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A guide to finding your photography style: Part nine

By in Photography

A guide to finding your photography style: Part nine

Photography is a dynamic art form that evolved, often reflecting the changing perspectives, experiences and influences of the photographer. Documenting the evolution of your photographic style is not only a valuable exercise for self-discovery. It also offers insights into your growth as an artist. Let’s explore the significance of tracking the evolution of your photography style and offer some practical tips for documenting this journey.

One of my first digital images back in 2014
One of my first digital images back in 2014

Capturing the essence of change

Every photographer embarks on a unique journey of self-discovery and artistic growth. As you progress, your interests, preferences and techniques will naturally shift, leading to changes in your photographic style. Documenting this evolution allows you to capture the essence of your creative transformation and provides a visual record of your artistic journey.

By comparing your early works with your current creations, you understand how your style has evolved and the factors that have influenced these changes.

Lake Tyrrell, 2023

Identifying patterns and influences

As you document your journey, you’ll likely notice patterns and influences that have played a role in shaping your style. These could be inspired by changes in your surroundings, personal experiences, exposure to new techniques or interactions with other artists.

By identifying these patterns and influences, you gain insight into what resonates with you as a photographer, enabling you to refine your style with intention and authenticity. I was photographing people more and more, especially the more creative styles.

Very early creative portraits circa 2015
Very early creative portraits circa 2015

Embracing experimentation

The evolution of your photographic style often involves periods of experimentation and exploration. Early in your journey, you may try various techniques, genres, and approaches to find what resonates most with you. Documenting these experimental phases allows you to trace your creative curiosity and the pivotal moments that led you to your current style.

Don’t shy away from recording your failures and successes alike. Each experiment contributes to your growth and adds depth to your narrative as an artist. We often learn more from our failures than our instant successes.

Portrait, 2023

Cataloging technical and creative changes

The evolution of your style may encompass both technical and creative changes. Document technical advancements such as improvements in equipment, editing techniques and compositional skills. Similarly, record creative shifts in your choice of subjects, themes, color palettes and storytelling methods.

By cataloging these changes, you create a comprehensive record of your artistic journey that highlights the technical prowess and creative depth you’ve developed over time.

Reflecting on milestones

Throughout your journey, you will reach significant milestones that mark your growth as a photographer. These milestones could include exhibitions, publications, awards, or personal breakthroughs where you achieved a level of artistic expression you hadn’t before.

Documenting these milestones not only serves as a reminder of your achievements. It also encourages to keep pushing your boundaries and embracing new horizons in your style. These milestones can also give you social credit and peer recognition which can help building a profitable business.

An online Portfolio is a great idea
An online Portfolio is a great idea

Visualizing progress

Visual documentation of your style’s evolution is a powerful way to visualize your progress. Create a visual timeline showcasing key images from different phases of your journey. Display them chronologically to witness your style’s transformation over time.

This visual representation not only reminds you of how far you’ve come but also instills a sense of pride in your growth and accomplishments as a photographer. This can be an online portfolio or in print. I like coffee table-style books with my creative portraits and such. I can look back over the years and see how far I have come.

Embrace the journey to evolving your photography style

Documenting the evolution of your photographic style is a testament to your growth as an artist. By capturing changes, identifying patterns, embracing experimentation, cataloging technical and creative shifts and reflecting on milestones, you create a record that encapsulates the essence of your creative journey.

Remember that the journey is as important as the destination. Embrace the shifts, adaptations, and discoveries that come with evolving your style. This documentation not only allows you to share your story with others but also serves as a source of inspiration, reminding you of the dedication and passion you’ve invested in your craft.

So, whether you’re just starting or have been photographing for years, begin documenting your journey today. Watch your evolution unfold through your images and celebrate the beautiful, ever-changing tapestry of your photographic style.

Happy shooting and refining your style!

