Before I could throw my first question to Simon Yam, the Hong Kong actor gestured to a copper bowl on the coffee table. He reached out for it, brought it closer and told me to take a good look at the flower floating in it.
As I looked in, Yam says: "Take a good look at the flower."
So I did. Looks like any other Chrysanthemum to me. I looked back at Yam who was smiling mischievously.
He then reaches into his jeans pocket and takes out his iPhone.
"Are you ready? I'm going to show you something," he says before pausing and asking me again if I'm certain I've taken in every detail of the flower.
"Yes," I say meekly, not knowing what big test the photography enthusiast was going to throw at me.
He scrolls through the Photo Library folder of his iPhone and flashes an even bigger smile when he found what he was looking for. Yam shows me a photo that is predominantly black with a ring of neon green somewhere a little off centre of the screen.
Sensing the confusion on my face, Yam offers: "That's the flower. The same one."
I looked back into the bowl, and back again at the image on screen. I was amazed.
The self-taught photographer, who has published his own photography books and had his work exhibited in art galleries, reveals that he enjoys taking abstract photos of flowers and water.
But what he enjoys more is the surprised look on people's faces when he tells them it's a photograph and not an oil painting.
What's also interesting is that Yam does not believe in editing his photos with any computer softwares. He cheekily says: "Photoshop? What is that? I don't know how to use it.
"It's no fun. I enjoy the spirit of shooting purity. It's all in the lens and lighting," he reveals.
Yam describes himself as an observant photographer who would sometimes stare and rearrange the flowers for 15 minutes before taking a picture.
The art of abstract photography He also tells that he "rescues" withering flowers from the market and brings them back to his studio.
"Why throw them away? I put all sorts of flowers together and create this kind of pictures," says Yam before reaching for his iPhone again and proudly shares a few more of his favourite photos. All of them artistically taken, of course.
"This is creativity," he declares matter-of-factly. "I redevelop the flower and then I take a photo. I think this is more enjoyable than going out into the garden and taking a photo.
"This inspires me a lot in acting when it comes to seeing things from a different angle," says the 55-year-old star whose most recent role was in Ip Man 2.
Yam won the Best Actor award at the recent Hong Kong Film Awards for his role as a struggling cobbler in Echoes of the Rainbow, a nostalgic movie that looks back at 1960s Hong Kong.
So what tips can he share with aspiring photographers?
Yam taps on his chest and says: "Heart."
Canon EOS 5D Mark II, one of Simon Yam's favourite DSLRs "Follow your heart and don't be a copycat. Make every single photo yours," he advises. Yam adds that every photographer has an individual style and it's important for him/her to discover their own characteristics in order to stand out.
"Creativity is very important.
"Use the technology of a Canon camera to take that special shot," states the Canon ambassador since 1995.
Fifteen years is a pretty long endorsement by a single company, I say, and ask what Yam thinks is the factor that has secured the relationship after all these years.
He reckons it's the friendship and lifestyle that binds them.
"I'm always on the move and Canon is always developing new and better cameras.
"I love acting and will continue to act and do my photography work. And everybody knows that Simon Yam is a photographer.
"So I believe we are two parallel roads, moving towards the future," says the veteran actor with over 150 films and 40 TV series under his belt thus far.
And his favourite camera?
Yam says either the Canon EOS 5D Mark II or EOS 1D Mark IV. He prefers the latter for its fast continuous shooting speed of 10 frames per second.
"This is good when capturing exceptional moments like a smile because once you miss it, it'll never come back."
And as far as his hobby goes, Yam adds that whenever he goes out with supermodel wife Qiqi and five-year-old daughter Ella, he makes sure they carry a camera each.
He claims it to be "a lot of fun" and interesting to see an image captured from three different angles.
Then at the end of the outing, he will compile the photos and edit a short film from them.
So what does the future hold for Simon Yam?
Yam declares that he sees himself acting "for a long long time" with no plans to venture into Hollywood after his debut in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life in 2003.
He doesn't understand the hype about being a star in Tinseltown and says: "Why is everybody eager to go to Hollywood?"
"I love China. I love South East Asia," he states simply.
No comments:
Post a Comment