ENLIGHTEN
ASIA
A FACULTY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
BY CARYN ESPLIN FOR BYU–IDAHO
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A Personal Reflection
CARYN ESPLIN – Visual Communication & Photography Instructor
Asia is a fascinating place to explore! I hope you enjoy learning more about the friendly people, intriguing cultures and gorgeous landscapes of Asia from this collection of photos and videos. As a professor of Visual Communication at BYU-Idaho, I look for stories to tell with my camera at interesting locations around the world. I love to capture environmental portraits and I find most people in Asia are willing to openly share their lives if they know you are being respectful in your approach. I start a conversation by showing them sample of my past photography so they can see my work and goals.
I am grateful to BYU–Idaho for sponsoring this Enlighten project to conduct research, develop new materials and skills for the visual communication students I teach and love. I want to thank my student assistants who help me with videos, content management and this final website to display my favorite images videos, and Instagram photo tips from my Enlighten project. I will continue adding content and would love to hear your feedback so feel free to connect with me through email, Facebook or my website. Click here for my contact information.
Follow me on YouTube at www.carynesplin.com/youtube or on Instagram @carynesplinphoto or at www.instagram.com/carynesplinphoto or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cesplin for free photo tips and more adventures as we discover new people, cultures and landscapes.
PEOPLE
I consider making connections with people to be the highlight of my Enlighten project. I love meeting new people to learn more about how they live. Most people are curious about my work and when they learn I am an educator and that I want to share their lifestyles with my students and others they are happy to let me photograph them in their environment. Many invite me into their homes to help me understand their culture and history. I made many good friends in Asia and found that a friendly smile communicates even better than my handy Google Translate App. It is the people who are truly the “LIGHT” of my Enlighten Project!
Culture
Asia is full of fascinating sub-cultures that makes each village an awesome new discovery.The customs, food, art, and history of each region in Asia are unique and varied. I was pleasantly surprised at how many people are extremely loyal to the culture and traditions they were reared with. The culture lives on because the people stay true to their heritage and they love to share stories of their ancestors and history. I found it fascinating to learn more about the background of the people and the places they live. I hope you enjoy discovering more about the diverse culture of Asia through my photography and videos.
LANDSCAPE
I have enjoyed capturing the varied landscapes of Asia. My favorite time to photograph landscapes and architecture is during golden hour, which is the first and last few hours of the day. This is when the light is at a low, warm angle, which produces interesting shadows to sculpt and define the various features. I try to notice what makes each place unique and focus on the broad perspective along with capturing fascinating details. Whenever possible I enjoy “humanizing the landscape” which is to include people as they walk or work in a scene. This helps to show scale and tell the story of the region.
Mr Cho’s Home
SOUTH CHINA
While roaming around the ancient village of Daxu, China, in Guangxi Province, I was surprised how friendly and accommodating the Chinese people were. Mr. Cho showed us his basement smoking room and then let us into his main room where plucked a simple tune on his sanxian while I used the natural light coming a side window to illuminate this scene. I love how shadows bring attention to the lit objects for a “chiaroscuro” contrast lighting effect. It was fascinating to see the blend of “old and new” in his home. Mr. Cho had a nice collection of antiques he proudly displayed in his home. The textures and unique, selective lighting was intriguing in Mr Cho’s home and through the entire village, which is more than 1000 years old.
Women of the Water
VIETNAM
I was fascinated by the people in the floating market and was pleasantly surprised with how many capable, industrious, strong women I found, such as this gal, I dubbed “The Pineapple Carver.” To capture this sweet lady who was carving pineapples for us, I bracketed the image, which is a technique where you capture three different exposures of the same scene. I wanted to include the pretty blue sky and also the shadowy details in her wooden boat. If I had only taken one normal exposure, the sky below would have been much too bright. And the dark areas would have lacked detail. With three exposures: normal (0), dark (-2) and bright (+2), I could blend them to get optimal exposure, which is much closer to what our eyes can see.
Flying Monk!
MYANMAR
Most young boys and girls shave their heads and spend several months in the monasteries and nunneries to learn more about their Buddhist faith. Even though they are very disciplined during this training, they are allowed a few physical activities. Boys will be boys! This novice monk was having a grand time jumping and flapping his robes in the Kakku complex of Pagodas and Stupas. I had to think fast to capture and freeze the action. First, I sat on the ground for a low angle. Next I used a fast shutter (1/1000 of a second) similar to capturing wildlife. Capture a “burst” to be sure you have plenty of frames to choose from. Then compose the scene and move with the subject, keeping a sharp focus and making sure not to crop out the batman shadow!