In case you missed it

Photo by Clemens van Lay on Unsplash

Move over, monuments: The Mall gets first curated multi-artist exhibit

By in Native

Move over, monuments: The Mall gets first curated multi-artist exhibit

The National Mall is a place of imposing monuments, but also of memories of monumental events — Marian Anderson’s 1939 concert after being barred from Constitution Hall because of her race, the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and the 1986 display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt.

It is the fleeting sort of monument that inspired “Beyond Granite: Pulling Together,” an installation of six artists’ works on the Mall. Organized by the Trust for the National Mall, the project will be on view from Aug. 18 to Sept. 18.

The phrase “pulling together” comes from educator and activist Mary McLeod Bethune’s account of how Anderson’s concert “told a story of hope for tomorrow — a story of triumph — a story of pulling together, a story of splendor and real democracy.”

“Over time, artists have come to us on an ad hoc basis,” says Teresa Durkin, executive vice president of the Trust for the National Mall. So the trust decided to undertake a pilot program to place temporary artworks on the Mall, the first time a curated multi-artist program has been exhibited there. The goal, Durkin says, was to try “to learn everything that we can by actually installing six different pieces across the whole length of the National Mall, all at once, in a curated exhibit.”

The idea began with the National Capital Planning Commission, which has long wrestled with the demand to place new landmarks on the Mall’s increasingly crowded 700 acres. NCPC and the trust agreed to experiment with a solution, Durkin says, “for this problem of ultimately not having enough land, if we continue to build permanent memorials on the National Mall.” The two organizations together applied for a $4.5 million Mellon Foundation grant to fund the undertaking.

Stop building museums on the National Mall

To curate the project, the trust selected the Monument Lab, a Philadelphia nonprofit organization whose director is Paul M. Farber, also a senior research scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. As co-curator, he enlisted Salamishah Tillet, a professor and administrator at Rutgers University Newark and a Pulitzer Prize-winning critic-at-large for the New York Times.

“This was an opportunity to think about artists from a variety of practices, a variety of backgrounds,” Farber says, “who would answer the question that is at the center of this project — what stories remain untold on the National Mall? — in distinct but complementary ways.”

In choosing sites for the installations, the curators had to follow National Park Service guidelines and yield to practical considerations. All but one of the artworks will be on a hard, flat surface that can handle installation machinery, but several pieces will be placed near existing Mall features to which they respond.

Artist Vanessa German took on the subject of Anderson’s concert with a statue titled “Of Thee We Sing.” The other artists are Derrick Adams, Tiffany Chung, Ashon T. Crawley, Paul Ramírez Jonas and Wendy Red Star.

Red Star’s “The Soil You See … ” speaks to the ignored or abrogated U.S. treaties with Native Americans and will stand on Signers Island in Constitution Gardens, near the memorial to the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The piece is a seven-foot-high glass thumbprint that represents the many Crow chiefs who signed such treaties with a thumbprint.

“The ridges of the thumbprint are red, and in between the ridges it’s clear, and within the ridges are all the names of the different chiefs who signed those treaties between 1825 and 1880,” says Red Star, who grew up on a Crow reservation in Montana.

Chung’s “For the Living” is a world map of the routes taken by refugees from Southeast Asia in the 1970s. It purposefully lacks national boundaries, the Vietnam-born artist notes. “The map is from that particular refugee migration out of Southeast Asia after the war, but I want to open it up so that people can reflect on their own journeys.”

Two of the pieces rely on sound. Ramírez Jonas’s “Let Freedom Ring” is an automated carillon that plays 41 notes of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” but leaves the 42nd note to a 600-pound bell that can be struck by visitors. “In a way, it’s a very straightforward thing,” Jonas says. “If you participate, the song is complete. And if you do not participate, the song is unfinished.”

Crawley’s “Homegoing” is a three-station memorial to AIDS victims, especially musicians, singers and choir directors from the Black Pentecostal tradition in which the artist was raised. The music was written or co-written by Crawley, who teaches at the University of Virginia.

