Nathan Hayag aka digitalpimp

Nathan Hayag aka digitalpimp and Nathan GH on Facebook talks about Thaipasum Festival, Infrared photography and Santan Flowers.

Gerome Soriano

Please introduce yourself? What is your background? How did you get started into photography?

Nathan GH

My name is Nathan Hayag. Known in the online photography world as digitalpimp. Living in Singapore and working in the healthcare industry. I'm also a photographer/contributor for Getty Images USA.

The best answer I can come up with on how I got started in photography is... PEER PRESSURE. A very good friend of mine literally forced me to get a camera and shoot with him. But I can't say I didn't put up a good fight. It took 6 months before I caved in and bought a Nikon D70s. He was also using a Nikon back then. In my head I thought it was absurd buying expensive lenses just to take stupid photos. I was like, "What can't my Sony Ericsson P990 do that these big expensive clunky cameras can??" We went around taking photos of... stuff. It was a photographic nightmare!

Gerome Soriano

What a great way to get started into photography! What kind of "stuff" did you take photos of? And how did you wake up from the photographic nightmare did you take classes or workshops on photography?

Nathan GH

Haha you can say that. Now I love it more than anything.

Let me see... Santan flowers (I don't know why I have a lot of photos of this flower. Weird.). Coconut trees. Fountains. Chairs at Starbucks. Backs of people. Pebbles. Name it, I have it.

As I went aimlessly along, I got to know about the work of Danny Santos. A Singapore-based Filipino street photographer. It was the first time I saw 'real' photographs. I finally knew what I want to do. I stared at his photos for hours. I learned his moves. His settings (by trial and error). His lens of choice. Even his hat. I was a Danny Santos clone for a while.

The natural course is, of course, look for other people's work. I opened a flickr account and there I saw more street. I also saw landscape and infrared. I got to know about Nil Jorgensen, Tommy Oshima and Rarindra Prakarsa for street/documentary. Joel Tjintjelaar, Michael Kenna and Akira Takaue for landscape, and Edwin Martinez and Dibyo Gahari for infrared. I can say that these people influenced me greatly. Nightmare over! And on top of that, I began thinking camera 24/7. I got hooked real bad. This was also the time when I bought a Sony. I got myself an A300 and dual kit lens. The live view and in-cam VR lured me in. I still kept my Nikon D70s and had it converted to take infrared photos. Effectively, I have two systems that time.

No classes and not one workshop. I like figuring things out myself. I got my basics from Scott Kelby's book. I hate asking questions, so most of what I know now comes from extensive reading and tons of trial and error. I didn't struggle with composition and color, though. I was an artsy kid. I spent most of my youth painting and joining art competitions. I can say that my grasp in that department is alright.

Gerome Soriano

Hahaha. This next one will take time:) Can you walk us through your images. Please share something about them. A story or two

Nathan GH

On Thaipusam Festival 2012 in Singapore

The first time I covered the Thaipusam Festival was in 2011 and I consider it a fail since I didn't get shots that I liked.

2012, I felt, was a bit better. I got to experience being in the middle of it all. Seeing people falling into a convulsive trance was like being in a Wes Craven movie in 4D. It was fascinating and scary, all at the same time. It was also the first time I slept on a street gutter because of exhaustion, and to top it off, my slippers got stolen. I had to join the 4.6 kilometre procession barefoot!

Gerome, you have to experience Thaipusam. It's something you'll remember for the rest of your life!

1. Is the chanting part that they do prior to entering into a trance. They say it is the chanting (and drumming) that invokes the state of hypnosis. I say it's that thick smoke we're inhaling! >:)

2. It's hard getting eye contact when your subjects are lost in their own world. Some of my favorite Thaipusam photos are those that I get with and this is one of them. 

3. I was shooting photo #2 when this happened behind me. Good thing I heard the shouting. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten this photo. I had to move back quickly after getting the shot just so I won't get trampled on. He was the first person there I saw in that state (he was the most violent too), and I have to admit I got rattled pretty good.

