky, only a small portion of sunlight managing to penetrate the dark clouds. This is a good example of Clang's style because there is the very contemporary element present. The balloon, symbolizing almost childish things, floating through the grey city. A beautiful sunset with a long line of stitches drawn down through the middle of the sun. The picture by itself is lovely, but with this addition, Clang contributed to the interest of the photo significantly. This photo is a good example of framing, since the clouds are all surrounding the glowing sun. Another present design principle is balance. The sun is smack in the middle of the picture. Mountains in the background pile on top of each other in a beautiful layering effect. Even though the stitches are only a small part compared to the rest of the image, it still speaks volumes for its small size. Clang looks at things we would see every day, and put a twist on them that might make us more appreciative of our surroundings and nature. The light source is the sun in the centre of the shot. A bright red paper airplane hovering high above the sprawling image of the city. Another image or object symbolizing youth or childish things placed around or in a city or city-like setting. Simplicity is the most prominent design principle here, but there is also the sense of framing. The light is coming from probably directly above, since there aren't really any shadows in the image. Once again, Clang has managed to twist his photos. An image already taken, and make it into another one, this time with a bright splash of colour right in the middle of the image. This picture upon a first, quick glance looks like a reflection. Then the two different colours sink in and then the whole picture changes. Is it still a reflection, with some photoshopping? Is it really two different toothbrushes? Out of all of Clang's photographs, this one is by far the least complex one. (At least in my opinion) There is the rule of thirds slightly present. Simplicity is one of the most dominant design principals in all of his images. There are not any dramatic shadows in this image, so the light source is probably directly above, or maybe from a window on a very overcast day. Background 20/20 Influences 4/5 Style/Genre 4/5 5 Photos and Description 25/25 Total 53/55