Crawley — who is writing a book about the Hammond organ, the AIDS crisis, Black churches and popular culture — says he sees the sound installation as “the performance of the book … and a way to engage a different kind of audience that might not be interested in reading the book but would be interested in listening to some of the sonic materials.”

Adams’s “America’s Playground: DC” is an interactive piece that features at its center a large reproduction of a photograph of one of the first desegregated play areas in D.C. To Adams, playgrounds are inherently political.

“It’s a place where you have to learn negotiation,” he says. “It’s a place where you have to learn to take turns. It’s a place where you understand leadership, and take risks.”

While Adams’s piece turns on a single photo, German’s collage-statue of Anderson features many, including multiple views of the singer’s face and scenes of the diverse crowd at her 1939 concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Also incorporated are images of Sandhof lilies, which flower occasionally in a small area of Africa; hanging blue bottles like those the artist says were used by enslaved Africans on the Gullah “to capture evil spirits”; and a bodice trimmed with the notes to one of the songs Anderson performed, “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen.”

The assemblage, German says, embodies “that sense of fight and spirit and love and just grit that makes you want to keep going.”

Of all the artists, German was the least impressed by her initial experience of the Mall. “Very cold,” she recalls. “A lot about war and men.”

Red Star first visited the Mall in 2018 but saw it anew when surveying it with the Monument Lab curators and her fellow artists last fall.

“What I noticed is that there really isn’t any color represented on the Mall,” she says. “That was surprising to me. Everything is, like, the color of the natural materials the monuments are made of,” she says. “So my thumbprint is red.”

Chung’s response to the Mall’s grandiosity was to devise the only installation that will hug the earth. “I want to create something that is not like a humongous, larger-than-life monument that reaches to the sky,” she says. “Instead, I would like to spread it onto the ground.”

“Monuments are my métier,” says Ramírez Jonas, who’s a professor and department chair at Cornell University, so he visits the Mall frequently. “It’s one of the few places in the country where people are deliberately visiting that site to look at monuments. Most of the time, people encounter monuments incidentally.

“Monuments should be open, so each individual can input what they think is significant,” he adds. “We have an ever-changing composition of our population. But we don’t have monumental forms that speak to that.”

For a month, “Beyond Granite: Pulling Together” will try to do just that. The attempt could lead to profound experiences, co-curator Tillet suggests.

“There’s an opportunity as you go from artwork to artwork,” she says, “or if you just sit in front of one of them, to really meditate, in community of other people at the Mall, what it means to be American, what it means to be at the Mall at this moment, and really for all of us to pull together to live up to the promise that the Mall has meant for so many people.”

Beyond Granite: Pulling Together Aug. 18-Sept. 18 at various locations on the National Mall. beyondgranite.org/exhibition.

Find Your Frame: a Street Photography Masterclass

By in Photography

Find Your Frame: a Street Photography Masterclass

The book, Find Your Frame: A Street Photography Masterclass features a forward by Kai Wong. The book, which costs $19.99 on Amazon is by Craig Whitehead unless you’re after the Kindle version. Just by browsing Craig’s website, you can find a bunch of photos that you’re bound to be inspired by. His images show beauty, irony, and color in ways that are only demonstrated by modern masters. Our readers were given an exclusive look at one of the chapters in the book for free. Please enjoy the chapter entitled Don’t be Shy down below.

Don’t be shy

Excerpted from Find Your Frame by Craig Whitehead

Be confident and leave your inhibitions at home, they’ll only hold you back

There’s a feeling you sometimes have when you’re about to take a picture. Your stomach drops and you get a surge of adrenaline, a fight-or-flight response. You might experience it as a social anxiety. Your mind might start racing, firing off questions… What will that person think of me? How do I get myself into the right position without attracting attention? Is this a good idea? That is your brain telling you that you’re looking at something compelling, something you must photograph. It’s your cue to run forward and hit the shutter.