  

4. The eye contact I was talking about. He looked just when I was about to click a shot.

5. This is the closest one could get. I was shooting with a Sony A700 (...coupled with a 50mm f1. so no live view option for me. Pure OVF danger. 

image from sonystas.com

6. One of the techniques I employ in my street photography is dragging the shutter without flash (or whatever it's called).

Here, I had to have the perfect shutter speed to get the shot right. Too slow and I will risk getting a blurred subject. Too fast and there won't be enough motion blur. I had to shoot this scene multiple times because I was having trouble reading their erratic movements. I wanted eye contact from my subject as well. We're not allowed to use tripods inside the temple so I brought this nifty little contraption of mine called SteadePod. What it is? Google is your friend.

7. This is perhaps my most favorite photo of the set. Nothing fancy going on here, but it speaks to me. I can see that he is staring right at me, but it is blank. It's like I can see that he is there physically, but his inner self is somewhere else. I hope that's how this photo translates to the viewers too.

Advice on shooting the Thaipusam Festival

What advice can you give to those interested in shooting the Thaipusam Festival? What are the moments they should be on the look out for?

As with any other types of photography--preparation is key. Do tons of research. Know where to go, what to do (and what not to do), and what to expect.

Since this is a religious activity, there are certain rules that has to be followed. No headgear and no footwear are just some of them. You can't use flash guns as well. Using flash guns disrupt the activity. I've seen a participant go berserk because a photographer popped one point blank. That's rude and just plain disrespectful.

Bring the right equipment. Don't go lugging around the whole artillery and then later going home feeling 20 years older. If you plan to shoot in the day, just about any lens would do. If at night, then you have to have your fast lenses ready. You definitely can't go without the fasts because like I mentioned, flash guns are a no-no. First time I attended I brought so much stuff I felt like a zombie halfway through and then came down with a fever the next day. Imagine yourself running around half a day with 3 camera bodies, an 8mm f3.5 fisheye, 35mm f1.8, 50mm f1.4, 10-20mm f4-5.6, 18-55mm kit lens and a 28-105mm f2.8. It's literally like asking for it.

Nothing to look out for, actually. Everything unfolds right before your eyes. You simply have to feel the moment and be part of their world. The photos are just secondary. I can even go there and not bring a camera and be moved just the same.

On Infrared Photography

Let me tell you a little bit about infrared photography first.

Ordinary cameras record visible light. It is the light (or wavelength) that human eyes can see. Infrared light (IR), however, resides in a spectrum that is not visible to us. By using an IR filter, you effectively let the IR light pass through and be recorded onto the camera's image sensor which makes the invisible IR light become visible to the human eye.

Remember I told you about me having my Nikon D70s converted to record IR? I sold it. I got myself a Sony A230 and had it converted as well. Now I'm all Sony.

8. This photo was taken at Khai Nok Island, Thailand while on vacation. Nothing much here. I just liked the color of the umbrella. Waited for a proper subject to pass by to complete the scene.

9.  I'm a huge fan of minimalist photography and this is one of my versions of it.

10. First time I tried shooting an insect using an IR camera. Didn't know IR can make an insect look transparent.

11. I think this is the only IR photo that I've taken in the Philippines. I like how the elements are positioned here.

12. Luck was with me when I took this photo. I wanted to get the two trains in one tight spot where sunlight is concentrated the most and have them surrounded by shadow. Having those trains meet in one spot doesn't really happen all the time because they don't travel in constant intervals. Plus, I didn't really have a source of shadow on the left side to begin with, so the shot was almost impossible. As chance would have it, a big cloud entered the scene and darkened the left side. Even the trains cooperated and met exactly where I want them to. Everything just fell into place and I was really happy with the result. 

13. My favorite infrared photo to date. Taken at Japanese Garden in Singapore. This scene didn't look beautiful at all when I shot it with a normal camera. The IR light gave it flavor.

What's Next?

What is next for the digitalpimp?

Hmmm... I don't make plans. I guess I'll just keep doing what I do at my pace. I'm happy with what I have and what I get now. I'd like to do more photographic journeys this year, though. I want to get lost somewhere for weeks and go back home with a handful of SD cards of memories.