A Slice of: Cameras, Pictures and Drawing Sentience into Mundane Things
Documenting your 12am bowl of ramen can help you get better at art?!
For your convenience, I’ve read aloud the letter for you. Feel free to follow along as you listen! You’re welcome!
Oh look! You’ve got a letter from your bestest pen pal, Lily (that’s me!)
It’s pretty hefty. It’s kinda bulky too.
You trace your fingers along the edges, and peel at the sticky glue of the seal and then- AAH IT’S ALIVE. The envelope has arms and legs, and a life of its own. Its flap flies open, and a burst of polaroids, printed photos, and various memorabilia pop out.
Today’s letter begins:
“Dearest buddy-old-pal,
Do you like taking pictures? They don’t have to be good ones, or great ones, or even pictures that make sense to anybody but you. Just photos of things that you like to look back on.
I love taking photos of everything. I really enjoy cameras, in every which way and form. I like polaroids, film cameras, digital cameras, you name it! In the last few years, I’ve amassed a small collection of cameras I am very proud of. Picture, attached.
But even without fanciful equipment, I have a lot of fun using my phone to document really random stuff throughout my day. My current phone has about 6,000 images. I find that taking pictures of anything, at any moment, has helped train my eye in noticing things like shapes, colors, motion, or just what I’m more drawn to. It goes without saying that art is derived from life, and I’ve found that things I take photos of are subconsciously incorporated in how I might approach drawing something. I also feel that it makes me more thoughtful towards the everyday activities that I do, like cooking!
Let me sort of walk you through what I mean!
Here are some photos of a few meals that I made. When I’m cooking, I like plating in intentional ways where I can get a lot of different colors and textures in my pictures. (I’m by no means a chef, but I do like presenting fun or pretty food.) When I’m taking these photos, I’m always thinking about why I liked putting something a certain way, or why I like the certain shapes of things, and even how they make me feel.
In this photo, I love how round, orangey-yellow the egg is. I love the pink hues of the radish and mentaiko, the tiny bits of spring onion scattered across, with strips of seaweed that have a matted finish pulling it all together. Then, when I’m picking colors for a drawing, or wanting to get the shape of something exactly the way I like it, I’ll remember those little details from when I was taking pictures through my day. Here are some drawing examples of how I’ll sometimes analyze, think about, or process photos/imagery, with notes!
Even if it isn’t for drawing, I really like documenting stuff that makes me happy, or has really good design. Here are some pictures I took just to look back on for inspiration, for color combinations, or even just to show a friend.
Some people might find it egregious or “out-of-the-moment” to be documenting stuff or taking photos when you’re out and about. But, I think it’s something that’s made me very conscious of the life around me, and every wonderful thing in it. I get to take moments to really savor or take in the stuff I’ve come across in my day, and I feel really happy and thankful when I realize it’s impacted how I create.
If you get a chance, I hope that maybe you’ll take a picture of something you like today. Anything, for any reason you want, and it doesn’t even have to be a good picture. It can be blurry, or low res, or even taken on your LG doubleplay from 2011. As long as it’s an embodiment of how you see the world, or what you feel is special in it, I think that’s pretty cool.
Well, anyway, thanks for letting me share as always!
Write to you soon,
Lily
Hi Lily!
Your letters make me so happy. They are so colorful and warm and listening to you is peaceful. I love your camera collection! A good friend of mine shared some new cameras on lomography.com. that are just beautiful. Maybe it's time for me to get my roll of film to start taking pictures, even if they don't turn out perfectly? It could be like cooking for me. I don't always get it right. and some parts might be a little crispier than others but the joy is still there.
I'd like to take more pictures of pets and colorful bright things I find around the city. It's still bright and sunny in California but maybe it'll look a little bit different this season too. Thank you for the reminder! And welcome to your little Ramen friends.
Sincerely,
art/arty
Hello Lily!
I love your letters and seeing into your life through these stories and illustrations. I loved the immersion via sound effects in the voiceover! Super cute!
I've been wanting to get my own camera after I've begun to travel more by myself and with friends and was wondering if you have any recommendations for super casual, memory focused photography. I've been trying to do research, but it's hard when many YouTube channels are speaking from professional perspectives, and even amazon reviews seem to care more a lot about specifics when I really don't need much! It's all completely new to me, so I was just wondering if you had a particular recommendation.
Thanks so much for your help,
Quiann