Whenever I do workshops, beginners always ask me how to deal with that awkwardness? Everybody goes through it at the start, but you must get past it. Anyone who’s been shooting on the street for a while will have faced a moment like this. If they’ve pushed through, they will have come out the other side a different photographer. Even if you don’t and then go on to specialise in photographing people, you know that in 10 years’ time if you see a rare and interesting scene involving a person or some people that you absolutely must capture, you’re not going to miss it out of shyness. Because you’ve made that leap already.

I remember my awkward moment. There was a bus driver staring daggers at me, straight into the lens. I was on my bike, on my way home from work, when I rode past him. I braked, jumped off and headed back. I’d made this agreement with myself earlier that if I pulled the brakes for even a split second thinking this might be a good shot, I had to stop. Otherwise, I knew I’d find myself stewing with regret. This was the first time I followed through on that. At the time, it’s like there are two parts of you battling it out – the photographer, who just wants the shot, and the human thinking, ‘This is going to be weird, uncomfortable or dangerous.’ If taking a shot is dangerous, you must listen to that instinct, but if it’s just uncomfortable, you have to get over it.

It could be, as in my case with the bus driver, a situation where you feel some hostility or it could just be tricky engineering yourself into the right spot to get the composition you want. For some pictures to work, you want the person to look directly into the lens, so you need to step forward and get their attention to make that happen. Know that the shot is worth more than a stranger’s opinion of you. They might just think, ‘Oh, that guy was weird. Who cares?’ In seven years of doing this, I’ve only ever encountered one person who was angry. I’ve only been asked to delete a picture on two occasions, and both times it was all very polite.

You need to understand the effect of your body language. Avoid looking casual or lazy – like having one hand in your pocket, for example. If you act as if you’re doing something wrong, people will respond to you as though that’s the case. A simple smile goes a long way – I’ve got a shot from New York where the entire frame is filled with guys in suits holding umbrellas. But there were two people with them who weren’t in suits and I didn’t want to include them in the picture because they’d detract from it. To get the shot, I positioned myself between them and the suits. I turned round, caught their eyes and smiled. They saw that it was an interesting scene, too, and when I was done, they even asked me for a copy.

If there’s a stag do or similar going on, you’ll often find that one person in the group sees you taking the photo – but they’re in on the joke. They’re willing you on, thinking, ‘I want there to be a photo of this because it’s funny.’ And then you can get right into the frame. It’s about observing, interpreting any given situation and playing off that. But you can use all sorts of tricks. Occasionally, someone will spot that I’ve made eye contact with them accidentally while I’m getting an idea of what my composition is going to be and I don’t want them to be looking into the lens. But if I pick up the camera at that moment, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. So, I try to go incognito. I might walk past them, wait a few seconds and then double back on myself to quickly get the shot or I might get my phone out and hang there for long enough that I’ve melted into the background, almost becoming part of the street furniture. Once they forget you’re even there, you can take the shot and then off you go.

You can switch up the power dynamics, too. Say you frame up something so you’ve got your composition ready, and you’re waiting for someone to walk through to complete the shot. In this situation, people are aware of what you are doing and if they walk through, that’s their choice, so you can take as many shots as you want. But in some places, like the UK, people are inherently polite. You might be waiting for a subject to walk through your composition, but they see you with your camera, and stop, wary that they’re going to ruin the shot. In situations like this, I tend to drop the camera and give them a friendly grin to reassure them it’s okay for them to walk on. Then, the second they get level with me, I lift up the camera again and take the shot. That’s the easiest one when you’re starting out – framing up first and letting people walk through. There’s no risk there at all because it’s obvious what you’re doing.

Getting more confident on the street comes from spending time there. You don’t even need to have a camera with you. You can just walk around, watching the world. Athletes and gamers talk about being ‘in the zone’ and this is not so different. There’s a point at which you spend enough time in a space that you start understanding what’s about to happen and you can subconsciously pre-empt it. Eventually, you just get a gut feeling that makes you lift the camera at the right time and it all flows together.

Craig Whitehead (@sixstreetunder) is a hugely experienced street photographer with a uniquely creative approach. Based in Cambridge, UK, but shooting internationally, his work focuses on color, composition and an innate sense of visual atmosphere.

