The 14th edition of a fun, exciting and challenging community photography competition, the Canon PhotoMarathon 2016, took place on 19th November, held at the Suntec Convention and Exhibition Centre. There were close to 2000 passionate photography enthusiasts gathered and participated in this year’s Canon PhotoMarathon.
With my participation in Canon PhotoMarathon XIV, this is my 6th year participating in this photography competition (I participated in years 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016). The Canon PhotoMarathon was more than just a photography competition, it’s also a time for photography enthusiasts to get together and have fun taking photographs together (and also helping each other to get their shots for the competition!). Participating in Canon PhotoMarathon is also a time for me to catch up and chat with photography friends from Canon Singapore, Canon Imaging Academy, EOS World Singapore and also making new photography friends there too!
Before I proceed to share on what were the three themes for Canon PhotoMarathon XIV and what I shot, let me share about photography for everyone in the society that took place during this year’s Canon PhotoMarathon.
Canon’s corporate philosophy of kyosei – living and working together for the common good, was part of Canon PhotoMarathon XIV program. Canon’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program partner with the Association for Persons with Special Needs (APSN) and Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) to host more than 30 participants, giving them the opportunity to partake in the excitement of Canon PhotoMarathon. It was really great to see photography playing a part for those participants to enjoy, giving them an avenue to express themselves through photography and enjoying photography during the Canon PhotoMarathon. I reckoned that the participants from Association for Persons with Special Needs (APSN) and Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) had a very interesting time shooting the themes for Canon PhotoMarathon XIV!
What were the themes for Canon PhotoMarathon XIV? This year 2016 themes were different, a little bit special and my usual “I scratch my head and don’t know what to shoot” moment till I absorbed and digested the individual theme before knowing/planning what I want to shoot.
The three themes of Canon PhotoMarathon XIV were
Theme 1: Vision
Theme 2: Kyosei
Theme 3: #NoFilter + #NewPerspective +#Space
Here were what I shot and submitted for Themes 2 and 3 for Canon PhotoMarathon XIV (I did not submit for Theme 1 because I was away for a photography assignment that morning although I did my own Theme 1 shoot though)
Theme 1: Vision
Theme 2: Kyosei
Theme 3: #NoFilter + #NewPerspective + #Space
Shooting Theme 2 was very challenging for me, this theme also got me thinking very hard, on conceptualisation, creating stories to tell and how I can constantly improve, no matter what is the level of photography experience and knowledge that I am currently at right now.
Although at the end of Canon PhotoMarathon XIV, it can be very tiring physically after moving around and rushing against time to get the photographs for competition submission. The overall experiences had always been good, the fun, friendships and the love for photography. Participating in Canon PhotoMarathon over the years gave me an opportunity to learn, unlearn and relearn my photography. Lifelong learning and improvements apply in my photography journeys till date and it is still ongoing as always!