Art As A Universal Language

On Saturday, March 16th, Jerry was once again honored by the Christ United Methodist Church (CUMC) to judge their 3rd annual photographic print competition. Jerry had the distinction of judging the first competition in 2011 and was pleased that they asked him again to review this years' selections. 

This year's theme was the book of Genesis, specifically Gods' creations. The students worked under their teacher and mentor, Korean born artist Chang Jin Lee, whom Jerry has had the pleasure of knowing and working with for over twenty years. 

There is a lot of history not only between Jerry and Change, but with the Church itself. CUMC is over 150 years old. It is the first and oldest Korean Church in Hawaii. The church is largely attended by first, second and third generation Korean Americans, and the dominant language spoken through out the church is Korean. During the ceremony, Jerry was accompanied by one of the members of the church who acted as his interpreter. 

According to Jerry, "while most of the people at the reception spoke Korean the event was still a great experience. It goes to prove that art is a universal language"

During the judging process Jerry had no idea whose images he was judging. A number was assigned for each print and they were graded on a point system that begun at 100. As each image was evaluated, points were deducted for print quality, presentation and overall composition and impact. The final points were decided based on the theme of the competition. Amazingly enough, the grand prize winner was the same artist who Jerry selected as the winner two years ago!

Here are a few samples of the great photographs Jerry had the honor of judging.
*Please excuse the camera phone quality*

Below are the people who were selected as winners of the competition - 

Grand Prize - 

"New Life" by Jun te Lim

Gold - 

"My Cup Overflows" by Mi Suk Yi

Silver - 

"Tilt of Creation" by Myung Soon Cho

Bronze - 

"As Waters Cover the Sea" by Peter Kim

"Where is the Other One?"  by Rev. Chang Min Lee
"Go Preach" by Myung Koo Yi

Honorable Mention - 

"The Great Peach of God" by Aeri Kim

"Plumeria" by Kyung Ho Choi

"Light of Thorns" by Jaemo Kim

 "What is Man?" by Nakin Kim

 "Wild Field Cabbage" by Joseph Ha

Jerry would like to thank all the artist for their contributions to this competition. He would also like to express his delight with the quality of work that they presented. 

The images will be on display through the end of March at CUMC - 

1639 Keeaumoku St.
Honolulu, HI 96822
(808) 536-7244

Photographic Lighting Techniques Workshop

After teaching at the UH Outreach College for 20 years, Jerry has chosen to step into the workshop mode of educating for the PacificNew Media (PNM) Department. This fantastic programs allows students of all ages to learn from working and industry professionals who are tops in their field, in a non-credit atmosphere.

On March 2, 2013, we conducted our Photographic Lighting Techniques workshop from 8 am to 4 pm on the UH campus. Our model was none other than Ms. Virginia, Jerry and Connie’s Daughter. She has modeled for us before and has a stunning look! She was a good sport even with the hair and clothing changes.

The class was attended by students from the UH who had completed the Know Your Camera Series with PNM. The workshop was focused on obtaining proper lighting in various situations. The Students learned to light our subject using available, reflected, filtered, flash and a combination of all of these during the 8 hour class.

We couldn’t be happier with the results. The students were involved, climbing on ladders & walls, lying on the ground calculating exposures and getting the shot! Several students have emailed us since the class and even blogged about their experience.

We were joined by our 2^nd shooter Justin Ige, who did a few Instagram shots during the class  between holding light stands, acting as a human sun block and adjusting the lighting so the students could get the shot.  

Students learning to use a long distance flash. Photo by Justin

Students learning lighting 101. Photo by Justin 

Learning how to use an external light meter. Photo by Justin

Ms. Virginia will be using some of these shots as her high school graduation images, to be sent out to friends and family for her slated May graduation from Mililani High School in our hometown.

It’s funny to think that she wasn’t even born yet when Jerry began instructing classes at the University and today she is a beautiful young woman, confident and proud … and a little silly, modeling for our students. We love you Ms. V and are so proud of who you have become. We can’t wait to see what the next chapter in your life brings for you. Congratulations for helping us to make our workshop a great success and for being such a good sport. 

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