Excerpted with permission from Find Your Frame: A Street Photography Masterclass (Frances Lincoln, an imprint of The Quarto Group, 2023) by Craig Whitehead. All photographs by Craig Whitehead. Find Your Frame publishes September 28, 2023 and can be purchased wherever fine books are sold. Learn more at quarto.com.

‘This environment is normal in Tokyo’: Jeff Liang’s best phone picture

By in Photography

‘This environment is normal in Tokyo’: Jeff Liang’s best phone picture
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Reflecting on his three years in Japan, Taiwan-based photographer Jeff Liang says, “Someone said to me once that Japanese society is like nigiri rice – that’s a perfect ‘bowl’ of rice, formed with your hands: nothing can fall out, or stick out – every single grain of rice must stick together to make it work. In Japanese culture, conforming is deemed essential.”

He had arrived in Japan on a working holiday visa and found a job as a souvenir shop clerk in Osaka, before being hired as a photographer and designer for an app. His office was in Shibuya, one of Tokyo’s busiest areas. “I was working for a Taiwanese company though, so my working day was only 10am to 8pm. It sounds long, but that’s pretty short by Tokyo standards. From 8am to 10pm is more normal. People are afraid to leave early and make a bad impression.”

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As such, the commuter rush hour is not only one hour; instead, it’s more like four. “It begins by 6am, through to 10am, and then again from 6pm to 10pm.” In those periods, finding a seat on his daily 40-minute commutes, when this photo was taken, was almost impossible. But while he always found it stressful, “something to be endured”, he notes that the faces he captured around him are relaxed, comfortable even.

“These hours and this environment is normal in Tokyo. But it’s also the reason why you see so many people passed out drunk on the streets at night. They have to be a certain way for their work, and the commute is part of that. Afterwards, they can free themselves. But the next morning, it starts again.”

Lewiston Art Festival: It’s all about the artists this weekend

By in Native

Lewiston Art Festival: It’s all about the artists this weekend

The Lewiston Art Festival officially gets underway today.

Running mainly along Center Street in the village, the free event runs 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

The festival features:

• More than 20,000 original artworks in painting, graphic arts, mixed media, photography, ceramics, jewelry, fiber/metal/wood

• Indigenous Market: a celebration of traditional and contemporary Native American art and crafts

• “College Alley” features student work

• Live entertainment

• ArtZone: Hands-on activities for kids of all ages!

• Chalkwalk: Friendly team competition for ages 6 to 60+

This year’s featured artist is Jessica Gadra. Her piece, “The Firebird,” is the official image of this year’s Art Festival.

“I’ve drawn since I could hold a pencil, but being an artist has always been my ‘and’; I’ve always been a (fill-in-the-blank) and an artist. I still struggle with it. It’s hard to assert yourself unequivocally, but I think that those doubts are good to have — they keep you trying.” Jessica’s work is featured in children’s books, theater posters, the fashion industry, art galleries, and in commissioned pieces. The self-taught artist, who works in pen and ink, watercolor, and pencil, tells us that she “plucks” the inspiration for her art in “the brew of the old stories and the eternal legends that speak to us all.”

The myth of the firebird travels across time and cultures. The many versions of the story were born of oral traditions, with the magical, glowing bird at the center of tales of courage and a challenging quest, foretelling glory or heralding doom. In Jessica’s silhouette, we see the young protagonist sitting on a blanket of forest animals; “the child is rooted (no pun intended!) in the forest and is attuned to the whisperings of all its creatures”. The mystical bird comes to rest in the tree as the child is sleeping; we see the moment the child fully awakens and is filled with the fire of inspiration.

Gadra took first price in the “Graphic Arts and Drawing” category in the 2022 Art Festival. She lives in Buffalo with her husband, author Alex Livingston (whose Knave of Secrets was published earlier this year). The two met while both were studying English at Canisius College and have been together ever since. To see more of Jessica’s work, please http://jessicagadra.com/

Lewiston Art Festival: It’s all about the artists this weekend

By in Native

Lewiston Art Festival: It’s all about the artists this weekend

The Lewiston Art Festival officially gets underway today.

Running mainly along Center Street in the village, the free event runs 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

The festival features: 

• More than 20,000 original artworks in painting, graphic arts, mixed media, photography, ceramics, jewelry, fiber/metal/wood

• Indigenous Market: a celebration of traditional and contemporary Native American art and crafts

• “College Alley” features student work

• Live entertainment

• ArtZone: Hands-on activities for kids of all ages!

• Chalkwalk: Friendly team competition for ages 6 to 60+

This year’s featured artist is Jessica Gadra. Her piece, “The Firebird,” is the official image of this year’s Art Festival.

“I’ve drawn since I could hold a pencil, but being an artist has always been my ‘and’; I’ve always been a (fill-in-the-blank) and an artist. I still struggle with it. It’s hard to assert yourself unequivocally, but I think that those doubts are good to have — they keep you trying.” Jessica’s work is featured in children’s books, theater posters, the fashion industry, art galleries, and in commissioned pieces. The self-taught artist, who works in pen and ink, watercolor, and pencil, tells us that she “plucks” the inspiration for her art in “the brew of the old stories and the eternal legends that speak to us all.”

The myth of the firebird travels across time and cultures. The many versions of the story were born of oral traditions, with the magical, glowing bird at the center of tales of courage and a challenging quest, foretelling glory or heralding doom. In Jessica’s silhouette, we see the young protagonist sitting on a blanket of forest animals; “the child is rooted (no pun intended!) in the forest and is attuned to the whisperings of all its creatures”. The mystical bird comes to rest in the tree as the child is sleeping; we see the moment the child fully awakens and is filled with the fire of inspiration.

Gadra took first price in the “Graphic Arts and Drawing” category in the 2022 Art Festival. She lives in Buffalo with her husband, author Alex Livingston (whose Knave of Secrets was published earlier this year). The two met while both were studying English at Canisius College and have been together ever since. To see more of Jessica’s work, please http://jessicagadra.com/

Overexposed: Hong Kong enthusiasts risk arrest to photograph naked models in public

By in Photography

Overexposed: Hong Kong enthusiasts risk arrest to photograph naked models in public

The couple are among an unknown number of individuals in the city practising “exposure photography”, though some would just call it exhibitionism.

Enthusiasts refer to their hobby as lou ceot in Cantonese, a local take on the Japanese roshutsu, which refers to appearing fully or partially nude in public areas for photographs that often focus on intimate body parts.

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“Body exposure is not necessarily erotic,” said Cheung, although he knew there were people in Hong Kong who considered his photos obscene and immoral.

Is outraging public decency OK in Hong Kong in the cyberage?

Kwok said she had drawn unwelcome attention because of her ample bosom, and when she was younger, strangers had taken photos of her or touched her indecently on the street.

“You guys are so curious about the female body? Let me show it to you,” she declared, explaining her penchant for being photographed nude.

As far as Hong Kong law is concerned, however, the activity is illegal.

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Indecent exposure is punishable by up to six months’ jail and a HK$2,000 (US$255) fine. Publishing obscene articles – including photos – carries a maximum penalty of three years in jail and a HK$1 million fine.

In March, an 18-year-old male student was arrested on suspicion of posting without authorisation images of a woman who stripped in a public library.

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A clip of a woman undressing in Central Library in Causeway Bay was widely circulated online and led to the arrest of an 18-year-old male student who posted pictures taken from the video. Photo: Handout

His shots were from a widely circulated video clip showing the unidentified woman removing her clothes and reaching for a book in what is believed to be the Central Library in Causeway Bay.

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In June, a 40-year-old waitress was arrested for indecent exposure and publishing obscene articles, after more than 120 photographs and videos were found on social media platforms showing her naked or exposing her breasts and genitals.

She was shot on busy streets and in public transport, shops, restaurants and hotels, and at country parks and waterfront areas.

Both cases are pending.

Hong Kong police arrest woman over exposing herself on busy streets, public transport

According to an investigator involved in the second case, the woman was arrested after a report was filed with the police. However, police had to consult the Department of Justice on technical legal issues regarding the online publication of obscene articles as there had been no precedent.

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The officer said police had identified about 10 Twitter account holders posting similar images. The woman’s arrest was meant to serve as a deterrent, he said.

Kwok and Cheung said they did not pursue their “exposure” passion for money and none of their works were for sale.

They were aware that some women, men and couples put their photos and videos, showing them naked or engaged in sexual acts, on subscription-based online platforms.

‘Pity the cleaner’: naked Chinese couple furious over what window washer saw

“That is not what I intended,” Cheung said. It was satisfying enough for the couple that their public account on Twitter had amassed about 28,000 followers, mainly from Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan and Japan.

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Cheung said he just wanted to show the beauty of the nude human form set against the surrounding environment.

Kwok said: “My unclothed body blending into the surrounding nature or something raw is actually beautiful.”

Explaining how they did their shoots, the couple said they would plan ahead before going to a location and Cheung would get his camera ready.

The naked and the read: video of woman in Hong Kong library prompts police report

Kwok would then remove her long coat – usually her only garment – and he would snap away quickly. They would then leave hurriedly, minimising the risk of running into other people or the police.

Afterwards, they would select the best shots, with Kwok’s face covered, and post them on Twitter, one of the most tolerant platforms for explicit images.

Kwok said she used to be a timid person and lacked self-esteem, but had gained confidence from the response to her photos.

“Many people ‘liked’ the pictures we posted and Wesley said to me, ‘See, you’re not that bad. Have more confidence in yourself’,” she said.

Clinical psychologist Dr Karen Liem said her peers defined exhibitionism as the desire to expose oneself or engage in sexual acts in public settings and derive sexual pleasure from the activity.

Someone who merely took nude photos in public places and shared them online might not be considered an exhibitionist, she added.

Sociologist Sara Zhong Hua from Chinese University said younger people considered it an achievement to have many followers online, but it was not easy to stand out.

So for some, being photographed in the buff in public was a way to draw eyeballs, she added.

Gary Ho*, another photographer of naked women in public places, said he usually found his models online and had been shooting for a year.

His favourite photos were taken in daylight at a public housing estate’s basketball court, showing his nude model next to the hoop.

Student arrested after images of naked woman in Hong Kong library posted online

Ho admitted that he sold some of his photos, but said that was not his main source of income. He said he was married, but his wife was clueless about his hobby.

Ho, in his 40s, said his wife had no idea he had been shooting such photos for a year.

He said he had come across about 30 accounts on Twitter and Telegram showing similar images that impressed him.

The photographers in the circle ranged from students and ordinary salary earners to big business operators aged from their teens to their 40s, and their models were usually their girlfriends or wives.

“We are just normal individuals, but we like to do something a little bit special,” he said. “After you do something difficult, you have a sense of achievement.”

* Names changed at the interviewees’ request.

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Former Whiteclay beer store is now a church another is artist makerspace

By in Native

Former Whiteclay beer store is now a church another is artist makerspace
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It was once called the “skid row of the plains” and a shame on Nebraska. But Whiteclay is quite different today, six years after the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission stopped renewing the licenses of four beers stores in the town of a dozen residents. The litter is gone and so are people passed out on the streets and sidewalks.”We don’t have, you know, have to look at people that are intoxicated,” Holly Hosie said.She remembers when the beer stores used to sell nearly four million beer cans a year, mostly to residents of the nearby Pine Ridge reservation, where alcohol is banned.”It was a it was a human rights issue. They were killing themselves. It was like it was a slow suicide,” Hosie said.On April 30, 2017, the four beer store closed their doors.”It’s now a place where there’s all kinds of good traffic, there’s business are going on,” Jonathan Ruybalid said.Ruybalid purchased one of the former beer stores and converted it into a makerspace for local Native artists to create and sell their work. “What we’re doing. We’re creating jobs were creating spirit for people to support themselves and their families,” Ruybalid said.The store is now a tourist destination on Nebraska Passport.”The irony is huge. But we are showing off a part of Nebraska people can be proud of,” Ruybalid said.There is a local grocery store, a clothing and apparel store, cafe and auto repair shop. One Family Dollar store is doing so well, a Dollar General is preparing to open on the other end of town.Two of the former beer stores remain empty. The fourth store is now a church.”It used to be my favorite bar. And now it’s my favorite church,” Sylas Condon said.Condon is a member of the Community Fellowship Church. He, like many of the members, used to be drawn to Whiteclay seeking booze. Now they thirst for scripture.”Finally listening to God and Jesus to help me to change and stop living evil, you know, hurting people,” Condon said.Hosie manages the artist maker space.”We provide the space. We provide the tools. We provide customer artist support,” Hosie said.”It’s definitely helping us to give back to the people what was taken away from them because of alcohol,” Hosie said.She said alcoholism has left a lot of scars on a lot of families. “I think it’s going to take a long time for us to get over what the alcoholism has caused to the Native American people. But it’s a beginning,” Hosie said.David Grimes is the pastor of the church. He said he serves a God of miracles. “I battled alcohol and drugs for years before God set me free and I know that if God can turn around a scumbag like me, he can turn a liquor store into a church too,” Grimes said.Get the latest headlines from KETV NewsWatch 7

WHITECLAY, Neb. —

It was once called the “skid row of the plains” and a shame on Nebraska.

But Whiteclay is quite different today, six years after the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission stopped renewing the licenses of four beers stores in the town of a dozen residents.

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The litter is gone and so are people passed out on the streets and sidewalks.

“We don’t have, you know, have to look at people that are intoxicated,” Holly Hosie said.

She remembers when the beer stores used to sell nearly four million beer cans a year, mostly to residents of the nearby Pine Ridge reservation, where alcohol is banned.

“It was a it was a human rights issue. They were killing themselves. It was like it was a slow suicide,” Hosie said.

On April 30, 2017, the four beer store closed their doors.

“It’s now a place where there’s all kinds of good traffic, there’s business are going on,” Jonathan Ruybalid said.

Ruybalid purchased one of the former beer stores and converted it into a makerspace for local Native artists to create and sell their work.

“What we’re doing. We’re creating jobs were creating spirit for people to support themselves and their families,” Ruybalid said.

The store is now a tourist destination on Nebraska Passport.

“The irony is huge. But we are showing off a part of Nebraska people can be proud of,” Ruybalid said.

There is a local grocery store, a clothing and apparel store, cafe and auto repair shop. One Family Dollar store is doing so well, a Dollar General is preparing to open on the other end of town.

Two of the former beer stores remain empty. The fourth store is now a church.

“It used to be my favorite bar. And now it’s my favorite church,” Sylas Condon said.

Condon is a member of the Community Fellowship Church. He, like many of the members, used to be drawn to Whiteclay seeking booze. Now they thirst for scripture.

“Finally listening to God and Jesus to help me to change and stop living evil, you know, hurting people,” Condon said.

Hosie manages the artist maker space.

“We provide the space. We provide the tools. We provide customer artist support,” Hosie said.

“It’s definitely helping us to give back to the people what was taken away from them because of alcohol,” Hosie said.

She said alcoholism has left a lot of scars on a lot of families.

“I think it’s going to take a long time for us to get over what the alcoholism has caused to the Native American people. But it’s a beginning,” Hosie said.

David Grimes is the pastor of the church.

He said he serves a God of miracles.

“I battled alcohol and drugs for years before God set me free and I know that if God can turn around a scumbag like me, he can turn a liquor store into a church too,” Grimes said.

Get the latest headlines from KETV NewsWatch 7

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